Car advice needed - buying second hand on a budget

foxy-stoat

AdrianC said:

foxy-stoat said:

Buy based on previous service history, look at the MOT's online as well, if there has been no advisories ever then you know its been looked after.

Equally, don't rule out a car based on past advisories - or even fails.

If it had an advisory a while back because a tyre was getting low - or failed because it was bald - who cares? What are the tyres on it NOW like?

Sure, there's some things that don't go away - mostly rust... But £3k is going to be getting something maybe the thick end of a decade old.
Of course it's going to have had tyres and brakes and wipers and bulbs and suspension work and maybe a windscreen or whatever in the past... Who really cares if it was tested before or after that work was done...?

It just gives a better picture of own has owned it,  I wouldnt buy a 1 owner car if every year it had bald tyres as a fail/advisory for example, if the owner cant spend a few quid on keeping their car legal and safe for driving then they wouldnt of spent money of servicing looking after the engine or even bothered checking the oil.

Too many folk wait for the mot tester to tell them to replace the tyres as they are too low....same folk wait for the red light to appear on the dash to say "no oil say bye to the engine" before they top the oil up, oh wait its a too late light and the same folk wait until the cambelt snaps or water pump fails before thinking about it.

noclaf

caprikid1 said:

What about Petrol Focus ? Got to be lots in that budget ?

This, tonnes of them. IMO the older n/a engines (non-turbo) petrol engines with manual gearbox are as reliable and tough as it gets. The only problem I can see with older fords as I found out recently with mine is rust setting in but my focus is over 15 years old. For your £3k budget that brings far more newer versions into the mix.
Mazda 3, Suzuki Swift, Honda Jazz, Honda Civic, Ford Focus, Ford Fiesta.....I think that list alone would cover you for car options

nottsphil

 

venomx said:

I'm in the same boat. Not driven for a few years and looking for something cheap, small and reliable.. here is my list
Ford fiesta
Fiat punto
VW polo
Honda jazz
Honda civic
Toyota yaris
Vauxhall corsa
Mitsubishi colt
Seat Ibiza / seat leon
Suzuki swift 5 door hatchback
Citroen c2
Mazda 3
Renault clio
Skoda fabia 

 Bizarre that you mention Punto instead of the Panda. Puntos' emmissions  are Euro 4 at best and the OP states emissions should be as low as possible. 
OP ignore these and confine your search to zero tax vehicles, such as this - a few minutes off your commute. Only thing that I'm not certain matches your criteria is repair costs, but these are partially reflected in the insurance group which in this case is a very low 4E.
https://www.gumtree.com/p/suzuki/-bargain-suzuki-alto-hatchback-2014-manual-996-cc-5-doors/1389354918

laurathree

Thanks again guys. I feel like I have a much better idea of what to look for now, with service history and low emissions being guiding principles. The ones that keep coming up are Fords, Honda Jazz, and Skoda Fabia - but I'll be looking through all of these lists. 

Thanks again guys - I really was feeling quite lost and overwhelmed but your tips have given me back my confidence after 10 years away from car ownership. Good things *do* happen on the internet!

AdrianC

nottsphil said:

 Bizarre that you mention Punto instead of the Panda. Puntos' emmissions  are Euro 4 at best and the OP states emissions should be as low as possible. 

The Punto is a size bigger than the Panda - and it was on sale in the UK until 2018, so there certainly will be Euro 5 (2009) and 6 (2014) cars available.

nottsphil

AdrianC said:

nottsphil said:

 Bizarre that you mention Punto instead of the Panda. Puntos' emmissions  are Euro 4 at best and the OP states emissions should be as low as possible. 

The Punto is a size bigger than the Panda - and it was on sale in the UK until 2018, so there certainly will be Euro 5 (2009) and 6 (2014) cars available.

Thanks for the correction. When I was searching for petrol Puntos with £30 tax or less, I couldn't find a single one (Clearly I never came across the 875 cc Twinair version, which is tax free) .  I got it into my head that  such a light vehicle wouldn't have attained that status if it couldn't even get into the sub-121g/km bracket.

There can't have been many produced in 2018 though because there are none for sale on Gumtree ( 8 for 2017).

The 'bizarre' comment was that even this highly successful model failed to put an end to the enduring Panda.

AdrianC

nottsphil said:
There can't have been many produced in 2018 though because there are none for sale on Gumtree ( 8 for 2017).

Indeed - it was a bit long in the tooth and mediocre by the time they finally put it to bed, so not many were sold. Don't forget, too, that it'd started off badged as Grande Punto (2005-12), then gained Punto Evo badges alongside GP (higher spec, 2009-12), then back to simple Punto (2012-18)

The 'bizarre' comment was that even this highly successful model failed to put an end to the enduring Panda.

<shrug> As I say, it's a size above.
Most manufacturers have cars in both market segments - Ford with the (Panda-based) Ka+ and Fiesta, f'rinstance, or PSA with the C1/107/8 and the C3/207/8.

Both Punto III and Panda II were launched in 2004/5. The Panda must be about the oldest car on the UK market now - notwithstanding the 2011 facelift. Plus, of course, the Panda-based 500.