Help me decide which used car to buy...

MostlyMoss

@Bigwheels1111 - haven't considered the Citroen, I'll take a look thanks!

mgfvvc

MostlyMoss said:

That's helpful, thanks @Stubod. I'll take a look at those - the additional warranty is valuable.

If you want a really long warranty, look at what Toyota are doing. I don't know if it applies to all Toyotas, but I read that the warranty on the Yaris could be extended up to almost 11 years. Every time you get a main dealer service on a car under 10 years old, the warranty is extended for a year. Note: I haven't checked that for accuracy.

Ectophile

Here's a suggestion, based on an article in New Scientist many years ago on customer satisfaction with cars.

You've decided what sort of car you need.  Now stop analyzing.  Look through the car listings, and pick a car you like.  It doesn't matter why you like it.  Just go for the one you want most.

That way, you'll spend the next few years driving around in the car you wanted, not some compromise that best fitted some arbitrary criteria.

Desmond_Hume

Mazda CX-30 is worth a look. 

MostlyMoss

Thanks mgfvvc. 

I'm going to the nearest car supermarket to have a closer look at some of these - and hopefully find something I like. I'm grateful for all the great suggestions.

Neil49

Also take a look at the Toyota CHR hybrid which gets consistently good reviews from users. 

photome

Seat Arona or a bit bigger Seat Ateca , Seat approved used have 2 year warranties 

MostlyMoss

These are also now on the list, thank you!

Mazda CX-30

Toyota CHR hybrid

Seat Arona & Seat Ateca

ididgetwhereiamtoday

Toyota chr is a good shout. I would imagine that would tick all your boxes. With an effectively 10 year warranty. 

Herzlos

MostlyMoss said:

The SUV is preference - had a Forester which I loved. Plus maybe an attempt to 'future proof'.

Does that mean you want something with 4 wheel drive or any kind of off-road ability, or just something a bit taller?

If you want offroad, then the Suzuki Jimny is hard to beat, but it's surprisingly expensive.
If you just want higher up then there's plenty of crossovers.

As a wildcard, get a 2019ish Vauxhall Mokka X for £11k and keep the other £14k in a savings account for any repairs. It's a smallish car, fairly tall, has lots of shared parts so easy to get repaired.

It's even available in 4 wheel drive for a bit more. This ones got super low mileage, is the top spec and still leaves you £11k for repairs - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202405039344953

Given your mileage is likely to be pretty low I'd be looking at petrol.