Max 10k Car

HillStreetBlues

Friend looking,  musts are auto, 4 door and NOT electric NOT wet belt NOT large . Mileage about 10k a year.
Had a Getz before very impressed, so Hyundai  would be top of the list.
Happy to go well under  but not over

Any advice on what to look for /avoid very welcome

paul_c123

There are a lot of automatics under 10k!

tacpot12

I'd start by looking at the Hyundi i30 with 1.6l GDI Euro 6 Petrol Engine. 10k miles a year is not enough to warrant a diesel IMHO. The i30 is actually a five door car (i.e. a hatchback), but most people find the hatchback format very useful if they have a family.  There should be a choice of cars between £8K and £10k. 

daveyjp

There are autos which reliable and and autos which are terrible.

The autos which work and are reliable are generally from Far East manufacturers - Toyota, Suzuki, Hyundai, Kia.

Anything with dual clutches or automated clutches are best avoided - generally European manufacturers.

HillStreetBlues

tacpot12 said:

I'd start by looking at the Hyundi i30 with 1.6l GDI Euro 6 Petrol Engine. 10k miles a year is not enough to warrant a diesel IMHO. The i30 is actually a five door car (i.e. a hatchback), but most people find the hatchback format very useful if they have a family.  There should be a choice of cars between £8K and £10k. 

Thanks,  back seats  just used random stuff rather than people. I would agree about a diesel.
I'm mostly used as a runaround the odd 2 hour trip and no motorway mileage. (should given more detail in OP). If a good £5k ca came up that would also be fine.

fatbelly

If you liked the Getz you will really like the i10, or the Kia Picanto, which is effectively the same

10k should get you a 5 yo model with low mileage

James2k

tacpot12 said:

I'd start by looking at the Hyundi i30 with 1.6l GDI Euro 6 Petrol Engine. 10k miles a year is not enough to warrant a diesel IMHO. The i30 is actually a five door car (i.e. a hatchback), but most people find the hatchback format very useful if they have a family.  There should be a choice of cars between £8K and £10k. 

Total mileage is irrelevant when deciding on engine type. You could do 20k of short journeys or 3k just long journeys and the diesel would be more suitable for the lower annual usage.

shera12

Hyundai is a good choice 👍

An i30 or Elantra auto would fit well, and they’re generally reliable. Just check it has a full service history, the gearbox shifts smoothly, and no warning lights or odd noises. A decent test drive will tell you a lot.

Goudy

Automatics come in different guises these days.

The old torque converter autos tend to be phasing out.
They do tend to use more fuel, which means they push the the emissions up and manufacturers have certain fleet emission levels to meet.

The automated manual is just that. A manual type gearbox and clutch which is operated by hydraulic actuators.
They aren't great really, often jerky and a bit dum. The hydraulics tend to be prone to problems and the clutches do wear a little faster than perhaps a good driver operating a manual clutch and gearbox.
A lot of manufacturers started to use them at one point as they helped emissions rather than ruining them.

Dual Clutch auto come in two flavours. Dry and Wet clutch versions.
A lot of manufacturers fitted dry clutch versions in the smaller lighter cars, but they started to suffer clutch issues.
Now pretty much all use wet clutch versions which are far far better.
They feel very positive in gear just like a manual. They don't slip much, so you do feel like it's more connected to the wheels/road.
They don't tend to use any more fuel than a manual as they often have a wide range of gear speeds to kept the engine in it's sweet spot.

CVT's have been derided other the years but most have improved massively and they get fitted to a lot of Hybrids.
A lot of people don't like the way they operate, at times there can be a bit of a miss match between engine revs and gear ratio which, to be honest is quite off putting. It's generally more noticeable if you accelerate hard.
They are generally quite reliable though and don't tend to use much extra fuel.

Your budget would likely get you into any of them, but I would advise trying out as many as your can.

I've had a wet dual clutch for the last 6 years and I think it's great and it performs really well.
Just a hint of slip when pulling away from standstill but overall it is very positive in gear.
The changes are instant and you don't notice most of them, just a flick of the rev counter is all you notice.
MPG is very good as well.