Automatic Car

LandyAndy

I think you should make a short list of say six small cars from various manufacturers that you think will fit your needs, so perhaps Fiesta, Corsa, Micra. Mazda2, Pug 107 etc and then you should go to the nearest main dealer for each and ask for a test drive in an automatic version. Find out which one you like to drive. That is at least as important as any other consideration. Its no good having a wonderfully reliable, low depreciating car that you hate driving.

When you (not us) have decided which cars actually suit you come back and ask some more advice.

AdrianHi

If money saving is important (this is a money saving forum after all) you need to watch out for the biggest cost of using a car which is depreciation. The cost of a tax disk or a couple of mpg is insignificant compared to the cost of depreciation.
www.whatcar.co.uk has good info on projected future value of cars. Because I look into this sort of thing a lot, for this budget I would recommend a used Skoda Fabia 1.4 16v which does exist as an automatic. I recommend it because it's reliable, comfortable, reasonably quiet and refined and above all it hold's it's value much better than most cars of it's kind. My Mother-in-law has had one since 2002 and I have travelled in it for several hundred miles.

Personally I would not touch a Fiesta/Clio/C2/Pug 107/Corsa at this price not because they are bad cars but because there is such a big supply of them in the market their value drops fast. Now if you were spending £1,000 to £2,000 on a 6/7 year old car I would turn it the other way round and use the fact these cars values have dropped so much to your advantage and buy perhaps a Japanese Micra.

As a final point I would agree with LandyAndy, no point in spending any money on a car you hate, if you really do like the Clio for example, put as little money as possible into one with the £1,000 to £2,000 age range car option.

elaine373

I passed an automatic only, driving test in 1993 and have driven loads of automatic cars since then. I have not found it a problem getting a car.Obviously its better if you can operate a manual as well, but for me it was a quicker way to get around. There are plenty of small automatic cars around.My present car is a p reg astra which didnt cost very much at all.