Most reliable and cheap used automatic car?

ccbrowning · 11 September 2019 at 10:27AM

I hope this isn't too contentious? Here are the usual driving patterns and other info:

Very rare highway usage, mostly just driving at a top speed of 40
Absolute worst case is 300 miles per week, but lately we're only doing 50 miles to and from the train station during the week. 300 is going to be the exception
Have a large dog, so a super tiny car won't do (e.g. 3 door cars)
If I can keep it near £5K that'd be great since I can just put on a card for points and also get a 0% balance transfer to another card.

I did some looking at there some Prius out there in this range, but with high miles. Are those pretty safe to buy, still, if the MOTs have been good? Otherwise, what would people recommend?

I say automatic since the main driver has had a stroke in the past and gets some fatigue after using a clutch for a while.

oldagetraveller · 11 September 2019 at 10:40AM

How about a Multidrive (CVT akin to Marmite love/hate!) or hybrid Toyota Yaris? Four doors plus hatchback. Comfortable, ultra reliable (if looked after properly), roomy interior and plenty of space for a dog with the rear seat(s) folded down. The larger seat back down would allow for three occupants in total.
I have a 1.33litre petrol, 50mpg mixed town/motorway/rural.
For the described use a Diesel will possibly be unsuitable.

ccbrowning · 11 September 2019 at 10:49AM

Are CVT just a type of auto used by lots of Toyota cars or something? I'm admittedly not a gearhead and did a quick google!

In the past we drove some Nissan Micra into the ground, but those were very very old models and also when we were still entertaining manual transmissions.

macman · 11 September 2019 at 12:00PM

Honda Jazz? Compact, but a decent size boot. Personally I hate the whiny CVT gearbox, but if you are really never going over 40mph then it doesn't matter. Reliability is pretty much bulletproof, and plenty around for sale.
High mileage Prius is most likely an ex-minicab vehicle, so beware. A car with high mileage on motorways will be in much better condition than a low mileage one used in traffic for short runs, because the latter will knacker the brakes/clutch/gearbox.

rtho782 · 11 September 2019 at 12:05PM

There are, broadly, 3 types of "auto".

Modern automatics are basically a manual box with the gear shifts controlled by computer. Often these have more gears than a manual, as many as 7 or 8 is not uncommon.

Older ones use a torque converter and centrifugal clutches meaning they are not as efficient as a manual as there is clutch slippage and losses in the torque converter, they still have definite "gears", although usually only 4.

CVTs are "continuously variable transmissions". In effect, they have infinite gears within a range, which can feel a little disconcerting. They are limited on how much torque can go through them so you won't find many of them on say, large diesel engines.

That's probably more info than you needed!

ccbrowning · 11 September 2019 at 12:27PM

Thanks for the great info, everyone.

What constitutes 'high mileage'? I see quite a few in the £5000-6000 range which have 60,000 miles or less on them. Is there some way to find out if it was owned by a taxi company?

I've seen Honda Insights and then Toyota Prius and Yaris in this range, but was just checking hybrids. Will also look into the Jazz.

[Deleted User] · 11 September 2019 at 2:13PM

The most reliable car in that range will be a Nissan Leaf. Fully electric so there is very little to go wrong - no exhaust, no catalytic converter, no gearbox, no oil, no radiator, no cam belt, no spark plugs etc. It will cost you next to nothing to run as electricity is about 1/7th the price of petrol.

A decent used one will cost you in the range of £7k. You only need one with a 24kWh battery (the original size) for the distances you are doing, especially if you keep it under 40 MPH. One with a "bar" or two of lost capacity will be fine. Many have very low mileage too.

Best of all no more going to the petrol station just to fill up. Plug it in when you get home, and in a few hours it's full again.

Being electric it doesn't even have gears, so it drives just like an automatic with no clutch pedal.

DrEskimo · 11 September 2019 at 3:30PM

DELETED USER wrote:

The most reliable car in that range will be a Nissan Leaf. Fully electric so there is very little to go wrong - no exhaust, no catalytic converter, no gearbox, no oil, no radiator, no cam belt, no spark plugs etc. It will cost you next to nothing to run as electricity is about 1/7th the price of petrol.

A decent used one will cost you in the range of £7k. You only need one with a 24kWh battery (the original size) for the distances you are doing, especially if you keep it under 40 MPH. One with a "bar" or two of lost capacity will be fine. Many have very low mileage too.

Best of all no more going to the petrol station just to fill up. Plug it in when you get home, and in a few hours it's full again.

Being electric it doesn't even have gears, so it drives just like an automatic with no clutch pedal.

Also get free/discounted parking for an EV from some rail providers.

ccbrowning · 11 September 2019 at 4:08PM

DELETED USER wrote:

The most reliable car in that range will be a Nissan Leaf. Fully electric so there is very little to go wrong - no exhaust, no catalytic converter, no gearbox, no oil, no radiator, no cam belt, no spark plugs etc. It will cost you next to nothing to run as electricity is about 1/7th the price of petrol.

A decent used one will cost you in the range of £7k. You only need one with a 24kWh battery (the original size) for the distances you are doing, especially if you keep it under 40 MPH. One with a "bar" or two of lost capacity will be fine. Many have very low mileage too.

Best of all no more going to the petrol station just to fill up. Plug it in when you get home, and in a few hours it's full again.

Being electric it doesn't even have gears, so it drives just like an automatic with no clutch pedal.

I agree about the LEAF and have had two! However, the original LEAF's mileage isn't good enough in the winter sometimes. It was way too close a few days for me with a new model (at the time, I had the 2nd gen approx. 90 mile LEAF). With some degradation on an older one the range would be even worse? If I go to a different train station where the trip is mostly flat it would work. Another problem is this is our only car, so whenever we did a trip outside of the immediate metro area we ended up having to do a rental.

I work for a IT consulting company, so I can occasionally get unlucky with client location.

Loved the LEAF, though! EVs are a true joy to drive.

Mutton_Geoff · 11 September 2019 at 4:24PM

By wanting to charge to a card, you're limiting yourself to dealers. And most dealers will not offer any discount on the basis they are not allowed to surcharge card payments any more.

For that budget, your best bargains are private sales. All you need is some knowledge and narrow your choices to scoot through Autotrader.

I'd be looking for one/two owners from new at max. Less than £50k and a Japanese petrol. I bought a Honda CRV recently, very happy with it (but it's petrol manual).

There are plenty of sites listing the most reliable cars as listed by warranty companies (ie the ones they see least). Honda/Toyota always there.

I wouldn't buy a 5 year old electric car. Battery warranty will be expired and replacements will far exceed the value of the car.

jimbo6977 · 11 September 2019 at 4:39PM

Toyota Yaris Verso or the original style Daihatsu Terios (which had the same engine & gearbox as the Yaris & Yaris Verso)

Normal Yaris is prob a bit small for dog duties.

Most reliable and cheap used automatic car?

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