Thinking about thinking about buying a new car

[the_hawk]

We bought our car about 8 years ago & although it's still in decent nick I was thinking it was about time we got a new one before it starts to cost more to maintain than it's actually worth.

We've always had small cars, great for nipping around the city, parking, low insurance & tax etc, however we've a couple of kids now & it might be time to get something slightly larger than the last couple of cars we had which were a micra & a matiz

I know nothing about cars really & have little interest in joining a specialist forum, so I'm just looking for general, vague advice & your experiences.

We're after a 5 door, low tax model that's not too big. It needs to fit 2 small children in, but don't need a minibus! The wife will be using it mostly as she drives to work & drops the kids off at nursery/school & she understandably can't be arsed manoeuvring some behemoth around the city during the school run.

Any tips/advice what makes /models would you recommend/avoid?

[r0jaws]

I can't recommend a car, but I can recommend that you think about an automatic. We bought a car last year with it, and I was dubious at first but it really is a pleasure to drive, especially in traffic.

[Negative Creep]

Automatic would be more expensive to purchase and may use more fuel. I don't know if you mean new as in brand new, but you can't go far wrong with a Focus or a Corolla. Or for something a bit bigger, a Skoda Octavia.If you're doing short runs then I'd get a petrol, since a diesel will prove a false economy if the particulate filter or flywheel goes (google DMF or DPF failures)

[the_hawk]

Cheers for the advice, automatics are cool, we hired one to drive round America on our honeymoon, but it's a feature that's probably low in the priority list.

We'll be buying 2nd hand, prob 2-4 years old.

I'd say focus is as big as we'd go, probably more fiesta sized.

Is it generally better to buy before or after Xmas. Does it even make a difference? I'm pretty clueless about these things.

[Negative Creep]

It's certainly a buyer's market out there at the moment. Unless it's mega economical, nothing is selling

[MikeFishcake]

Best thing I can suggest is for you is to test drive as many as possible in the supermini class. I've always driven small cars, and after test driving a Focus, it was a bit too big and cumbesome for me. Your mileage may vary though. Just give it a try (and make sure the dealer lets you do more than just a 3 minute drive down the road and back like one guy did to me.

If you don't mind driving around in what some people seem to think is an "old person's" car* then try a test drive of the Honda Jazz. I've had mine for just over a year, and it pretty much fits your listed requirements - not too small or too big, low tax, low insurance, economical, safe and one of the most reliable superminis around.


For me, it was a very close call between the Jazz and the newer style Fiesta. The Jazz won out for me in the end, but I did like the Fiesta too.

Basically, don't rush. Try as much as you can to see what you both like. Especially as there's nothing actually wrong with your existing car.

* No idea why it has this reputation, but I couldn't care less TBH!

[djcarlos]

Peugeot and Citroen do a range with the 1.4 HDi diesel engine - we've got a 206 with one, it's done 120,000 miles pretty much fault-free, costs £30 a year road tax cos the emissions are so low and still easily does 45 mpg.

[Dam]

I'd second the Honda Jazz, one of the worst looking cars ever, but it scores high for reliability and economy, and the shape gives it good load space for its small size. I'd also stick to petrol, diesels are great if you are doing 100's of motorway miles a week, but if you don't do high mileage then a petrol will be cheaper to buy, and should have less to go wrong.

I'm a big fan of Fords, they are plentiful and cheap to buy, cheap to fix, every mechanic knows their way around a focus or a fiesta. Away from Ford I'd go Jap or Korean, Honda, Mazda, Toyota, Kia etc.

Personally I would stay away from vauxhalls or anything french, or anything that needs a new cambelt every 5 minutes.

[the_hawk]

Thanks a million for the advice guys, we've been having a look around a couple of showrooms today but nothing really jumped out.

The Honda Jazz sounds perfect though & reading up a wee bit on the net it's ticking all the boxes for what we need & the very few things it "falls down" is stuff that's irrelevant to us anyway.

There's one that's just come into a local showroom that's within walking distance, will have to take it for a wee test drive tomorrow.

[Balders]

If you don't mind driving around in what some people seem to think is an "old person's" car* then try a test drive of the Honda Jazz. I've had mine for just over a year, and it pretty much fits your listed requirements - not too small or too big, low tax, low insurance, economical, safe and one of the most reliable superminis around.

A mate of mine has a Jazz. Great loading space in the back with the way the rear seats fold down dead flat. Wouldn't mind one myself.

[SJ_Sathanas]

I quite fancy a Prelude at the moment... #random

[Katzkatz]

If you want a smaller Ford, then a 5 door Fiesta might be for you. They are a pretty good car to drive in. The automatic version is good as well.

[James A]

Ive got and will recommend a Fiant Punto Grande. Got an 07 plate one that ive had for nearly three years without any problems bar a strut end bearing going (£40 repair job). looks good in mettalic grey, good millage and low tax and insurance.

[boggyb68]

I would recommend the Fiesta, I have 1.6tdci Titanium, near 70mpg, £20 a year tax and for an old git like me it is £180 fully comp insurance.

It handles excellently, has all the kit you need and imho looks superb..mine is black and has a chrome strip down the window line and the 17 inch alloys which really make it look the biz..

I got it from a Ford dealer as a demonstrator, and got a cracking deal..

It has a roomy interior but the boot isn't that massive and it is not as clever with the folding seats as the Jazz.. but it has been 100% reliable and the running costs, including servicing have been very reasonable.

The Jazz is roomy, reliable and the in new shape especially looks good.. the old Jazz looks a bit dated and is known for it's harsh ride.. but as has been said will not let you down and Honda are always near the top of customer satisfaction surveys..

For value for money a Clio or Peugeot would be ok, I think the Clio is actually a really good car, and they're not as unreliable as their reputation seems to say.. I have had Renaults for the last 12 years until recently and have never had any issues with any of them, I only got the Fiesta as it had more kit than the Clio and I had been driving one at work so just liked the car as a whole.

A Focus would also be a sound buy if you want to go bigger, loads around cheap as chips prices and it drives great and again running costs and servicing is still reasonable.. I could say the same about the Mondeo...

Just go on Auto Trader, look through the different Models, narrow your choices down to 2-3 cars and then hit the dealers to try them out and then go with what you like!!

B.

[thingonaspring]

another way of playing around with some options is to look at something like car giant. if you do the body type to suit your needs, you might be surprised what comes up. in terms of price, car giant is usually also very good because of their business model. high turnover of cars, so less profit on each one (no haggling etc).

http://www.cargiant.co.uk/