What car - Buying a car - troubledbtford
Hi

I am thinking of buying a family car worth up to 5000. The car should be super reliable coz I do high mileage and should fit all my daughters stuff like buggy and all (had 51 reg mondeo before)

The question is what would you advise as in what age cars should I be looking at and what mileage should be acceptable.

Is there any particular car that suits my needs I am tired of looking and I either find high mileage BMW,audi ,vw or less mileage polo's

I love the big brand cars as everyone but is it worth checking those cars for pint of money and my needs so I am just going to rely on your expert advise to tell me which car to buy and of what age and mileage.

Regards,
Jai
What car - Buying a car - skidpan
Hi I am thinking of buying a family car worth up to 5000. The car should be super reliable coz I do high mileage

You are looking for the impossible. there is a chance you will find a good one but there is a better chance you will find a money pit. Most of the cars at that price are traded by the previous owners because they were either unreliable or had faults that were going to cost £££££'s to sort.

If I were you I would concentrate on getting as new a car as possible with the least miles as possible. Don't get hung up on make.

What car - Buying a car - Andrew-T

You can ask for advice, and probably get some, but in the end it will depend on you choosing a car which looks and feels right, with a credible history. Any car you buy may come with problems, and advice on here won't change that. But it isn't true that a car costing £5K will be a money-pit. There are owners who trade in after a few years out of boredom or because they want the latest model - their part-ex's can be a bargain if they have been maintained.

Shop around and learn the hard way how to avoid picking a bad'un.

What car - Buying a car - troubledbtford
The reason I ask is because I got burnt the last time ... ( the warranty sold to me by dealer is not worth the paper it was printed on... Was on watchdog with other name)

The mondeo I had was diesel ( my first ever car)and was ok for time being then I had to change inlet turbo pipe and some other repairs altogether costed me 600 in 9 months and I sold it recently for 700 ... So basically buyer got my car in a better condition that I did..

I had to sell it coz I could not trust it any more and I don't know much about cars...

I got great advise here... And based on the posts ... I am thinking of Kia ceed,Hyundai i30 1.6 crdi, Toyota avensis
And does not have to be diesel... Just reliability and being comfortable are the main priorities.
What car - Buying a car - Avant

I agree in general with Skidpan - condition and a service history are more important criteria than make or model - but if you want a steer, look at a petrol Mazda 6, Toyota Avensis or Honda Accord.

If your mileage is so high that you need a diesel, beware: they can go expensively wrong, but another Ford would probably be best, or perhaps a Skoda Octavia or VW Passat with the 1.9 TDI engine. Avoid premium brands - you just pay more for something that may be no more reliable.

What car - Buying a car - SteveLee

Most modern normally aspirated two litre petrol saloons will return 40mpg on the motorway if driven at a sensible speed, a petrol Accord, Mondeo, Mazda 6 or Avensis should last well used as a motorway cruiser. Of those four the Avensis would probably return the best fuel consumption, the Accord the worst.

What car - Buying a car - troubledbtford
Many thanks for the advise ... I will start looking in to avensis too...
As I said reliability is the main priority now..I don't want to be stuck on motor way somewhere with my daughter
What car - Buying a car - Andrew-T

Most not-very-old cars are reliable if they have been looked after. Some makes are slightly less reliable than others, but all will probably be OK. You can improve your chances a bit by buying the models people here are suggesting, but as I said before, in the end you have to decide which one to go for, on the evidence you see.

As for warranties, you are paying for some peace of mind, which may become an illusion if you try to call on it. Better to put the cash in a savings account, where you can spend it, if needed on repairs, if not on a holiday.

What car - Buying a car - bazza

As Steve says, large Japanese petrol hatch or estate if reliability is your top priority. Avensis is very good and great value. 1.8 and 2.0 Avensis is a good bet, avoid earlier ones as there was a well-reported oil burning problems with the VVTi- -but rectified in mid 2000s.

VAG products are all the same under the skin, so Skoda and Seat offer the best value, but you need to choose wisely as certain models and engines are poor. 1.9 tdi Octavia is pretty good- what i drive- but even then there's plenty to go wrong over a petrol model and electrics are weak as they age. Avoid FSI as this was plagued by carbon coking problems and newer TSI range has a reputation for weak timing chain tensioners causing very expensive failure.

Basically keep it simple, petrol and stick to Japanese in my opinion.

What car - Buying a car - McP

I have a 2008 1.6 Diesel Kia Ceed with the 115HP engine.

I do around 20K miles a year and have owned it for about 3 years. Currently on 80K.

It is not a bad car. Comfortable and drives quite well. Around 50mpg mixed driving.

It has had a few minor repairs under warranty. Suspension parts and a wheel bearing. Kia seem pretty good at honouring the warranty.

For £5K you would be looking at a 2008 with 50-60K miles on it. That would leave you with 40-50K miles or 2 years of warranty.

Servicing on this model is every 12.5K miles. I believe the newer 2010 on is 20K miles.

You would get newer/lower miles with a petrol version but I have read that they are not as good to drive as the diesel. May not be suited to your high mileage.

What car - Buying a car - bintang

The Hyundai i30 should last a long time. I had regretfully to sell mine after about 18,000 miles, when down-grading to a car my wife was happy to drive. She found the i30 too big.

What car - Buying a car - Avant

Closing this thread as for some doubtless excellent reason the OP has started another on the same subject.