One make spings to mind here, especially seeing as your husband is a (presumably retired) former HGV mech, thats Subaru, so Forester or Outback.

Apart from spark plug changes (flat 4/6 engines very awkward for this) these Subies are made to be fixed in the field, better than virtually anything else made now for self maintenance IMO, i recently bought a 100k 2002 Outback H6 and have just finished going right through it, hopefully making it last for many years to come, the car is a pleasure to work on, even down to having three dipsticks under the bonnet, yes and one behind the wheel.

Parts have been no bother at all via the net (£134 for Mintex pads and discs all round), the only sting in the tail with Subies is exhausts, these are simply scandalous prices, so when that fails it will be a custom made stainless jobbie..

..though i dare say your husbands old workmates could soon knock one up for him out of old scaffold pipes..:-)

It's difficult to give you reliable advice, as what's comfortable for one person may not be for another. Also we've found that a higher seat isn't always the answer, as there's also the distance between door sill and seat to think about. My wife has an arthritic knee, and an Audi Q3 was no easier for her to get in and out of when we tried one than her current Mini Roadster; and my Octavia vRS is easier than either.

The only thing to do is to try various cars in the showroom, and test drive the ones that seem comfortable to sit in and get into and out of. Put a Volvo on your shortlist (most people agree that Volvos have some of the most supportive seats in the business), and also the Ford C-Max and Nissan Note or Qashqai (depending on how much room you need). The Ford and the Nissans are higher off the ground.

Finally if your budget is £7k and you're doing a low mileage, go for petrol power rather than diesel: diesels have a greater chance of going expensively wrong as they get older.

(Edit - having just seen Gordonbennet's post above, I'd agree: add Subarus to the list as well.)

Edited by Avant on 23/06/2014 at 16:11

From an engineering perspective GB has a point about Subarus. I like them, especially the Outback though it's fairly low; I find the Forester a bit small, but it's probably on a par with a Yeti size wise. The petrol ones are also drinkers I think.

If you like VW/Skoda then look at the Roomster.

My aunt and uncle (84 & 78) have just bought one in the quest for higher seats and big door openings. I was tasked with finding one and liked them so much that I ended up buying one to replace our second car.

Some versions have height adjustable driver and passenger seats.

I'd avoid the 3 cylinder 1.2 (the "1.2 12V"). There are some naturally aspirated 1.4/1.6 petrols, and later 1.2TSIs with 85 or 105ps.

At £7000 I'd be looking for 1.4/1.6 petrol manual (if they float your boat). There are a lot of diesels around of course.

The Roomster has some commonality with the quite small Fabia, but has a longer wheelbase and is really quite capacious, though poor for 3 in the back (2 is fine, with good legroom).

You can also wear a top hat in them, but it isn't compulsory.

If you follow up on anything from the Skoda used car database

www.skoda.net.r66.co.uk/carview.aspx?id=604394560

the check the extras with the dealer - the factory options are usually wrong (populated from VIN data apparently but often inaccurate).

I do have Roomsters on the brain just now, but you did mention Skoda...

As others have mentioned re car seats - varies from person to person. I can have back probelms and found the Saab 9000 (sadly long gone) amazing although I do like the seats in Volvos but I am 6ft 4".

One stage left suggestion - a previous model Nissan Note(just changed):-

• Very comfortable with high seating position
• Simple oily bits - especially petrols
• Reliable
• Refined
• Pretty good economy
• Great 1.6 petrol auto with overdrive(old fashined tourque convertor - but economical)
• Good value - you would get a lot of Note for 7k

Edited by Big John on 29/06/2014 at 18:24

I asked the chap who runs a garage where I get mine serviced which cars were the least hassle to own and he said without doubt a Ford Focus. Providing the discs and pads are ok he reckoned it was the most sensible car on the road.