Help! Which car?

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Tue 5 Aug 2014 17:36
Help! Which car? - ZoeEL

Afternoon all,

I am writing in the hope that someone will be able to advise me. I need a car to commute to work, and would like to buy as soon as possible. My commute is 40 miles a day along an A road, usually with minimal traffic. It's likely it will just be me in the car, so I only need something small, and won't be needing a lot of boot space. My requirements are:

- Something economical since I'll be doing about 12,000 miles a year.

- Low road tax/insurance bracket

- Suitable for frequent motorway (well, A road) driving and occassional long distances

- Ideally, costing about £4000 (this is my current budget but I'm starting to wonder if it's too small.)

I've read lots of reviews, and I thought something like a Toyota Aygo, Citroen C1 or Peugeot 207 might be good, but from what I've read I get the impression they aren't ideal for motorway driving. Those that are good for motorway driving are more expensive to run and cost more in general...

I'm basically stuck. I quite like the look of a C1 if a small car is recommended, but I really like Vauxhall Corsas, Seat Ibizas, Mazda 2s... more space than I need but perhaps more suitable?

Any advice you could give will be greatly appreciated. I just don't know what to do!

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Tue 5 Aug 2014 17:50
Help! Which car? - skidpan

For £4000 you will get a 2009 or possibly a 2010 Kia Ceed 1.6 CRDi. Provided it has done less than 100,000 miles and has been serviced according to Kia's requirements (preferably by a Kia dealer) it will still have between 2 and 3 years manufacturers warranty left.

There is no DMF to worry about on these cars and provided it was registered before September 2010 ther will be no DPF either 9even though the DPF's on these don't have many issues).

You will then a propper sized car that should be reliable and cost peanuts to run (£30 a year RFL and lowish insurance). In your type of useage you should easilly get 55 mpg, possibly more.

But remember that condition and history are king. If you are unhappy about anything just walk away, always another car for sale.

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Tue 5 Aug 2014 21:56
Help! Which car? - ZoeEL

This is helpful, thank you : )

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Tue 5 Aug 2014 22:48
Help! Which car? - ZoeEL

Would a Kia Rio or similar suit these requirements?

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Tue 5 Aug 2014 23:37
Help! Which car? - Avant

The Rio is a small car - about the size of the Peugeot 207 that you menioned above. You need to decide - based on the use you'll put the car to - what size of car (both body and engine) that you really need. Then you can make a shortlist of possibilities.

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Wed 6 Aug 2014 10:03
Help! Which car? - skidpan

Whilst the new model Rio (which has been out just over 3 years) is up with the best in its class you are unlikely to get one for £4000, that is why I did not mention it. The older model is available very cheap but was from the previous generation of kia's i.e. cheap and cheerful and not anywhere near as good as the other in its class. Up to the beginning of 2010 the only Kia with a 7 year warranty was the Ceed so the manufacturers warranty on a cheap Rio will have long expired.

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Wed 6 Aug 2014 10:59
Help! Which car? - double_tap_that

Personally, I would go for something like a VW Polo, The way i look at it is that in 5-10 years time, they are still a market for buyers and will have an engine that will keep on going if looked after.

Have you ever seen a 10 year old KIA? Nuff said.

Vw^s dont die, they become classics!

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Wed 6 Aug 2014 11:11
Help! Which car? - skidpan

Have you ever seen a 10 year old KIA? Nuff said.

As a matter of fact yes. There are many locally. There is a W reg one on our street, 14 years old, still looks good. Probably not as desirable as a VW Polo but they are in very good condition and have probably not been used by the hooligans that buy Polo's. Our local Kia dealer still sells older Kia's off the forecourt when they are known cars that he has serviced form new. My experience of our loacl VW days says that anthing much over 3 years old never sees his forecourt.

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Wed 6 Aug 2014 13:14
Help! Which car? - Happy Blue!
Frankly, 20 miles each way on an A-road would not fill me with any concern whether it was a Toyota Aygo or a Lexus LS.

It's 30 minutes at most for this journey, so not really enough time to get worried about anything other than do you like the car, is it comfortable for you, is it a good example for the price and does it do what you want.

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Wed 6 Aug 2014 13:32
Help! Which car? - madf

Youngest son drives a 2001 1.0 Yaris bought for £1500 .. and uses it to and from work.. 409 miles a day. He bought it in 2010.. It has now done 135,0000 miles.

Never broken down...

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Wed 6 Aug 2014 13:36
Help! Which car? - skidpan

Youngest son drives a 2001 1.0 Yaris bought for £1500 .. and uses it to and from work.. 409 miles a day.

Must be insane. I used to do 72 miles a day back in the 80's and that was too much.

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Wed 6 Aug 2014 14:49
Help! Which car? - madf

Youngest son drives a 2001 1.0 Yaris bought for £1500 .. and uses it to and from work.. 409 miles a day. He bought it in 2010.. It has now done 135,0000 miles.

Never broken down...

Sorry Should read "40" miles a day not 409...

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Wed 6 Aug 2014 13:34
Help! Which car? - skidpan
Frankly, 20 miles each way on an A-road would not fill me with any concern whether it was a Toyota Aygo or a Lexus LS. It's 30 minutes at most for this journey, so not really enough time to get worried about anything other than do you like the car, is it comfortable for you, is it a good example for the price and does it do what you want.

I know what you mean but my 15 mile commute on mostly good A Roads and dual carriageway still takes 30 minutes in decent traffic. Wife used to do 20 miles on a relatively unconjested part of the M1 and it still took 30 minutes. Its the bits from home/office to the major road that adds time.

Years ago I did the commute in a 1.2 Micra and it was not a problem at all. Now do it in a 1.6 CRDi Kia Ceed or 1.4 TSi Seat Leon. Journey takes exactly the same time but its so much more comfortable in the bigger cars. The Leon and Ceed are also much more economical.

Would not want to go back to the smaller car.

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Wed 6 Aug 2014 17:14
Help! Which car? - slkfanboy

Personal experience makes me agree the Kia will rust and I my case after five years was far worse than many 10 year old cars. Some parts were costly to replace. I.e. boot locks rusted to dust and was hard to replace, power steering pipes rusted and were hard to replace.

VW’s are ok and much better against rust. Dealers generally sell up to 5 years old either brand.

A diesel is not going to save you anything at the mileage you suggest and a 1.1 is more an around town car so would look for something more like a ford fiesta 1.4 zetec over both cars above.

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