I'm just beginning to look into purchasing a new smallish 3 door car. I am interested in the Mazda 2 and Toyota Yaris, also like VW Fox & Polo, Corsas & Fiestas too.
Having just experienced a bad ordeal with a recently purchased car which I am in the proceeds of rejecting I do now need a good reliable car which also has good customer care (if thats possible!!)
Can anyone give me their views (all good and bad!!) on what they would recommend for me.
Much appreciated!
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If customer care really is number one I would suggest the key words in your post are Toyota and Mazda: in that order. I have personal experience of all four manufacturers you mention. Can't speak too highly of Toyota.
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The most reliable ones tend to be Japanese eg. Toyota, Honda. The Honda Jazz is supposed to be very good, and I think the Toyota Yaris is usually very reliable. I would go for a car you like though because for that money they will either be new or nearly new and under warranty.
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There's been a thread from Kevin Phillips who has had a bad Yaris, but he seems to have had very bad luck and his experience seems to be untypical.
It might help if I copy over a post I made on that thread - here goes:
"Elder daughter has just ordered her third 1.3 Yaris from Octagon Bracknell - an excellent privately-owned dealership (alongside Octagon Reading). Yaris no. 2 has done 55,000 completely trouble-free miles in just over 2 years; it's had a hard life but goes and looks just as new, with no rattles. The first one was fine as well.
She's now expecting to do a slightly lower mileage but we got a very good PCP deal (on a TR 1.3) still on 20k a year, and for £20 a month less than she's paying for the current one.
Interestingly that's £10 less a month than the PCP available on a Suzuki Swift 1.5 GLX despite the Suzuki dealer offering a slightly better trade-in allowance on the Yaris and for a car supposedly £1000 cheaper than the Yaris TR. She liked the Swift but her experience with two excellent Yarises and with the dealer made it an easy decision to stick with Toyota."
We tried a Mazda 2, a 1.3 like the Yaris, and it seemed nothing special and if anything a little less lively than the Yaris. It was a particularly poor dealer we went to (naming no names) so we didn't take it any further.
I suspect that customer care may play a part in your decision (I remember your previous thread). See if you can talk to people you know who have experience of particular dealers local to you: word of mouth is the best recommendation you can get.
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Ha! -- I asked my wife about one, when we went looking this weekend for superminis. "I'm not having a Skoda" and that was that.
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Ha! -- I asked my wife about one when we went looking this weekend for superminis. "I'm not having a Skoda" and that was that.
My wife's the same - logic doesn't come into it.
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I would recommend the Yaris also.
SWMBO has the 5 door 1.3 GLX with aircon and has done 30,000 + trouble free miles , I love it as well for its nippiness, reliability and economy.
She previously had a 1 litre version and found it a little underpowered .
When somebody rear ended the Yaris a few months back she had a Polo courtesy car and absolutely hated it.
Alternatively I would look at Honda Jazz or Civics.
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"I'm not having a Skoda" and that was that. My wife's the same - logic doesn't come into it.
More fool them! - if you are paying the bills, perhaps its time to put the foot down?! ;)
(PS showing then Skoda's showing in recent surveys on reliability might help too!)
Actually re-read the original post and it says 3 door - which none of the Fabias are, so it was a non-starter anyhow! Interesting as its the females which are saying no to the badge - does that mean that we men are more sensible when buying??? (ducks down!!)
Edited by b308 on 03/06/2008 at 17:46
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Actually, curious why anyone would want a 3 door car if a 5 door is available?
1. Harder to get in the back
2. Seat belts mounted further back, so more twisting to get your belt on
3. Doors bigger, and heavier, so more likely to bash nearby cars when getting in and out, and more awkward when its windy.
Unless the car is a coupe or sports car, why would anyone want 3 doors?
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Unless the car is a coupe or sports car why would anyone want 3 doors?
Not exactly a coupe or sports car, but we think our 3 door Colt is much better looking than the 5 door version (the slope of the rear hatch is different for one thing). We don't really need the extra doors, so we only looked at 3 door models when buying.
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If you buy a reliable Japanese car you won't have anything interesting to post on this forum.
However, if you do buy a VW you will be able to moan about their dealers!
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Slight digression . . .
"My wife's the same - logic doesn't come into it."
How many times have I read/heard that? It reminds me that one of my cars has number-plate letters with puerile comic potential. Only four people have remarked on it -- all women.
Just an innocent observation. Now, where's the tin hat . . .
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has number-plate letters with puerile comic potential.
Roger,
Puerile comic potential is something I'm sure no Backroomer - male or female - can resist.
Share these letters with us, please.
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My very thought ifithelps... of course there are some gruff serious types here, but we shrieking flibbertigibbets are surely in a majority.
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On the funny plates topic, one of my colleagues was genuinely concerned many years ago that he would get a single entendre plate when he bought his new car.
That was in the Midlands and maybe there were some "amusing" possibilities. Can't recall now.
I'm surprised that DVLA don't have a special section either to prevent such plates going onto the register or to identify them and sell them at a premium.
Edited by Optimist on 03/06/2008 at 19:19
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On the funny plates topic >>
And what, may I ask, has this got to do with buying a reiable car for £10,000?
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ok so it's off topic but my mates old Ford Escort has the number ***8 UMS - he wasn't chuffed when I mentioned the obvious...:)
on topic - never paid more than £4k for any car and have had some that have never been touched other than oil changes between MOTs that they've sailed through - it's a gamble regardless - read about a VW Touareg needing a gearbox at 10 months recently.
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You've got to be joking! I bought my CZC in April 07. The roof has never given trouble (touch wood) but the electric windows only work when they feel like it. It ruined a holiday in France last July, when in the middle of nowhere, the passenger window remained stuck down. It took 4 goes of putting the roof down and restarting the procedure to eventually get it to go up. Thereafter, the holiday was ruined; not knowing if the windows would close when parking the car outside hotels for the night.When I returned to the UK, my dealer, Grinsons in Crewe, decided the the motor in the door needed replacing. Weeks later - back to square one. This time the switches were replaced - to no avail. By now winter was approaching. I left well alone! After more problems in the Spring, Grinsons were told that the early czcs had faulty ECUs. Mine has been replaced today I await to see if the problem has been solved. I must say the dealer has been most supportive. However, I paid £11k (reduced, supposedly from £13k) for mine. I was not happy when Mitsibushi further reduced the price to £9k. Would I buy another Mitsibshi? No. I'll stick to Skodas from now on!
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If you're thinking VW Polo, do yourself a favour and vget a Seat Ibiza instead. Cheaper and much more fun. I've had two and the're very reliable and incredubly cheap to run due to their low insurance grouping. Why anyone would buy an overpriced Polo, which comes off the same production line and is essentially the same but slightly inferior, beats me. Badge snobbery. A fool and his/her money etc.
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