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As already mentioned I'd avoid diesels at this price point - especially as ones without a DPF are starting to get rather old. Beware cars that have had modifications such as re maps, EGR/DPF deletes etc.
Having helped a son needing a car and finishing Uni and starting work - you'll find insurance costs will be an important/significant factor.
If looking at your own maintenance then keep it simple re design.
If looking at the Fiesta - the 1.25 petrol engine is a good reliable one with reasonable insurance. Avoid the 3 cylinder 1.0 version.
I'd avoid the 106 , Saxo and the Micra.
With this size of car consider the Toyota Yaris as well - good and reliable car.
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I'd avoid the 106 , Saxo and the Micra.
With this size of car consider the Toyota Yaris as well - good and reliable car.
No love for the Micra?
Here in Taiwan (where its the March) that'd be the top pick.
Relatively simple, a rep for reliability (hard-won in Taiwan, where maintenance is an alien concept), made for a long time, so there's some choice, bits are cheap, and black hands know their way around them, which you can'.t always rely on.
Are its Sunderland siblings of less stern stuff?
All unfortunately automatic here though AFAIK, unless there was a manual version early on, as for the Mk1 Festiva, now rather rare.
Edited by edlithgow on 06/12/2020 at 06:14
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Toyota Yaris every time....just don't think you can go wrong with these.
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Toyota Yaris every time....just don't think you can go wrong with these.
With a £2.5k budget you can go wrong with any car!. Really depends on how it has been looked after and driven.
Because of this, rather than focusing on a specific car, much better to just be looking for a simple car (n/a petrol, manual gearbox), in decent condition, and with evidence of having been looked after reasonably well.
Looking on Autotrader, the youngest two cars available (up to 100k miles, no insurance write offs) for £2.5k are both 2015 Ford Ka's (75 and 79k miles). Not a brilliant car by any stretch of the imagination, but with that 1.25 Yamaha designed engine, reliable and perfectly adequate first car material.
Cheapest Yaris would be 5 years older.
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Looking on Autotrader, the youngest two cars available (up to 100k miles, no insurance write offs) for £2.5k are both 2015 Ford Ka's (75 and 79k miles). Not a brilliant car by any stretch of the imagination, but with that 1.25 Yamaha designed engine, reliable and perfectly adequate first car material.
I thought the Ford Ka at this age is fitted with Fiat oily bits not the 1.25 Yamaha designed engine. It's basically a Fiat Panda in a Ford body shell,
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Toyota Yaris every time....just don't think you can go wrong with these.
With a £2.5k budget you can go wrong with any car!. Really depends on how it has been looked after and driven.
Because of this, rather than focusing on a specific car, much better to just be looking for a simple car (n/a petrol, manual gearbox), in decent condition, and with evidence of having been looked after reasonably well.
Yes, of course...and true no matter what the budget...it's a given (for me) that you would assess condition/history etc of ANY car..but I still maintain that the Yaris is one of the better choices with a better chance of reliability and reasonable running costs than many.
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For what it's worth, my son is now a third year student at uni and still has his 2010 5 door Aygo we bought for him to learn on when he was 17. Coming up for 4 years ago now. It was an ideal learner car, and has proven to be perfect for his needs since. He runs about with mountain bikes on top of it at weekends, and while it looks a bit top heavy with them on, it copes just fine with motorway journeys, and steep mountain roads, even with those on the roof.
In truth, it has been utterly trouble free, despite the best attempts of a young driver to push it to its engineering tolerances !
My wife and I love driving it too, when we get the chance, it's such a fun wee car, and reminds us both of our early motoring years.
Costs £20, or something like that to tax, gets great fuel economy, and with three years NCB even at the age of 20 going on 21, his fully comp insurance is now less than £500 a year. Tyres are cheap too, want to say they were less than £50 each, even for ones with a name you can pronounce and recognise.
Highly recommended. Never even been in a Yaris, so can't comment, but if they are in effect, bigger Aygos, then I think they'd be good too as has been recommended above.
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www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/nissan/micra-k12-200.../
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www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/nissan/micra-k12-200.../
Not sure if we got that one here. My comments above, come to think on't, relate to the earlier K11 "jelly mould" March, which I think stayed in Taiwan production after it was discontinued in Europe.
Older design (therefore?) better. Not always the case, of course, but seems to be the way to bet.
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The OP mentioned motorway use. I cannot recommend the 106/C1/Aygo unless the driver is already hard of hearing, noisy and for me uncomfortable. . Agreed the Yaris, good choice but not the 1litre. 1.33 or a Fiesta 1.25 , Suzuki Swift.
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I spotted this for sale local to me. If I was in the market to buy I'd certainly be interested. www.gumtree.com/p/hyundai/hyundai-i10-hatchback-20...6
The MOT history is very good (don't know about service history or whether price is right). There's an HJ long-term review which reads well, though that was a 1.0 and this is a 1.2.
As for fun, i've had more fun driving low-powered cars which you can push to maintain good progress than higher-powered cars which take less effort and have to be reined in.
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I drive an Austin A30 as a student.
Lots of personality.
Went through 1 meter deep snowdrift (with winter tyres of rear)
Not recommended for any beginner.
A Ford Fiesta handles well and a good one has personality.., easy to drive and maintain.
As above - do not buy a diesel .Old ones = deep holes into which money flows.
You want simple mechanics and good electronics...No French of German cars - too much hassle.
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I thought the Ford Ka at this age is fitted with Fiat oily bits not the 1.25 Yamaha designed engine. It's basically a Fiat Panda in a Ford body shell,
It was co-developed with the Panda and 500, but yes, I see it is actually a Fiat engine in it rather than the Ford/Yamaha unit I thought. Needn't put you off though, unlike some Fiat engines, that little 1.2 is rugged, reliable and long lived. Not overburdened with power, but enough to maintain 70mph. And as this is to be a first car, the cheap insurance is an added bonus.
Edited by badbusdriver on 06/12/2020 at 15:53
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It was co-developed with the Panda and 500, but yes, I see it is actually a Fiat engine in it rather than the Ford/Yamaha unit I thought. Needn't put you off though, unlike some Fiat engines, that little 1.2 is rugged, reliable and long lived. Not overburdened with power, but enough to maintain 70mph. And as this is to be a first car, the cheap insurance is an added bonus.
I agree the 1.2 Fiat Fire engine is a great little unit (We have a 2006 1.2 Panda) but it's the other Fiat things around it that could let it down - eg gearbox, Power steering motor etc. Saying that all easy to get at and work on and usually fairly cheap to sort. Our gearbox needed rebuilding at about 36k miles and our local garage pointed to two Ford Ka's lined up outside also awaiting gearbox work - both not long out of warranty.
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How about a MINI. The newer larger generation has been around for some 20years now and stand the test of time. Plenty to chose from entertaining to drive and they will do high mileage
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How about a MINI. The newer larger generation has been around for some 20years now and stand the test of time. Plenty to chose from entertaining to drive and they will do high mileage
I thought The Word On The Street was that these did NOT stand the test of time and were very expensive to fix when the high mileage that they WON'T do caught up with them.
Certainly that is the story here, where they are ludicrously expensive and you have to get many parts flown in by taking-the-p***-BMW-dealers.
German cars in general don't stand up to Taiwan conditions but are bought for pose-appeal when new.
Used they die young after hideously expensive palliative care.
In the milder UK climate there are probably more exceptions, but we are inevitably talking generalisations here.
Insurance isn't such a factor in Taiwan, but I'd think it could be for one of these in the UK.
Edited by edlithgow on 07/12/2020 at 03:55
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Look no further than a Yaris 1999 to 2002 IMHO.
These cars were so well made and bulletproof even the autos . And the bodywork was really well rustproofed . No cam belt and as long as they get an annual service they go on and on.
This is the car that Honest John himself bought for his mother even though he is a big Jazz fan !
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2010-ish 1.8 Civic. End thread.
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1.8 civic is that suitable for a brand new driver? Surely Insurance even if possible would be prohibitively expensive.
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