Reliable Used Hatchback - £10k Budget

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Thu 5 Aug 2021 11:22
Reliable Used Hatchback - £10k Budget - carnewbie23

Hello all, I am relatively new to the world of cars (and this forum) so thought I would seek some expert advice...

I bought my first car from a private seller at the start of the year - an 8 year old Mini One with 50k on the clock and in otherwise excellent condition. Unfortunately, on my first motorway outing the timing chain snapped (something that wasn't picked up in its recent service), causing expensive engine damage and resulting in the car having to be sold onwards to a trader (not the best start to car ownership...!).

With that experience now behind me (and a new awareness of timing chain issues) I am now in the hunt for a new car.

My requirements are as follows:

  • Small car / hatchback (I will be doing low annual mileage, mainly around town, with the occasional long distance journey at a weekend. No family so no need for loads of space)
  • Manual
  • £10k or under (I have never been a "car" person, so still consider spending £10k on a car to be a lot of money - my main focus now is on reliability / value for money - I'm not particularly concerned with how fun the car is to drive)
  • No older than '16 model with up to 35k mileage - I intend to pay for the car in cash and keep it for 5+ years
  • Will most likely buy from a dealer (due to lack of confidence in buying privately again)

From a quick bit of research, I have been looking at the following cars (which all seem to meet my criteria):

  • VW Polo (2017 -)
  • Seat Ibiza
  • Skoda Fabia
  • Toyota Yaris
  • Peugeot 208
  • Vauxhall Corsa

What are your thoughts on the above / should I be looking at any others? I am all ears...!

Thanks very much

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Thu 5 Aug 2021 12:23
Reliable Used Hatchback - £10k Budget - SLO76
You made a mistake the first time round with the Mini, they are good fun to drive but offer poor reliability sadly. There’s little wrong with your shortlist as long as you stick with petrol and avoid any automatic Ford Fiestas or the Seat Ibiza, VW Polo and Skoda Fabia trio. The 208 is probably the least robust of your list so I probably would leave it unless it’s a particularly good deal. I’d also add the Mazda 2 and Suzuki Swift, both of which are great fun to drive and very reliable.
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Thu 5 Aug 2021 12:30
Reliable Used Hatchback - £10k Budget - Lee Power

Forget the 208.

The petrol Puretech engines are problematic & best avoided.

Wet timing belt that needs replacing every 6 years / 62.5k miles & the inlet valves can suffer from carbon build up.

The rest of the petrol / diesel engine line up is also problematic.

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Thu 5 Aug 2021 12:35
Reliable Used Hatchback - £10k Budget - carnewbie23

Thanks - sounds like 208 is best kept of the list.

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Thu 5 Aug 2021 13:01
Reliable Used Hatchback - £10k Budget - nellyjak

For me, it would be the Yaris every time...my wife is on her fourth consecutive Yaris...never an issue with any of them..maybe not the most exciting but.solid and reliable.

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Thu 5 Aug 2021 13:16
Reliable Used Hatchback - £10k Budget - daveyjp

Same here. For ease of ownership, reliability, low running costs it would be the Yaris. Ours is 4.5 years old and has been trouble free.

Not the best on the list for motorways, but for occasional trips its fine. Just go for the 1.5, not the 1.0.

The 10 year warranty if you use main dealers for servicing is also an attractive proposition as Toyota services are sensibly priced.

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Thu 5 Aug 2021 13:28
Reliable Used Hatchback - £10k Budget - carnewbie23

I wasn't aware of the 10 year warranty - that looks to be a great perk!

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Thu 5 Aug 2021 14:59
Reliable Used Hatchback - £10k Budget - Engineer Andy

Same here. For ease of ownership, reliability, low running costs it would be the Yaris. Ours is 4.5 years old and has been trouble free.

Not the best on the list for motorways, but for occasional trips its fine. Just go for the 1.5, not the 1.0.

The 10 year warranty if you use main dealers for servicing is also an attractive proposition as Toyota services are sensibly priced.

Would that apply to older cars (say around the 4 year old mark) - I was under the impression (please correct me if wrong) that this new policy only applied to new cars from whenever it was changed, possibly 2019 or 2020? It certainly would be a boon if it applied retrospectively to cars that can be proven to have been serviced on time at main dealers.

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Thu 5 Aug 2021 15:03
Reliable Used Hatchback - £10k Budget - SLO76
It is retrospectively applied to any Toyota under 10yrs old but I’m not sure if it requires you to have a full Toyota history up to this point, I don’t think it does though. It’s a good offer but remember main dealers will try to con you into forking out for lists of unnecessary advisories which aren’t required a asks are perfectly normal wear on an older car.
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Thu 5 Aug 2021 15:08
Reliable Used Hatchback - £10k Budget - Heidfirst

mag.toyota.co.uk/toyota-warranty-how-it-works/

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Thu 5 Aug 2021 15:03
Reliable Used Hatchback - £10k Budget - Engineer Andy
You made a mistake the first time round with the Mini, they are good fun to drive but offer poor reliability sadly. There’s little wrong with your shortlist as long as you stick with petrol and avoid any automatic Ford Fiestas or the Seat Ibiza, VW Polo and Skoda Fabia trio. The 208 is probably the least robust of your list so I probably would leave it unless it’s a particularly good deal. I’d also add the Mazda 2 and Suzuki Swift, both of which are great fun to drive and very reliable.

Would it be worth adding in the KIA Rio/Hyundai i20 to the mix, given their 7 and 5 year warranties? The OP would likely be able to find one still under warranty (if serviced at a main dealer as per the schedule throughout), especially the KIA. Not perhaps as fun to drive as the others, especially the Fiesta, Mazda or Suzuki though.

You also have to wonder whether the previous owner(s) of the OP's Mini had scrimped on the servicing, especially oil changes, unless there's an inherrant design fault in those timing chains for them?

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Thu 5 Aug 2021 15:38
Reliable Used Hatchback - £10k Budget - SLO76
“ You also have to wonder whether the previous owner(s) of the OP's Mini had scrimped on the servicing, especially oil changes, unless there's an inherrant design fault in those timing chains for them?”

It’ll be an early PSA VTi motor, these have a poor reputation for timing chain failures.
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Thu 5 Aug 2021 15:40
Reliable Used Hatchback - £10k Budget - carnewbie23

Servicing was done yearly at the local dealership throughout its life - no timing chain issues flagged at any stage.

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Thu 5 Aug 2021 19:04
Reliable Used Hatchback - £10k Budget - SLO76

Servicing was done yearly at the local dealership throughout its life - no timing chain issues flagged at any stage.

They rarely do. Although a rattle can develop beforehand they are prone to sudden failure. I recently sold a Mini Countryman with this engine fitted, it had only 17000 miles up but from day one it had a rattle when it started for the first few seconds despite having a full Mini service history. It’s a design flaw, the chain isn’t being lubricated properly and it’s not of satisfactory quality. I’d avoid any car with PSA’s VTi 1.4/1.6 petrol engines.
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Thu 5 Aug 2021 15:40
Reliable Used Hatchback - £10k Budget - SLO76
“ Would it be worth adding in the KIA Rio/Hyundai i20 to the mix, given their 7 and 5 year warranties?”

Good cars but a bit dull and they suffer heavier depreciation. I suspect the OP places image and fun fairly high on the list and thus the Suzuki Swift and Mazda 2 are my front runners.
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Thu 5 Aug 2021 18:16
Reliable Used Hatchback - £10k Budget - badbusdriver

I suspect the OP places image and fun fairly high on the list and thus the Suzuki Swift and Mazda 2 are my front runners.

I'm not sure that is the case SLO, partly because of this,

I'm not particularly concerned with how fun the car is to drive

but also because of this list which the OP has given us. The Pug might be considered fun to drive, maybe the Ibiza too, but none of the others.

Don't get me wrong, I'm right behind you on the Mazda 2 and Suzuki Swift. But I also agree with the suggestion of the Hyundai i20 and particularly Kia Rio with its long warranty. On Autotrader I see you can get a 2019 Rio from a Kia dealer, within budget. This will be the lowest spec with the n/a 1.2 engine (84bhp), but at that age, you will have as much as 5 years manufacturers warranty remaining. Which is surely mighty tempting, not to mention reassuring, for someone recently stung with a duff car and isn't looking for something which is fun to drive.

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Thu 5 Aug 2021 20:20
Reliable Used Hatchback - £10k Budget - John F

my main focus now is on reliability / value for money ........

So is mine. Still going strong after 20 years and 155,000 miles. Depreciation around £350 per annum. Lots to choose from. Avoid DCT gearbox and 1.0 ecoboost engine.

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