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Hi guys,
I would like to buy a cheap used car and the majority of cars that I can find within my budget are Peugeot(2006-2011), Vauxhall Astra and Corsa(2005-2010), Ford Fiesta (2005-2011) and Ford KA (2005-2010)
I am not really bothered about speed and aesthetics, all I care about is it being able to handle long journeys without problems that generally come up with cheap cars like Citroen. I would go for Toyota or Hyundai which I find to be the most reliable cars but they are out of my budget, so how well do you think Vauxhall Astra and Corsa age? Is Ford Fiesta of that age reliable ?
Thanks in advance
[Moved from Classics forum - mod]
Edited by Xileno on 10/10/2021 at 14:47
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This question is asked about once a month. The usual answer is that no-one can specify a car more than 10 years old which will be 'reliable'. Some will be, others won't, depending on how they have been treated and maintained. You can always check the MoT history of a car you are interested in online. Other than that, it's condition and provenance and anything else you can discover.
You are entering Bangernomics territory (see other threads on this topic) which means finding a cheap car with 10-12 months MoT, running it until the next test, then choosing whether to do any necessary repairs or scrap. You may well be lucky - my Pug 207 is 13 years old now and has cost nothing beyond normal maintenance. But it cost me £9K nearly new, which may be more than your budget.
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This question is asked about once a month. The usual answer is that no-one can specify a car more than 10 years old which will be 'reliable'. Some will be, others won't, depending on how they have been treated and maintained. You can always check the MoT history of a car you are interested in online. Other than that, it's condition and provenance and anything else you can discover.
You are entering Bangernomics territory (see other threads on this topic) which means finding a cheap car with 10-12 months MoT, running it until the next test, then choosing whether to do any necessary repairs or scrap. You may well be lucky - my Pug 207 is 13 years old now and has cost nothing beyond normal maintenance. But it cost me £9K nearly new, which may be more than your budget.
Quite right, but another problem here is that the OP has a weird set of preconceived and incorrect notions. One being that all cheap Citroen's are going to be unreliable, and the other being that all cheap Hyundai's and Toyota's are going to be reliable. Also, the idea that a Hyundai of a given type and age will cost the same as an equivalent Toyota (and therefore be out of budget, when a Ford or Vauxhall won't be).
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I’ve noticed many older Pugs Citroens and Renaults running around. A couple of 04 Berlingos nearby for a start. French cars get a lot of stick but maybe in justly. This ten years old and it’s scrap it time is way off. How many backroomers have a car over ten years old…me for a start.
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I’ve noticed many older Pugs Citroens and Renaults running around. A couple of 04 Berlingos nearby for a start. French cars get a lot of stick but maybe in justly. This ten years old and it’s scrap it time is way off. How many backroomers have a car over ten years old…me for a start.
There may be some unconscious badge snobbery as well. Three marques have been offered by the OP; one is Peugeot, while Citroens (almost the same thing) are rejected. My daughter is quite happy to be seen driving a VW, but a Skoda is regarded with scorn. If the OP is really after a 'cheap used car' anything should go ?
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A 10 year old car could have many years left in it, but it is something of a lottery.
To minimise the risks:
- check previous MoT history
- buy from a source you judge to be trustworthy
- test drive - should be smooth, quiet etc
- check "consumables" which could cost a few hundred fairly quickly - eg: tyres, exhaust, aircon working, clutch take up
- buy a popular model - any spares/repairs needed are likely to be cheaper, and garages more familiar
- condition is more important than brand, low street cred usually means better value!
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While most pre 2018 Vauxhall’s are not reliable (2017 is when Peugeot/Citroen group took ownership of Vauxhall and since then most of the General Motors Vauxhall cars have been replaced with re-badged Peugeot/Citroen models) there is a good argument to buy one.
They where sold in large quantities, the problems are both well known how to diagnose and how to resolve, the engines to avoid (mainly diesels) are well known and parts in comparison to others are readily available and cheap.
The same can be said for Fords although in general Ford are more reliable.
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While most pre 2018 Vauxhall’s are not reliable (2017 is when Peugeot/Citroen group took ownership of Vauxhall ...
As a bare factual statement, this opening sentence is simply untrue. MOST cars of ANY make are reliable; some makes have more chance of being unreliable than others. That just means that you may need to shell out for more frequent trips to the garage. But chances (at least for cars only three or more years old) are that you won't need to.
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I disagree, GM Vauxhall products are plagued with a raft of faults which makes them unreliable compared to rival brands.
You may have an argument if you compare them with Fiat or Land Rover but neither of the named rival manufacturers sold in large volumes or wide types of vehicles.
I’m sorry but I think it’s fair to say that if you buy a GM Vauxhall over 3 years old you can expect problems. While their will always be exceptions, I stand by my statement.
Take a GM Vauxhall Insignia , they are avoided by the trade for good reason.
Take a GM Vauxhall Viva, a GM Vauxhall Astra, a GM Vauxhall Meriva, a GM Vauxhall Mokka, etc.
They all suffer from problems, and not just one or two.
Am I anti Vauxhall? No.
Am I anti GM? Yes, because there products are of poor quality.
Edited by daveyK_UK on 11/10/2021 at 17:25
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You may be correct daveyK, but I've had 8 GM Vauxhalls over many years. Yet to have a problem car.
However, you overlook Ford with their Ecoboost and Powershift. VAG with their many engine and transmission issues and appalling dishonesty. Mazda diesels... In short most manufacturers have issues.
Edited by Chris M on 11/10/2021 at 19:40
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I’ve noticed many older Pugs Citroens and Renaults running around. A couple of 04 Berlingos nearby for a start. French cars get a lot of stick but maybe in justly. This ten years old and it’s scrap it time is way off. How many backroomers have a car over ten years old…me for a start.
My 2004 206 diesel was just a stopgap car until I could find something I really wanted. But it sails through MOT year after year with no advisories or failures. So did my previous 307 and 306 before that. There's nothing special about them other than I only bought cars with FSH and some degree of care by the previous owners.
But saying that I wouldn't recommend a modern Peugeot to anyone, far too many problems which occur just out of warranty - the Adblue tank being one.
I know that cars have a habit of failing when the warranty runs out, but there's so much expensive tech in new cars that its a lot dearer to fix than ever before.
Edited by Gibbo_Wirral on 28/10/2021 at 13:31
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Don’t restrict yourself to just a few makes and models if buying on a tight budget, condition and a more important. Where roughly will you be looking and what is the budget?
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When it comes to reliability Japanese cars are in general ahead of European. From the independent published reliability tables there is not a lot of difference between the European vehicles. One safer bet is the Vauxhall Agila mark 1 . (you said you were'nt worried about aesthetics ) doesn't appeal to the young - mainly used by pensioners - not a lot to go wrong- came very high in reliability tables - get the 1.2 4 cyl ( one of VM's best engines) not the 1.0 3 cyl. and Suzuki designed originally
Edited by Eddie Baker on 27/10/2021 at 09:46
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I was looking for a 4/5 year old Fiat 500L 1.4 petrol for a friend but in the end I had to advise them to change their choice.
While the 500L is a nice drive and has huge interior space, there are simply too many common issues and components failures once 4 years and older some of which are a right faff to sort out and will eat away at any cost saving vs rivals.
Even with the petrol engine, there are simply too many things that go wrong or give up.
We worked out the preventative maintenance to correct them before they failed and it was over £1,100 from the Fiat dealers (you can’t get the likes of door wiring looms elsewhere unless you have them made up) before you start including labour and hassle.
Fiat like GM Vauxhall simply have too many issues to recommend there product out of warranty with a few exceptions. The only Fiats in my research I can recommend is a petrol Fiorino/Qubo (rare) and so far the Fiat Tipo (easy and logical to work on by all accounts).
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