My girlfriend is currently trying to decide what model of small car to buy, with a view to replacing it in three years when the warranty runs out.
We were very impressed with the Micra and Yaris, but are a little concerned about depreciation. (Also looked at Clio, 206, Lupo, 106, Polo & Arosa. She wasn't impressed.)
The old Micra (she currently owns one) seems to have depreciated badly compared to almost all other superminis. Is the new model likely to do the same?
The Yaris seems to be getting on a bit. Although it is very impressive, it seems expensive compared to the Micra. Is the Yaris due for replacement / facelift that will affect residuals?
The Ideal would be to buy a new small car every three years and loose £1000 per year maximum on the initial cost. Is this sensible?
She isn't bothered about extras but I think ABS is essential.
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If performance doesn't matter, then it's just about possible - but not guaranteed. You'll have to put up with a nearly basic model though.
The Micra has free insurance from about £7,500. The old Micra lost a fortune because it was sold exclusively as a courtesy car (well, almost) in the last few years of its life - but the long product cycle means that the new one won't depreciate as much. It will also hold its value well - should be £4,500 in 3 years with 36k. Try www.autobytel.co.uk for the best price.
The Yaris is extremely good value new and comparatively expensive second hand. It's also very reliable and customer satisfaction is through the roof. A 1.0 GS would be your best bet and won't be too far off the pace for depreciation. It won't be quite as good on residuals as it has been but they're not about to collapse either - I think the replacement is due in 2005, but it's never sold on image as much as quality. www.ukcarbroker.co.uk has that for £7,400 with a year's free insurance for 21-75 year olds.
Neither is a bad car, and both will be reliable if a little dull to drive. A Polo 1.2S will be a grand more to buy, of which you should get most back, although there's no free insurance. Clios also have ABS, are cheap and hold their value well, but I wouldn't consider any of the others on your list.
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Have you thought about a smart car. www.thesmart.co.uk They are great in the city, and even better on the motorway. Lets face it .The car of the future. You will have alot of happy driving miles, and meet lots of friends.
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Never driven a Smart, but...
... meet lots of friends, maybe, but you can't carry them, can you?
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Are you talking new or old Micra? I tried an old one when I was looking at cars and it felt nice enough but nothing special, plus it gets panned for safety. After looking at plenty of different things, I ended up with a W reg Yaris GLS. I was seriously impressed by the performance - it's easily as good if not better than my old 1.4 Tipo, very flexible and a joy to drive over both long and short journeys. The only trouble is that pushing it on the motorway hurts fuel consumption - you can get 50 mpg if you sit at 65, dropping to about 40 at just over 70.
I can't really think of anything that is wrong with it - lots of nice little features and no drawbacks. Depreciation seems very good - the screen price on my car was £7k which I believe is about £2.5k drop over the 2.5 years old it is. Toyota seem to be pushing special editions at the moment so that has probably forced depreciation a bit recently. I wouldn't say the Yaris is getting on at all - it's a 4 year old design but it doesn't show. And to be frank, I'd keep the car for 5-6 years at least unless there is a good reason to get rid of it earlier.
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Are you talking new or old Micra? I tried an old one when I was looking at cars and it felt nice enough but nothing special, plus it gets panned for safety.
Don't knock the micra! It may well depreciate quickly but that suits me fine. Bought mine at less than half book price, less than 3 years old and purchased 2 years additional warranty. As I've pointed out before on these pages, my depreciation will be limited. Its a great car with a very sweet engine. It doesn't get panned for safety, just doesn't get full marks. That doesn't make it much less safe than a Yaris. Never have understood why someone would want to buy one of these new - there are so many really good deals going round on what basically is a very reliable motor.
Yaris - also great car, but used prices much much higher - disproportionately so IMHO.
Look around for a good used Micra deal and you won't be sorry.
Splodgeface
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The Micra is a canny little car for around town, but I don't think I'd like to drive one very far and I wouldn't feel safe in one on a busy motorway. The safety results are fairly poor compared to newer cars, and the Yaris performs extremely well in the NCAP tests. The Yaris even feels safer. (To me anyway)
The only reason to buy a Micra new would be one of the last old models which are being flogged off cheap. The Yaris is more sensible to buy new if you can afford it as it won't cost a lot more and you'll get more warranty. Not that you're likely to need it much on either car.
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Steve, are we still talking about the new Micra? It's the same price as the Yaris and both currently come with free insurance, ABS, electric windows and central locking. The Micra is marginally faster and comes with a CD player, but is £100 more expensive. I agree that an old one would have to be *very* cheap to justify buying (like £5k, but even then I think I'd prefer a Ka).
I don't think the Euro NCAP figures are out for the new Micra, but I'd be amazed if it didn't get at least 4 stars, bearing in mind that Renault is going to use the platform for the next Micra. If safety is an issue, the Micra has side airbags, the Yaris doesn't.
The warranty on both is the same - 3 years and 60k, which is fairly standard. I wouldn't rule the Yaris out by any means, but if Keith's girlfriend prefers the cuteness of the new Micra, it sounds like it's going to be at least as good a car for her as the Yaris. Running costs, depreciation and purchase price are virtually identical on the two.
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No, I'm talking about the old Micra as someone further up the thread appeared to be referring to. I still don't know if the original post was relating to new or old! As for side airbags, are you sure the Yaris doesn't have them? My handbook mentions them, although mine doesn't have them. They seem to have appeared in the change from Japanese production to French, but I'm not sure which models have them.
I certainly expect the new Micra to be a considerable improvement over the old one, but having seen one 'in the flesh' for the first time last week I certainly won't be buying one. The appearance of my car doesn't bother me that much, but I do have some standards!
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You're all fed up with me saying what a cracker my Yaris diesel is, but how the boot is too small and could possibly do with a bit more seat travel up front for the driver.
However, how about waiting for the Mazda 2? Due early this year as I understand. Mazda reliability plus a bit more space than the Yaris....4 metres long instead of 3.6 metres. Just that bit more boot space and legroom but still a sensible manageable length and a tad higher than most hatchbacks (see the Fiesta Fusion for it's clone). See HJ piece on it on this site.
Available as petrol or diesel PLUS diesel auto as well as petrol auto - and you can't get that with a Yaris!
KB.
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For those that say the Yaris is too small, I managed to get 6 rolls of Wickes loft insulation in mine today and had space for 3 more. These are fairly large rolls as well. Would have been pushed to get that much in the Tipo and that was reknowned as being big inside.
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Indeed Steve, with the seats folded there's room enough for most purposes and it's taken all our holiday clutter quite OK - but, of course only for 2. But I don't want to have them folded all the time and it's just not big enough to get a weeks shopping in it and that's the sort of thing you might well want to get in a car like this. I always carry a bag of bits and pieces for emergencies - yellow waterproofs/triangle/torch etc....and with that in place there's barely room for my handbag. Sorry, that should read boxing gloves.
Next time I will go for something just a bit longer. Having said that...what a joy it is to be able to park almost anywhere. Almost every other car is longer leaving little gaps just for you.
Why, oh why, is the Verso so disagreeable to look at? Why didn't they at least make the front seats go up and down so that you can sit a bit higher without having all that space above your head. You sit so proportionately low, when you could be enjoying the 'commanding' view out that owners of Scenics/Picassos/Zafira's enjoy.
Theere's so much scope to make the next version look a bit more chunky/robust.......whatever the word is. Take a leaf out of the Kangoo/Berlingo book and put some sensible protection strips around it make it look as though it's up to it - at present it looks like a tarts handbag. With apologies to any tarts looking in!
KB.
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And before I get shot down in flames......Regulars here will know that I'm not a bigotted misogynist and use the words tart and handbag in their loosest and vernacular sense not as a term of abuse.
KB.
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Keith - tinyurl.com/4xhl
That's a link to the Autobytel comparison page that I've been using to play off the Micra against the Yaris. Have a look and see if that helps make up your mind.
I think your query was mostly about depreciation though - so I hope we haven't confused you too much.
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That's a nifty little feature, David. Thanks for pointing that out. Haven't seen that one before and will make a note of it. Seems to show the Nissan in a favourable light The top line (about the savings) threw me a bit - but then that's easily done.
Discounts on Nissans seem to be generally more readily available and quite high at times...offset against which are the possible depreciation factors. Can't imagine that if you get either vehicle at a good discount and go for those models noted, there will be a great deal of difference after 3 years. Perhaps it may pay to wait until the Nissan has been out a bit longer in order to secure a better discount.
KB.
KB.
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I'm really chufed at the number of replies. Thanks everyone.
I can't find any reference to free insurance for the new Micra though?
It would seem that because the Micra is just out that it will be the better bet for depreciation. (Wasn't the Ford Focus good for depreciation untill the last year or so?)
Her old Micra is just over 2 years old and seems to have lost a lot more than £1000/year. I think most of this is due to the new model. If the Yaris is to be replaced in two years I don't want the same to happen.
Mind you it's her choice and I think she has a real afinity for the Yaris.
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