Mitsubishi Colt - car buying advice needed!

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Fri 8 Aug 2014 16:10
Mitsubishi Colt - car buying advice needed! - sandrabbs

hello there.

me and my hubby are looking to get a first car for me, as out family will grow soon and i something small and nippy to get around with our little one! our budget is quite flexible (although obviously we would like to spend as little as possible), it all depends on the right car.

we're having trouble deciding if we should go for something newer but smaller or for something older but a little bit bigger. we already have a ford focus, so my car is going to be our second.

here's what we're looking for:

- automatic gearbox is a must, as im having trouble driving the manual

- must be VERY reliable - we've had a megane before nad it was a nightmare! kept breaking down all the time! we're willing to spend more on a reliable car, than pay less upfront and keep spending for endless repairs. we're leaning strongly towards japanese brands

- i must be able to put a child car seat in it

- petrol cars only (as i will be mostly driving around town)

- size doesn't really matter - it can be either something as small as smart, or something a bit bigger, eg. VW passat - although it'd be good to get something with a smaller engine to keep the running costs down

- price range: £1500-£4500

- ideally we would want a car that's not too old, but then again, it depends on what the older car would be :)

- it'd be good if it was a good looking car :) that's always a plus :)

here's cars that we;ve shortlisted:

- mitsubishi colt
- mitsubishi lancer (apparently it's VERY reliable)
- suzuki splash
- suzuki swift
- subaru impreza (apparently it's VERY reliable)
- honda jazz
- honda civic
- honda cr-v
- chevrolet lacetti
- hyundai coupe
- hyundai sonata
- mazda 6
- mazda 2
- mercedes SLK
- mercedes C
- mercedes A
- skoda roomster
- skoda fabia
- smart fortwo coupe
- toyota corolla
- toyota rav4
- vauxhall corsa

the thing is, a lot of those cars with automatic gearbox are a rare find! some are also overpriced, for example i love the looks of suzuki swift, but for an 8-year old car, it's quite pricey! also, i'd love to get something like hyundai coupe for it's looks and reliability, but i think my hubby would be very jealous :)

to be perfectly honest, common sense says we should get a smart (small, cheap to run), but we've read a lot of negative reviews - apparently the car's quite problematic...

any help will be much appreciated

kisses, sandy xxx

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Fri 8 Aug 2014 17:43
Mitsubishi Colt - car buying advice needed! - oldtoffee

>>>something as small as smart, or something a bit bigger, eg. VW passat

Well a Passat is quite a "bit" bigger!

As your list isn't yet big enough I'd add a Subaru Legacy, 2 litre petrol auto, pretty much bulletproof, plenty about (more estates than saloons) that have been privately owned and well looked after. Can be thirsty but petrol engines with proper autos are.


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Fri 8 Aug 2014 18:14
Mitsubishi Colt - car buying advice needed! - gordonbennet

Avoid anything with an automated manual gearbox.

Most if not all Korean autos are proper autos, some Japanese are, some arn't,

You could add Kia Picanto and Ceed to the list.

Hyundai Coupe will be nightmare trying to get a baby in the back seat...OK for a while in the front in a rear facing seat IF the passenger airbag can be turned off.

You'll need to check the pass airbag can be turned off on any car you're interested in if you want the tiddler beside you.

MB's in this budget will be a gamble, SLK not enough room to swing a cat in.

Edited by gordonbennet on 08/08/2014 at 18:16

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Fri 8 Aug 2014 18:20
Mitsubishi Colt - car buying advice needed! - Ed V

Autotrader has a 2007 Subaru Impreza 1.5 petrol, 69,000 miles for £1,795 - if it has full history, that would do you well I think.

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Fri 8 Aug 2014 20:01
Mitsubishi Colt - car buying advice needed! - Avant

Sandy - I think you need something small (as you already have a Focus) with 5 doors. The Hyundai i10 and i20 would be good as I think both have proper automatic gearboxes (Gordonbennet is absolutely right about automated manuals like the one in the Corsa - avoid like the plague).

I'm having trouble following your logic in listing the Hyundai Coupe (as said above, a nightmare to get a child seat into) and the Sonata (a great big car) and not the i10 and i20. Unfortunately all small autos are quite hard to find as most people buy them with manual gearboxes.

It's much better to have children starpped into the back of a car, so don't go for a 2 seater lik the Smart - which anyway isn't an automatic.

The old mark 1 Honda Jazz, like the newest model, can have an automatic, but there are some (2008-11 I think) which had a semi-automatic - so watch this one. Otherwise it's a good, reliable, spacious car with (if you change your mind) a very easy, smooth manual gearbox.

The Kia Picanto (small) and Ceed (Focus-size) also have proper autos I think. Not sure about the Mitsubishi Colt: you can find more from the Reviews section on this site.

Edited by Avant on 08/08/2014 at 20:05

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Fri 8 Aug 2014 20:50
Mitsubishi Colt - car buying advice needed! - gordonbennet

Colt autos i've carried have been automated manuals, which i must admit was one of the best of the bunch.

What they are like for long term, and what Mitsi's service depts are like sorting them out, i wouldn't have a clue.

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Sat 9 Aug 2014 07:05
Mitsubishi Colt - car buying advice needed! - Happy Blue!

Fillet the list down to small five door Japanese or Korean cars with proper torque converter gearboxes and then decide on a car with the best condition/age/mileage for your budget. If I was carrying a child, I would be looking at: -

Nissan Note

Hyundai i20

Kia Rio

Daihatsu Sirion or Materia

Honda Jazz CVT

Subaru sold a rebranded Sirion for a couple of years as the Justy.

However the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa also come with regular autoboxes and have tbe benefit of larger numbers sold and therefore better availability in the second hand market. They may be less reliable though, but not dramatically so.

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Sat 9 Aug 2014 09:36
Mitsubishi Colt - car buying advice needed! - bazza

Great advice from Blue. The Note would be perfect. We had a 1.4 and it was ideal for the use you require. It's got a really flexible boot/back seat arrangement which makes it perfect for families/kids etc. As above, stick to conventional, Japanes/Korean petrol technology. Avoid anything with the infamous DSG box, ( VW group) which can be a liability out of warranty. If you can tolerate a manual, put the Yaris on your list too--- (their auto version was never a huge success ) but the manual is super reliable.

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Sat 9 Aug 2014 11:14
Mitsubishi Colt - car buying advice needed! - daveyK_UK

Note would be ideal. Lots of examples around, prices are excellent.

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Sat 9 Aug 2014 13:23
Mitsubishi Colt - car buying advice needed! - John Boy

If a Suzuki Splash is on your list, a Vauxhall Agila B should be too. It's virtually the same car and there are probably more of them around. "Proper" automatic gearboxes too.

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Sat 9 Aug 2014 16:48
Mitsubishi Colt - car buying advice needed! - bintang

If that is your shortlist I hate to think what your long list looked like! I can recommend the Colt as a good family knockabout. It is one of the first of the present series, called the Red as that was the only colour. Ours is still being knocked about after several years, having been donated to our daughter. It has been completely relaible. It is unusually roomy inside and although its little engine sounds rough, it is able to haul the car around at a respectable rate. We had three Colts of earlier series too. On the basis of 400 miles of ownership so far, I can recommend our (manual) new series Hyundai i10 but rear seat room is less.

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Sat 9 Aug 2014 16:49
Mitsubishi Colt - car buying advice needed! - bintang

The new i10 is of course out of your price range. The old one was smaller and wouldn't do at all.

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Wed 26 Aug 2015 12:12
Mitsubishi Colt - car buying advice needed! - Wokeye

You've maybe got sorted out by now, I just noticed somebody recommended a Corsa Automatic. A few years ago my mother bought a 1 year old a 1.4 Corsa auto that was only had 9,000 miles on the clock. It was nothing but trouble, the trouble was with the auto box. Sometimes the lever would just jam in park position and it wouldn't move, and she was marooned. It did it in petrol station once. It would clear itself after time starting and stopping the engine. It went to Vauxhall on two occasions and they hadn't a clue. In the end she got shot for a manual Hyundai i10 manual. Maybe just unlucky but I'd stay well clear. Prior to that she had a mk1 1.6 auto Focus for several years and that was a faultless car. I've got a Mitsubishi Colt 1.3 CZ2 and it's been faultless, and they are cheap to buy, but I wouldn't know about the automatic version.

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