Neither Fiats nor Minis are particularly known for their reliability, particularly high-mileage Minis. The 500 was until recently assembled in Poland which was a better bet than Turin: HJ himself had one for several years and it was very good.

I think a 500 would be good only if you know it's been well looked after. Personally in your position I'd go for a Toyota Yaris 1.3 (the 1.0 is a bit sluggish). These are normally very reliable. If you're going to do a low mileage, there's a lot to be said for buying a car with comparatively high miles. Small cars with low mileages may well have been used for short journeys which wear them out prematurely.

Hi All,

I've been looking for a car around 4-5k which will be used for a very limited milage. At most i might do 4,000 miles a year on the motorway. As a result i'm wondering if i should go for a car that has a high milage and slightly more limted age or go for something older with less miles.

I'm mostly concered about maintance costs then anything else.

I've thought about fiat 500's 09 with 50k on the clock and also mini cooper s 07 with 80k ish on the clock.

I'm open to any economical car and would love some suggestions.

Thanks

The Mini and 500 are fashionable, so prices remain high.

You mention the Bravo in your title. With one of these, you will get a lot more for your money. An average car, but more comfortable than the other two on any journey.

The Fiat Panda offers better value and is more versatile than the 500 and is built on the same chassis and running gear. For me any price premium for the 500's retro look is unwarranted.

We have two 1.2 Pandas in the family and over 3 years they have so far been very reliable and economical.