Good morning, I am looking to buy a new small car to be shared between my 3 sons (ages 19-23). It is going to have to be capable of long journeys as 2 are at uni in Scotland. On top of that safety and running costs are important priorities. My initial thought was for a 5 door Fiesta 1.25 zetec with climate but would be v grateful for other suggestions. I anticipate keeping the car for around 3 years with a total mileage of up to 60k.
Many thanks, Charles
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perodua myvi
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suzuki swift
or
toyota yaris
fiesta is strictly for the company car/hire car/people without a clue markets, and unless buying second hand when you may get a decent bargain i would avoid
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Add Mitsubishi Colt to your list. HJ has always recommended it and there are deals around on new/pre-reg. Used values are competitive too.
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Secondhand my choice would be the fiesta nearly new at a massive discount from a supermarket.
New choice or main dealer nearly new would be Honda Jazz.
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My daughter has a new 5dr Colt and I?d be a dubious about how it might stand up to 3yrs/60K miles of what could be quite hard use. Perhaps we?re spoilt a bit by also having a Jazz, which feels like it would run for ever. 5dr Colt seems a bit ?flexible? ? presumeably a 3dr would seem more rigid. There is a very cheap 3yr servicing deal on Colts at the moment (which probably wouldn?t cover 20K miles, but would help) however that might have impacted discounts available,
The Swift seems interesting although we didn?t look at it seriously as to get a/c you have to get the 1.5 engine and then insurance is group 6. It doesn?t make a big difference in practice, but something to bear in mind.
Would the boys drive a Yaris? Bit dear for a reasonable spec, though.
With some manufacturers (such as Mitsubishi and Suzuki) the handiness of local dealers (at all locations where the car is to be used) should be taken into account ? some of them have pretty limited coverage. In that respect you probably can?t go wrong with a Fiesta or a Corsa.
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>>Would the boys drive a Yaris? Bit dear for a reasonable spec, though.
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The 1.0 is not recommended for motorway use - too buzzy.
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For what it is worth my suggestion does not meet two of your criteria but bear with me, there is a method in my madness.
I recently bought a Nissan Almera 5dr 2 years old from a car supermarket for £5,000. It has 12,000 miles, service history and 1 year left of Nissan Warranty.
It is a bigger car so better suited for long tiring miles, could be considered to be safer as it is larger and has 4* Euro Ncap rating. Has AirCon and 6 speaker CD player and the requisite number of airbags (heaven forbid they need them).
It is known to be a boring reliable car. That might not be atractive to the boys but may make it less appealing to thrash (forgive me, your boys maybe paragons of virtue, I just remember what I was like at that age!). Incidently we replaced or Fiesta with the Nissan and I feel a lot happier that my wife and offspring are in that ratyher than the smaller Fiesta. Interstingly the insurance group for the 1.5 Almera is the same as the 1.25 Fiesta.
My wife also reports that she feels less intimidated on the road and feels safer.
The other issue is monetary. The Almera has lost £7,000 + in the two years before I got it but this depreciation will have leveled out now. If I added 60k to it in the next 3 years it should still be worth £2,500 - £3,000 so will have lost at worst £2,500. A New Festa or similar would with three years and 60k have lost £7,000 to £8,000 I would guess.
Just a thought!
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The Swift probably would probably be the most trendy. I would also consider the Kia Rio or Daihatsu Sirion. Both very good value for money
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If your sons have any interest in cars, I think it would be best to consult with them before buying anything.
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How about a Fiat Panda 100? Or if economy is important, then the 1.3 Multijet in either the Panda or the Grande Punto. Good deals on Fiatsupasaver site, which is recommended by HJ
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Accepting your concerns about safety, I would buy what suits your pocket. If they don't like it, I know what my response would be.
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>>. I would also consider the KiaRio or Daihatsu Sirion. Both very good value for money
Yes good idea. 19-23 year old boys wouldn't be seen dead in one of those, so it would get little use.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Yes good idea. 19-23 year old boys wouldn't be seen dead in one of those so it would get little use.
Bah! Brand new car vs what a student normally chugs about in?
Yeah a charver wouldn't be impressed, I'll grant you.
I think something like an Almera would be ideal. Safe and reliable, and will not lose much money since they're so cheap to begin with, and as they get older many second-hand buyers do value the strength of Nissan engines so the residuals are not too bad actually.
As a wildcard, the Chevrolet Lacettis seem to go for absolutely silly money as nearly-new bargains -- for what is in essence a Vauxhall Astra. We're talking £5500 for a 6-month-old with a couple of thousand miles. They're not bad looking either, and while I'm not entirely convinced by Daewoo build quality they're not that bad. My only concern would be residuals when it came to selling it on.
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12 yrs ago I was at a similar point - 2 x sons @ uni and bought an ex Hertz rental Astra for £8,000. Finished Uni in '98 and one of them kept it until 2001. Got £3K as a Part Exchange then - no bother apart from servicing, tyres, brakes etc - Bigger than Fiesta but stood up better when they carried their friends around.
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thanks for all advice everyone. Trouble with a new Jazz is the > £10k initial cost. Will let you know what I do but rather like the Almera suggestion.
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Hi Charlesa,
Most of the car supermarkets have a few on either 05 or 55 plates. I got mine from Slough, but a London Supermarket had some as did one in Winsford nr. Manchester who actually had the best deal but were too far away from me. (I would name names but assume this is not allowed?). I would be very interested to hear how you get on.
If you explore this further ensure the service book was stamped at the right times to keep the manufacturers warranty valid (3 years from new) and check who previously owned the car. Our was a leasing company whom the supermarket had bought 25 Almeras from. Lowest mileage might not be the best looked after. I asked the salesman to go and find the one in the best condition which he duly did and it was in the middle of the mileage range which was between 11,000 and 13,000. It had two marks on it since removed when we got home by Chips Away for £150 - money well spent. Any 2 year old car will have picked up some marking after all.
They look great in Black but need regular cleaning. Ours is Silver which doesn't show the dirt as much. It looks to me like 80% on the road are in Blade Silver. The other colours are all metalic apart from Red which looks OK but might fade in the next few years.
All the more recent ones are 1.5 litre engines. The base spec S model (which we have) has Airbags x 2, CD player, Aircon, elec windows, remote C/L, ABS with EBD and Emergency Brake Assist. SE spec will cost a little more but has a funky display on the dash with outside temp etc and rear parking sensors. Not sure if the insurance group goes up a bit though. They stopped production in 2006 so all the gremlins (if there were any) have long since been ironed out.
I am no fan of Japanese cars (although the Almera was UK built). Some of the interior plastics are nasty (heavy grain-effect on the top of the dash and completely smooth plastis elsewhere like the door switches) but put that to one side you have a well built, reliable, cheap, safe, well equiped car which will depreciate (if you buy wisely) very slowly but gives you maybe a bit more peace of mind with your boys in it than a tiny car might. They drive and ride well as well. The boot is big and well shaped and if you need the extra space the split/fold seats fold down very easily giving a huge load bay. We are happy (although my wife claims it is 'an old persons' car. In reality on a drive to Wiltshire from Sussex on Saturday we saw 11 (9 silver, one green, one burgundy) and 10 of these were driven by people 35 years old or less.
I looked at the Lanos and Lacetti but thought the Nissan name would hold better long term residual value and, if I remember correctly, the Euro NCAP was not as good as the Almera.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
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>>. I would also consider the KiaRio or Daihatsu Sirion. Both very good value for money
>>Yes good idea. 19-23 year old boys wouldn't be seen dead in one of those, so it would get little use.
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>>TourVanManTM < Ex RF >
I have to confess that at 19-23 I would have settled for a third share of any of the cars mentioned and been delighted. My parents only allowed me very occassional use of the family Morris Marina - now there was an uncool car!!!
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if you like the almera approach another car to consider would be an early example of the current model of Mitsubishi Lancer, these can be had for very sensible money, only downside is boot rather than hatch (although you could consider the estate i guess)
this really is the latest iteration of the bog standard ultra reliable jap car
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