Advice needed - small car needed for city driving

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Wed 19 Oct 2011 14:42
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - animalgirl
Hi folks, looking for some advice..

I'm looking for a small car for a 15 mile round trip commute (in a city)..and the more research I do the more confused I get..!

Would anyone be able to help me out and recommend some motors?

I have a max £2k budget (credit card only sadly, so would have to be trade) and will be driving in the city every day, with a 4 hour motorway trip once a month. I don't have a large family (2 peeps + 1 small dog) so don't necessarily need a big car or a big engine.

Would love to get something reliable so I don't fear the dashboard light of death each time I get in (it'd be a first!)

Any help much appreciated..
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Wed 19 Oct 2011 15:13
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - gordonbennet

Lots of people will slate them, not the least reason being the wrong badge.

Daewoo/Chevrolet Matiz, a nicer car to drive than many would think and very cheap to own and run, if you fancy an auto the box is a proper automatic, smooth and reliable.

Sorry to be blunt, but you don't need car advice you need someone unbiased with good sense to look over your finances before you use that credit card, bad times are on the way.

This will be a good buy for someone, probably fetch over your budget though as it's a very good cause....ebay no. 220876994471

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Wed 19 Oct 2011 15:38
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - animalgirl

Thanks, will check out the Matiz.

As you've mentioned it, credit card is 15mth 0% on purchases, looking to clear £2k in about 6 months. Don't have the upfront cash, don't want to borrow from family and my car just died (alternate travel costs will be £1k so I'm shelling out either way - hence me not waiting til I've saved it up).

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Wed 19 Oct 2011 16:36
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - pugswhdi

I agree with the Matiz recommendation but you will always suffer from people thinking it is a naff car, you (or the kids) can choose whether or not this is important.

A Fiat Panda (2004 onwards) might also fit the bill? They generally get a good write up on here and elsewhere. We've had one in the family bought new in 2004 (a 1.2 petrol with air conditioning), it's been used by us all over the years and has been doing 100+ miles most days by my youngest sister for the last 18 months.

It's been very reliable, good on petrol/insurance... It now needs a steering rack (local FIAT dealer quoted £350 fitted) and will be done in the next month or two when it gets a few days off. As an aside it is also exceptionally good in snow on winter tyres.

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Wed 19 Oct 2011 17:04
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - jamie745

I'd have to vote for the Panda out of these choices as the Matiz is a horrible little thing which feels unstable and made of paper on a windy day.

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Wed 19 Oct 2011 17:57
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - animalgirl

Thanks to you both, will put the Panda on my list :)

What are your thoughts on the new shape Fiestas?

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Wed 19 Oct 2011 17:56
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - Auristocrat

I agree with the Matiz recommendation. Back in 2002, when our Honda Civic had to have an insurance repair - the loan car was a basic Corsa. The Corsa was vile - no power steering which caused real difficulties for my partner who was awaiting a minor op on her arm. We got the repairers to swop the Corsa for a Matiz - and what a welcome change.The Matiz is bigger inside than one thinks - although the boot is on the small side.

A colleague at work has recently gone back to using an X-reg Matiz for work when her 2004 Mondeo diesel proved uneconomic to repair after the fuel pump went. This car has never let her down.The Matiz would probably be more reliable than the Panda - Korean mechanicals etc (the 880cc 3 cylinder engine was designed in Coventry)

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Wed 19 Oct 2011 19:08
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - madf

My wife has a 1.0 matiz: easy to drive and easier to park. And if derviced very relaible and cheap...

The 0.8 Matiz is very slow. but very good on petrol.

For £2k you should get a 2004 one.

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Wed 19 Oct 2011 19:16
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - Bobbin Threadbare

I learnt to drive in a Corsa - horrible!!!

My mum had a Daewoo Matiz and it was a horrid little car. So many things failed on it. It was uncomfortable as well, and utterly useless on the motorway as the engine is so small. Maybe Chevrolet made it better...?

My sister and her partner have a 53 plate Renault Clio and do similar driving to the OP. They really like it; it's nippy and nice and small to park. Have to watch it when there's a lot of very large puddles as the ECU can conk out (theirs did after he drove through a ford!)

You might find a few Toyota Yarises and some Ford Focuses at the £2k level. I loved my Focus; it handled really well and it was cheap to fix and insure.

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Wed 19 Oct 2011 19:25
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - mss1tw

Isn't the Yaris meant to be one of the best small cars?

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Wed 19 Oct 2011 21:27
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - Big John

Hmph - Now I'm feeling old - I learnt to drive in a new Triumph Dolomite! Probably the last ever made and bought cheap by BSM.

My vote would be for the Fiat Panda 1.2 petrol. My father-in-law has had a 1.2 Eleganza (includes climate control) new in 2006 and has had no real problems except for one issue with an electric window. Even I like driving it and I'm 6ft 4". Seems to ride better than you would expect and is surprisingly refined. 2k doesn’t buy you a lot of car, but it would put you in a good Panda.

The 1.2 8v fire engine is of a simple design which is a good thing these days – if anything goes wrong – cheap and easy to fix. It is also non-interference engine which means if the cam belt expires you don't usually destroy the engine.

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Wed 19 Oct 2011 21:41
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - Avant

With a £2k budget, condition is much more important than make or model, but if you need suggestions here goes.

The advantage of a Fiesta is that there are a lot of them around; otherwise go for something Japanese (a Yaris is probably the best bet, but try to find a 1.3) as they stand up to abuse by previous owners better than most. If you want a bit more room without going to Focus-size, look at a Skoda Fabia 1.4.

Two to avoid - Vauxhall Corsa (dull to drive, and there have been serious engine problems (broken camshafts) with cars round about 2005 vintage; and Nissan Micra (after a short journey can be very hard to restart).

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Thu 20 Oct 2011 06:58
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - oldtoffee

Not everybody's cup of tea but my wife had a Kia Picanto for 3 trouble free years. She now has a Fiat 500; I preferred the Kia - more substance and value over style and I fitted in it more comfortably! Hers was an auto and you'd need a bit over £2000 to get one or there are plenty of manuals around. You'd be looking at a 5 or 6 year old car but not with huge mileages. I think I'm right but not 100% sure in thinking they had a five year warranty so most would be not long out of it and consequently likely to have been dealer serviced and maintained. Not as good to drive as a Fiesta but you'll be looking at cars 3 or 4 years younger and half the mileage.

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Thu 20 Oct 2011 11:28
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - animalgirl

Wow - thank you everyone for replying. I really do appreciate it.

Am leaning towards the Toyota Yaris but will take a look at the Picanto today.

Another question if anyone is still out there and happy to help - is it better to look for cars with a long MOT on them..? Having had bangers all my life, I've always feared MOT day, so find myself discounting something with a short MOT. Rookie mistake?

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Thu 20 Oct 2011 12:07
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - madf

I have a Yaris diesel and son has a Yaris 1.0. Nice cars to drive.

Under £2k, you must watch carefully for clutch wear, engine noises, engine and ABS warning lights coming on with ignition and going off agin, rusty fuel filler pipes (rear wheel arch job) etc.. And radiator corrosion - antifreeze stains on cooling fins.. on older models.

Very reliable and often low miles/well maintained. Not as cheap as some cars.. See HJ Mark 1 reviews (part of which from my comments!)

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Thu 20 Oct 2011 14:28
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - Alby Back

Another vote for the Panda here. I've had them as hire cars in Italy on several occasions and really liked them as small cars. Friend of mine has three businesses in central London and he uses a Panda which he's had for about 5 years as a shuttle / works van between the sites. Never had a moment's grief with it and he swears by it for the nip and tuck of city life. He also has a much bigger / posher car for personal use but he's honest enough to say he hardly uses that. Most of the time he just zips around in the wee FIAT.

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Thu 20 Oct 2011 15:00
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - animalgirl

UPDATE - I now have £3k to buy a car. Today is just crazy.

With that in mind, would you kind people say a Honda Jazz would be a good buy?

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Thu 20 Oct 2011 15:12
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - madf

A Jazz is nice. Read the HJ reviews and the Honda Jazz forums.

Old ones can suffer VERY expensive gearbox failures (£1k +) if not mainatained properly.. And rear wheel bearing failures.

Not all will but gearbox whines or any issues with gerachanges are runaway time.

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Thu 20 Oct 2011 15:35
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - oldtoffee

Jazz is a good car, roomy but expensive if they go wrong and quite a firm suspension on early ones which may not suit the city roads too well. Drive one and judge for yourself as with anything else you're considering.

Personally I'd stick to the £2k budget and if you have £1k available hide it away for any running repairs that may come along. As someone further up the thread said condition is everything at £2k or £3k - you could spend the extra money and end up with a worse car if you're not careful.

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Thu 20 Oct 2011 17:33
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - barney100

Maybe spending 2.5k on the car and keeping £500 back would be sensible. That way the usual 'needs pads..tyres exhaust etc' would be covered. Whichever car you choose try to get some warranty.

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Thu 20 Oct 2011 17:48
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - animalgirl

Thanks, will do that for sure.

What do you think of this one http://www.5starcarsuk.co.uk/used-cars/honda-jazz-1-4i-dsi-se-sport-5dr-brentford-201142422162246? Comes with 2yr warranty..

Does anyone know if I should be looking at around 60/70k mileage for a £3kish Jazz?

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Fri 21 Oct 2011 07:09
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - oldtoffee

Buying at this price level, you need to be a bit picky and quite cautious about the cars. With this one there's no mention of number of owners, any service history or receipts where if they had this I'd have thought they would mention it in the advert. They have other cars with this information included in the ad. Without it I wouldn't look at it and would try to find one that had history preferably full. So you'd need to satisfy yourself that it has been properly serviced and the mileage is genuine - old mots, receipts and service history help with this. Regarding the 2 year warranty - it will probably be pretty basic so check what it covers and what it doesn't, what the maximum payout is per claim is, how many claims can you make and does it depend on the car having been serviced recently? You can probably upgrade the warranty to something "better" but general advice here over many years has been to avoid that and put some money aside instead.

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Fri 21 Oct 2011 11:33
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - pugswhdi

Go with the advice from 'old toffee'. Stick to £2k for the car and keep the rest aside for when you need to maintain it.

As you asked about the Jazz though....A Jazz is a very good car (my wife drove one before we bought her FRV). In my experience (I've done plenty of miles in both a Jazz and a Panda) the Jazz isn't really any better than a 1.2 panda on a motorway and the panda probably edges it in town as it's a bit smaller and visibility is a bit better. However the space available inside the Jazz is far greater and we managed as a family of 5 with the Jazz as a main car, this would not have been possible with a Panda. The Jazz will however, always be more expensive to buy and service than a panda.

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Fri 21 Oct 2011 12:51
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - Bobbin Threadbare

I always put a contingency in car buying funds as the tax and cost to change the insurance needs factoring in, especially if you're just starting out or going to a bigger engine.

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Fri 21 Oct 2011 13:25
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - animalgirl

Thanks :)

I thought I was set on the Honda but some good points on here. Someone pointed out to me that for the same money (or less) I could get a 2007/2008 Ford KA..

so my next question to all you good good people..what is better..?

2005 Honda Jazz (70k)

v

2008 Ford KA (30k)

In terms of money, I now have £3500 to spend and was looking at £3k or under on the car, around £300 on the insurance with a couple hundred left in the bank in case anything goes wrong..

My head is spinning!

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Fri 21 Oct 2011 13:42
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - Bobbin Threadbare

Well you have to weigh all the options up. As far as longevity and space go, the Jazz is better, if you can get a well looked after example. The Ka will be cheap to fix and insure, and obviously lower mileage, but it's tiny and has a lower NCAP score for safety than the Jazz. A newer car isn't necessarily a better one. A better comparison would be a Jazz and a Fiesta perhaps. If you're at that sort of price level, you might be able to get a little Hyundai Getz or Amica on a 57 or 08 plate which will still have a few years of its original warranty left on it.

Couple I have found:

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20114242292...p

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20114242289...p

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20114142073...p

I have a friend who has a Fiesta; she does small journeys in town but also runs it on the motorway from NW England to London and back every month. It's pretty good.

Also, go and test some! You can't tell until you've had a go. It's got to be comfy and you've got to like the layout of the controls.

Edited by Bobbin Threadbare on 21/10/2011 at 13:43

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Fri 21 Oct 2011 13:51
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - pugswhdi

Things move on rapidly and you now have almost twice the budget you started with a couple of days ago. Remember though that £300 on insurance may be a pinch and £200 will hardly buy you a set of tyres, it won't adequately cover much in the way of repairs and as previously posted the warranties offered with used cars are often very limited. From what you've said I think that you do actually have a fairly limited budget and as you anticipate a modest annual mileage spending a lot of money on the car is hard to justify. My final contribution to this post is to remind you that you don't need to spend all you can on this car and a couple of days ago you were happy with whatever £2K would buy. Better having money in the bank than on your credit card!

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Fri 21 Oct 2011 15:36
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - animalgirl

Thanks, I really do appreciate you (and everyone) taking the time to give me your opinion. The money issue is crazy, I know it reads like I don't know what I'm doing but I do, I'm not over stretching myself (I wouldn't buy a car if it was a financial strain). The day I posted this message I got home to a cheque from a friend for £3.5k. This obviously changed everything, I could potentially spend £3k on a car and the rest on insurance/service and still not be any worse off. An insanely kind gesture from my friend and one I'll never forget.

I am really interested to know what people (ie you guys reading this) think is best as I've no real knowledge of cars, what's good/what's bad/what's reliable etc. so thanks everyone for helping out.

HondaFordHondaFord *pop*

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Fri 21 Oct 2011 15:54
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - Buster Cambelt

I've had a few hired Picantos that seemed fine (seems to be an afternoon to speak of hire cars). That's where my money would go I think, or maybe a FIAT Panda.

I've always found Yarises pretty horrible to drive - one of the most over-rated cars there is in my opinion.

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Fri 21 Oct 2011 18:13
Advice needed - small car needed for city driving - oldtoffee

I'd still stick to a £2,000 limit, maybe £200 or £300 more if the right car came along but I'd definitely take my time researching and finding the car that suits me and is in good condition with history. You could end up with a dog of a Jazz for £3500 and miss out on a cracking Fiesta, Panda, Yaris, Picanto for £2000. If you don't know what to look out for on a used car, take a friend who does. if it was me, I'd then pay off credit card balances or if I didn't have any buy some premium bonds and cash them in when I needed to fund some repairs. A set of decent tyres, new MOT, brakes pads all round, exhaust silencer and you'll need £500.

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