How do you choose a car?

A mechanic advised me that japanese cars seem most reliable, then German . I would go for a 5 door hatchback. Mid sized . The newer cars seem to be automatic, they are so easy to drive . Love mine .

I suggest buy a car magazine as they tend to group different cars into "classes" like small SUV, family hatchback, supermini etc. So you can work out what size/type of car you are looking for and which model from each manufacturer is your target class. So you might come out thinking VW Golf or Kia Ceed or similar.

Then look at used car listings to see roughly what age/mileage and engine size of of those kind of cars is in your budget. At this point you can go to an Arnold Clark or somewhere with a wide range to try a few for size/space. Once you narrow it down to a couple of more specfic models, use filters on Autotrader to find a few close to you to look at, and maybe book a test drive.

Honest John and Parkers websites are good for reviews of particular cars and model ranges. Most brands are reasonably reliable these days. But the fancier the car, the more there is to go wrong.

When my last car became unreliable, I asked the RAC man who rescued me, which car of the size & price I was aiming at, was the car he had to retrieve from the roadside least often.

He gave me some advice, and I went with his suggestion. Five years in, I haven't regretted it yet.

If you want to buy from autotrader then you can get the AA to look at second hand cars before you buy them to make sure they are ok (or, if you know anyone that can recommend a mechanic to go with you and check it over).

Buying from a dealership is more expensive but the big ones will have serviced etc before you buy.

I have had Toyotas for years and have always found them so reliable, even older models. My mum has a Honda Civic which is also reliable with a big boot

Decide your budget and non-negotiables, set the auto trader filters accordingly, and see what comes up as a starting point.

I changed my car earlier in the year, my criteria other than budget were: boot capacity (at least as big as I had, preferably a bit bigger), not above a certain length/width (park in lots of small car parks for work), not electric, decent headroom in the back (teenagers), max age, max mileage.

Once I had a list of a few options, the Carwow YouTube channel has some really good videos looking at different cars, doing comparisons between three that are similar, finding the best cars for certain purposes.

I also found a dealership that had a couple of the car models I was considering in stock so I could see them in person (and was very open that I was not buying that day, literally wanted to look at them, and would have walked away at any hint of pressure).

Gradually the list was narrowed down as I looked at them in more detail/spoke to people - eg one model felt really basic and cheap inside, one model I discovered certain engines had a record of cam belt issues, another car a few friends had had and all reported it was really rocky to drive/steer.

Took a couple of weeks but I found one that ticked all my boxes, and I actually love, for all that it was the ‘sensible’ option that ticked the boxes. (It’s a Seat Arona - not too big externally, but excellent internal space and a decent boot, Seat reliability is good at a decent price point).

Good luck!

Auto trader has many filters for price fuel gears etc

See what comes up

There are numerous resources online for car reviews new and second hand

You probably wouldn't go far wrong with something small and japanese. Toyota Yaris, Honda jazz Suzuki swift etc

Ask for a recommendation for a garage that won't rip you off. Or see if you can find someone who is knowledgeable about cars and buy them a meal or a bottle of wine or something as a thank you if they will come and look around a couple of showrooms with you as a sort of filter for the salesperson's patter.

1. Budget
2. Age
3. Maintenance Affordability (ie. a 20 YO Premium car may be in your budget, but that air suspension will be a killer if it breaks, Volvos have really expensive services every other year et.)
4. Fuel preference (most people do suit EVs now, and the only gotcha will be charging speed and range if you do lots of long drives, more charging speed as everyone needs the loo every few hours!)
5. Non-negotiable features

In most cases that will get you down to a handful of models.

I'll use our recent example

1. Budget £23k (Scottish 2nd hand EV Grant)
2. <8 years (grant requirement + battery warranty)
3. Maintenance (less of an issue with EV, but cut out old Audi's and Mercs in budget)
4. EV
5. 200+ mile range, fast charging, decent ground clearance, AWD, Android Auto/Apple Car Play, heads up display, reliable infotainment, medium SUV or Estate body style (not many of the latter), space for the dogs, heated seats (and a few more things)

This got us down to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 Ultimate Trim. Ordered from Car360., had a couple of options.

If you're not sure, Skoda's are good for value, reliability and size across all fuel types. There are some issues with infotainment systems in older cars but not a huge issue for the average user.

It has to be an uncommon colour that I like - currently have a bronzy gold car, previous car was pinky purple, next one will likely be a khaki green, mint green or pistachio green which will narrow down options.

Then I set a budget and it needs to have:
Apple CarPlay
Heated Windscreen
Heated Seats
Heated Steering Wheel
Lots of cup holders

I also want an electric car. With that level of filter there aren’t many choices left - so it’s probably going to be a Kia EV3.

Set your budget, then make a list of must haves. Unless you really hate a particular colour, I’d ignore that and go for condition, mileage and how many owners it had. I’d also check out the MOT history on the Gov website. Dealers are used to women buying cars now so you’ll be fine

What’s your budget and finance options

What do you need(or want if you can afford it)

What distance you drive (petrol for short distances,some diesels are not suitable fir short distances due to dpf filter-know nothing about electric or hybrids,sorry)

Cost of upkeep- maintenance, consumables (tyres for bigger cars are more expensive)

Other costs-road tax aka emissions and insurance group

Type into google AI what your budget is and what your priorities are, and ask it what you should buy. I found it genuinely helpful. Then use filters on autotrader.

Now if anyone can give me some tips on how to haggle when I go for a test drive tomorrow as the thought makes me shrivel up...

Took me 18 months to choose my new car. The majority on the market now don’t meet my needs.

but you do need to give some more info if you’re wanting ideas. How many doors? Engine size? How big a boot? Driving position? Manual or auto/petrol or diesel? Budget?