Can you recommend me a secondhand car that fits this bill please?

[CluelessCars]

Hi,

Can anyone recommend me a secondhand car that fits this bill please?

I'm a non-driver and know zero about cars. My DH will be driving it, but I'm the planner out of the two of us, so research falls to me!

Need:

Ulez compliant
Automatic
Can seat 3 kids in back
Decent boot space
Family sized hatchback (not too big ... we tried a Citroen Picasso for a year but DH got v stressed about parking it, he said it felt a massive car)
Ideally something cheap to run

So far folks have told us to look at Vauxhall Astra and Ford Focus.

Thanks v much in advance!

Vauxhall Astra is an excellent car that is a superb all rounder as it fits so many criteria. I'm on my third Astra - a 2017 Astra K this time. Excellent drive. A 1.6 is ideal. The K has a big boot, but no spare wheel although you can buy a second floor and wheel if you wanted to.

Although I've no experience with it, Ford Focus is another very popular family car for good reason.

Either of these would suit you very well.

Have a look at any post 2020 Renault Clio.

Agree with the focus. There's a reason the police used them for so long. Reliable, cheap for parts, hug the road, decent boot.

What size car seats do your children use at the moment? We found that a Ford Mondeo fits 2 high back boosters and one 0-4 type seat in the middle across the back, a Ford Focus was too small for 3 car seats. A Volvo v70 fits 3 car seats across the back too, VW Passat fits a baby carrier car seat and 2 high back boosters, but not the 0-4 type so wouldn't last very long. Otherwise it is larger cars like the SMax, Picasso, Alhambra etc. If you've got children who aren't in car seats any more it will be much easier to find a car to fit.

I have a Ford Focus hatchback 2017 eco boost, you won't be able to fit 3 booster seats at the back. Other than that it's a great car and fairly cheap to run.

Ooh thank you @DownNative for this - I have absolutely no idea what a 1.6 or a K means, but I'm going to Google it! Thanks so much!

Didn't know the Focus was a police car, thanks @BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz that's reassuring to know!

Hi @DinosaurOfFire thank you for this, only 1 child still uses a booster seat (tall 5 year old), the other two don't need them.

Hi @BadGranny I've just had a quick look and the only Renault Clio coming up in our (low) price range is a 2008 model. It says 56,000 miles which I think sounds low?

What is the difference please between a 2008 and a 2020 model? (Apart from being younger / older!!)

Golf?

Agree with a clio. Have and renaults over the years so reliable. I also recommend a Renault Captur. I am currently tlt driving one it's great.

The Clio is a fabulous car for the money. The newer one had a pretty major redesign and everything is just a bit better. But Clios of any age drive well, are not bad to insure, are reliable, don’t cost an arm and a leg to maintain and have good interior space and a decent boot size. I hate automatics, so can’t speak for the automatic version, but otherwise it ticks all your boxes.

A Skoda Octavia is a good call. They're reliable, come

In my lifetime of driving the 3 fords I have owned which were all brand new 2 focus st and a fiesta st (the sport models) have all lived up to the Ford “ Fix Or Repair Daily” motto and for that reason I wouldn’t recommend them to anybody, I’ve had countless Vauxhall corsa and Astra vxrs which have all been super reliable and would deffo recommend Vauxhall, I also have liked the Nissan Juke nismo and the qashqai tekna model, I’ve liked all my Audi a1 or a3 s slines again mega reliable

Get as new a car as possible as most now come with loads more safety features such as blind spot warnings or even actively steering to keep you in your lane if you are going over 40 mph.
KIA Sportage can be a good family car and is easy to park with the cameras.

Thanks for all the recommendations, really appreciate it.

@notagain2001 We have a tiny budget (about £2k cash or £4k if we get finance on it), so nearly everything we can see in that price range is 2003-2010.

I guess we could borrow more to spend £6k to £8k , but my worry is that the car might break down and we'd be left paying for it for a few years. Really don't have the experience to know how to spot a good deal though.

Thanks @Thatboymum can I just check, did you mean you would recommend a Ford?! I couldn't tell if that was a typo!!

Just found a Ford Focus 2007 with 69,000 miles for £3k.

Might try and go and see it.

If anyone has tips on what to look out for / ask etc when viewing a secondhand car, please shout, thank you!

• Find out if its a cam chain or cam belt, and if a belt, when it was replaced last if at all (they usually get replaced after 50k-70k miles)
• Check the bodywork is fine, no rust under the edges of the doors/ boot
• Before you go, if you have its numberplate check its MOT status on the gov website
• Check under the car for anything dangling off
• Look inside the bonnet to see the condition of the engine
• Put your children in the back seats with car seat if you can, to check they'll all fit comfortably
• Find out if it comes with any service history and flick through it if you get the opportunity Is it a dealership or private sale?

Thank you so much for these pointers @DinosaurOfFire , really appreciate it.

It's a small dealership, has about 8 cars showing on their website.

I did find several private sellers but I assumed I should avoid those as guessing it's safer to buy from a dealer? (Could be completely wrong, I'm just guessing).

Ps that's such a good idea to put the kids in the back seat to try them.

We've bought from a mix of private sellers and dealerships in the past, its six of one and half a dozen of the other really. Private sellers seem more likely to reduce the car to sell it, but they don't do warranties etc or repair/ MOT things before you collect if needed. It really depends on the cars and the dealership- as long as the dealership is a reputable one you'll be fine. We've not had problems either way, just be aware that an older car is likely to need some work on it in the first year that you own it, unless you hit jackpot and find one where the owner had it because they loved it and maintained it in a pristine condition while driving it carefully and lovingly. In reality, those are few and far between, especially for family cars.

I would recommend buying from a dealer/garage. You get six months warranty regardless of what the dealer says.

Low mileage isn't always great in older cars especially if they are diesel (unless you are doing loads of miles I'd recommend a petrol anyway) Agree with pp about finding when the cambelt was done (or if it has chain) the biggest thing is check that it had been serviced regularly and that the MOT advisories have been done.

Check for Ulez first, also check the tax group as this varies widely.

@CluelessCars no i would not recommend them , all 3 I had broke constantly and that was brand new , the last one was the only one I financed and the engine blew up at 13000 miles needing £8k of work which I couldn’t afford to pay along with the finance and I had to hand it back but now left with the debt of the finance monthly too still , along with the cost of my new car I would always recommend Vauxhall Volkswagen or Nissan they have never let me down

I recommend Mazdas. I have had a lot of Mazda 3s and currently drive a cx5 which I love