If you have a cheap reliable car what is it?

[LoveKingGary]

We are in need of a second car and looking for a fairly cheap runaround. We do have 3 children so it can't be miniscule but our main car is quite big so happy for a much smaller one.

Looking for something economical to run. What do you drive and is it economical?

I'd been thinking something about 2017 or newer but don't have a fixed idea. Budget around £10k? Not sure. Less if possible..!

Mk1 Toyota Yaris 54 reg 5 door I inherited when my dad died. Fantastic reliable little car with only 60k on the clock. I will keep it and run it into the ground.

I've owned various Mitsubishis over the last 30 years. They have all been utterly reliable

im motortrade so have experience of loads of makes and models.
You will not go far wrong with the Volkswagen up/citigo/mii

cheap to tax, insure etc. petrol £60 to fill up and can return 60-70mpg easily. Parts dirt cheap and plentiful, lots have heated seats, cruise etc.
park them anywhere. Little bit of character, will hold their money well. Just go for a five door as three doors have an annoying seat configuration

all little cars have gone up in price recently due to ulez and fuel issues. But these will ride the loss when that bubble bursts more then a lot will

Toyota yaris verso. Not my main car but very reliable

I love my Hyundai i10, cheap to run,tax and insure and surprisingly roomy for a little car.

I used to have a Fiesta. Didn’t love it as it was boring but god it was reliable, never let me down

Mini cooper

The vws hold their money for a reason they will hold it more when you sell it as well.

If you do go for a fiesta /focus 1.0 get the newest one you can. The older ones the engines are likened to chocolate as they just melt. They have a terrible reputation in the trade.

gearbox & engine Issues on the older ones. Don’t touch anything over 60k miles.

Diesel ones have terrible engines that cannot take any mileage at all (which is ironic given that should be a diesels strong point)

Same here. Would recommend i10/i20/i30.

we had an i30 for years was a great car possibly a bit bigger than you need. i10 could be a bit small with three kids. i20 could be perfect. There’s also an i20x which is a bit beefier and worth looking out for- not that many of them and since discontinued

Mitsubishi are sadly pulling out of the U.K. which could cause supply issues for parts

I drive a 2011 Toyota Aygo. £30 annual road tax, cheap insurance, had it several years and no real issues on MOT apart from things like brakes needing attention. Economical on petrol and it comes with 4 doors so no need to squeeze behind front seats. Boot space actually bigger than you might think from the outside, plus its an absolute piece of cake to park!

I can’t knock the Yaris / Ibiza / Hyundai / jazz suggestions above.
all good solid cars.

just don’t go auto on the hyundai.

I'm with all the Skoda love. The citigo is very small and a bit underpowered so perfect it's mostly just you and one or two DC in the car running around to activities etc, but probably not great if you do ever have to have the whole lot of you in the car for more than 15 minutes. I had one for years for the former and it was brilliant - economical, reliable, easy etc. The Fabia is a step up and a bit bigger but still great from what I hear.

The Octavia is a great car too but quite big and I wouldn't buy it as a second car.

And before that I had a Toyota Yaris which was equally cheap, equally reliable but unfortunately met its end in a RTA. I think the Toyotas, Mitsubishis, Hyundais are all reliable little things.

@Damnautocorrect interested in the Hyundai/auto thing - is this a big issue? I'm looking for auto

There are better autos out there that’s all, not from a reliability point, they are just a bit clunkier and more primitive then others -which is often a bonus in mechanical reliability terms, not when your half way round a round about and the thing can’t chose a gear or your on a motorway and it’s revving it’s nuts off in third as it’s not changing up.

Citreon Picasso C3. Very uncool but comfortable and low maintenance (famous last words!).

The fabia is a good shout the 1.2 dsg is genuinely one of the easiest cars to drive.

interesting you say about the citigo being under powered, you have to work the gears a bit. But I’ve had the work ones flying, the newer ones are turbo’d so that helps

the gti up (although that’s out of budget for op) is genuinely one of the most fun cars I’ve ever driven on the road.

Over used the word genuine there

Dh has my old Ford Focus, it’s over 12 years old and just keeps going. No bills for it apart from tyres and brake pads. 65mpg, but it’s diesel.

dd has a small Skoda Fabia, only had it a year, it’s 6 years old. No issues.

Really interested in this thread as I could have written the OP myself. I had an ancient Ford Fiesta which I drove for six years without a single issue and I was thinking of going back to one but other great ideas on here.

Ford fiesta 2016 model