Help me choose a car…

[Celia272]

DH and I are thinking of buying a used car, mostly for short trips around (very underserved by public transport) outer London zones and maybe a couple hours out to see family. Looking at nearby reputable dealers, we have shortlisted the following options. They need to be automatic - don’t have a manual licence :/ - which I think raises the price. I don’t want anything flashy (cat converter/car theft issues around our area), just steady and reliable, and definitely not above £10k..

I honestly know so little about cars, but based on the below, which would you choose?! (Or at least prioritise for a test drive) :)

2013 Ford fiesta- 14000 miles - £10k
2015 Toyota aygo - 27000 miles -£9k
2012 Toyota Yaris - 27000 miles - £9k
2016 Hyundai i20 - 90000 miles - £8k
2011 Volkswagen Polo- 61000 miles - £7.25k
2013 Kia Picanto -48000 miles -£7.25k
2010 Hyundai i20 - 56000 miles - £6.5k

I paid £1.5k for a polo with 77000 miles, 2010 plate. I think the polo you have on your list is massively overpriced!

Coming from a mechanic's sister low miles on an old car is not a good thing. It means it hasn't been driven a lot, which means it's been stagnant for long periods of time which isn't ever good for a car. They like to be driven. Cars that don't move a lot are more likely to have rust issues and engine issues.

I only ever buy a used Mini Cooper but out of those I'd go with the VW for reliability, although it's 12 year old the mileage is low. I'm always dubious about super low mileage cars though. I bought a 2013 mini with 67k on

A cam belt change is usually at 60,000 miles not 14k

Fiesta!

@Snippit

A cam belt change is usually at 60,000 miles not 14k

Possibly it's 10 years or X miles?

@amylou8 Do you mind sending me the name of the dealer you used ..?

We have an Aygo as our second car and it’s a 15 plate too. It’s passed all its MoTs , good on fuel, no road tax, easy to park and great for what we need.

id go for the car with lower mileage on it and a full service history preferably. Not all cars are driven motorways and for miles , our Aygo is used for town shopping and for teens to get to and from work. It does approx 2500 miles a year.

Definitely not Aygo because they are semi auto, using paddles of some sort. I only drive autos too, and I loathed it. I ended it with a slighter older Mini Cooper, and love it.

Those prices do seem high - I wonder if it's because you are looking for an automatic?

My advice is to look for a Skoda Fabia, they are excellent cars and very good value.
https://www.whatcar.com/skoda/fabia/hatchback/used-review/n808

Buy German or Japanese cars. They are the most reliable cars.

Had several Polos and Golfs, can recommend VW. Have recently had a Picanto as a courtesy car and it’s by a long way the worst car I’ve ever driven, and I thought the Corsa was bad! Words literally fail me about the Picanto.

2012 Yaris - I have a 2012 Yaris and it’s been perfect for what you describe. Super easy to park in London.

If the Ford is a power shift gearbox stay clear. I just got rid of mine and no dealer would touch it as a part exchange. Normally I don't believe car dealers but they all said how bad the power shift gearbox was and a quick Google search confirmed it.

A cam belt change is usually at 60,000 miles not 14k

My Fiesta is 100,000 or 10 years, whichever comes sooner, and because of the configuration of the ecoboost engine, you have to take the whole engine out to do it so it's a days work and needs specialist equipment, and I was quoted over £1K.