Can anyone wise offer advice on buying a used car??

[rolvus]

I'm losing the will to live whilst trying to choose a used car. I'm indecisive at the best of times, but this is the biggest purchase of my life besides my house. It felt easier buying a house, as whatever house we bought we knew would increase in value due to the area we bought in.

This car will take up most of my savings & be part loan. I can't afford for it to then be in the garage all the time. I will be putting money aside each month into a maintenance fund though, obviously.

I'd like it to last me 15 years and to be run into the ground.

Small-medium size, with a big enough boot for a few small suitcases. And able to fit 3 tweens/teens in the back.

Reliable, reliable, reliable.

I thought best to buy 3-5 years old at around £8-11k...is it better to spend more (i.e 11k to have a newer car with full service history? Or £8k and be £3k better off to be able to better afford maintenance?)

Models I've considered so far:
Renault Captur
Hyundai i30
Toyota Yaris
Hyundai Kona - people have reported an engine problem in the circa 2018 model

Any help GREATLY appreciated!

I just need something that runs without hassle or expense that'll last and last. What's my best bet?

Or do I forget this idea and lease? But I really loved the idea of having no car payments after my initial loan is paid off.

Ok, 15 years might be a little unrealistic but you know what I mean. 10 years would be nice!

Japanese cars are generally very reliable and have lots of things that would be options on other manufacturers as standard.

French cars often have electrical issues.

Diesel cars have dpf issues (this isn't necessarily an issue but you need to have a bit of knowledge to stop it hitting your pocket).

Of the ones on your list, I'd go for the Toyota. Make sure you service it regularly, change the oil a little more frequently than the service schedule states (every 10000 miles) and wash it regularly and it should easily last ten years.

Of your choice I would go Toyota all the time.

A Volvo is another good shout.

Toyota definitely. Absolutely NOT a Renault!

I'm in a similar situation and didn't know what to choose.
I went and looked at Toyota Urban Cruiser on Saturday and it's going to my garage today for a checking over.
My mechanic said out of my options to go with a Toyota.
He says he rarely sees them which is a good sign.
Good luck

NOT Renault!
Toyota or have you considered Suzuki? They are supposed to be very reliable. I have been considering swapping my Peugeot 2008 for Suzuki.

toyota now have this thing where as long as they service it themselves every year then you get a ten year warranty. Worth looking into your candidates and seeing if they qualify. Hyundai also have long warranty (5years). Both makes likely more reliable/cheaper than Renault long term. My top tip is to run the plate through the DVLA’s MOT checker. If there is a history of fails for suspension parts, or corrosion or the like. Avoid like the plague. MoT fails for tyres and wipers and even brake discs - nothing to worry about as those are consumables. No MoT fails and a steady tick over in mileage increase - worth sinking your money into. I would always say if it depreciates rent it, if it appreciates buy it. But if you like the idea of no car payment then do go ahead and buy it. Just put the “car payment” into savings every month. This will replenish your savings and give you a buffer for any repair bills.

Anything that only costs 8-11k at 3 years old is unlikely to hold any value / be thought of as reliable

I have a Honda Jazz which is small with a reasonable boot and flexible seating which you can fold down etc. i think it's great. It's comparable in class to a Yaris I think, but the cabin of a Jazz is supposed one of the roomiest in its class.

However, the third seat in the back is pretty uncomfortable and tiny; so do check that on the Yaris too, before you commit. Fine for a lift to the pub or pool or where your teenagers go, but not for a longer journey.

Have you consider a Volkswagen group car?

I ve a Skoda Octavia, 2016 model, diesel, so far in 122k miles, its had regular services, a new water pump and cam belt and an electrical water pump (£43) and thats it.

I intend to run it until it goes bang.

My partner has a Seat Ibiza (1.4 petrol) 17 years old, still going strong, just gets it serviced every year.

The best thing about VAG cars is spares are readily available, from multiple manufacturers and if you take abroad, any garage can work on them.

Another vote for Toyota or other Japanese brand (family members v happy with Nissan.) I bought my Corolla at 3 years old. 22 years on, it's still running great. Only just started getting the first major repairs but have been waiting for used car prices to normalize before looking for a replacement.

Not sure how realistic your price target is (I'm not in the UK.) I'd rather compromise on age rather than brand if necessary provided mileage isn't too high. Obviously contingent on having it checked up very thoroughly first/buying from a trustworthy dealer with warranty.

Hyundai are excellent. I've had two and neither have ever had any mechanical trouble.

Skoda Fabia would be worth considering.

I would personally go for a VW, Skoda, Seat or Audi as the parts are not too expensive. I’ve found French cars are generally the most unreliable and the most awkward to repair. My biggest advice to you would be to check the MOT history - were the advisories from one year gone on the next? That sort of thing shows me whether the car has been looked after.

if its done over 80,000 miles i'd ask if the cam belt as been changed

The best advice I can give you when you go to buy the car is pay £200 and get an independent mechanical report on it. AA or RAC do them. Firstly, you are not a mechanic so they know what they are doing, it also means that anything that needs fixing can be highlighted before you buy the car.

I bought a 2 year old Renault Captur with a fault identified on the AA report. They "fixed" it, picked it up, still had this problem. Now on the surface it did seem like an easy fix like tracking or wheel alignment would be but the garage couldn't identify the cause of why the problem kept occuring, they sent it to a Renault dealership who "fixed" it but the same fault kept occuring. With it only being 2 years old (most people tend to be in PCP deals or leases that are 3 years) it made us wonder if this had been an issue since manufacture.

Long story short I was able to return the car for a full refund. I think had I not have had the AA report it would have been much harder to argue.

In terms of makes of cars we have had that have been brilliant Kia/Hyundai (same company), Skoda/VW/Seat (all part of the same group) not owned but Toyota again renound for reliability.

I would personally go for a VW, Skoda, Seat or Audi as the parts are not too expensive

Plenty of nice soft touch plastics but nowhere near as reliable as a Toyota, they’re normally mid-table with Toyota being top 3 and Lexus(Toyota) usually top.

A family member asked me a very similar question, I told her to buy a Lexus. In nearly 14 years it’s done 130k and it’s had a battery and an exhaust, outside of routine service/consumables. She couldn’t give a shit about cars, just wants something that will work.

Suzuki for sure. I've had a Vitara and now have a soft hybrid Swift. Loads of room for a hatchback, lots of gadgets of that's your thing and I've had it two years and so far it's been very reliable.

Look at mileage before age. Consider Suzuki, Toyota or Volvo - all workhorses generally. Petrol not diesel. We always buy older vehicles to run into the ground although my current vehicle is only a 2008 model so still new for this household. Consider learning some basic car maintenance eg oil change, steering/break fluid checks etc. Doing all this will save money and prolong the life of your vehicle. Keep tyres at the correct pressure and don't drive with a full tank of fuel all the time (more weight for car go carry, makes car work harder uses more fuel).

We looked at Toyota Yaris, KIA Rio and Seat Ibiza. Kias come with a longer warranty than average, think it’s 7 years.

We ended up with a Seat Ibiza, which certainly can seat 3 in the back though I suspect it would be cramped, and had a slightly larger boot than the Yaris at the time. It has been a really reliable car and is very economical to run, fuel-wise.

I had a Toyota as a company car, it was the most unreliable bit xxxx i ve ever owned, electrical issues, ended up having a new ECU, costing over £3k - we had about 100 of these cars, we moved to Skoda Octavias, as just had too much go wrong, these were business owned cars, not lease.

When i left that company, i bought my car from them, i was that impressed with it.

A big problem was spares, not the run of the mill stuff as anything out the ordinary had to be shipped from Japan or Brazil or South Africa, could take weeks, there were also very expensive.

Toyota make many cars, the Avensis (the one we had) was rated 89th in an autoexpress survey, running costs consider very high, in the same survey, 38th for reliability.

A friend with a HiLux is paying over 4k for a new engine after 92k miles, he has had it from new, regularly serviced.

Based on my exp, i'd never buy a Toyota, anything on the OP's list but not one of those.

I had pretty much the same criteria when I last bought a car. Just wanted reliability and got a Honda Jazz. It's nearly 20 years old and keeps going. A Civic might be worth a look for the back seat size.

Use the MOT checker, check how many owners, full service history? With that budget you should be able to get a decent car. VW have been good buys for us in the past. Toyota have a good rep. Heard a lot about Cinch and being able to return if not happy.

Obvs a low genuine mileage is best. Average 10k per year so anything lower is good.