Buying first car. Tell me the best and worst cars you've owned

[MyRabbit79]

As the title says, I need to buy my first ever car. But I'm clueless.

So to give me a start, please share what the best car you've ever owned is and also if there's been a car you've hated.

Particularly if they've been good or bad in terms of reliability and ease of use.

Thank you!

Best cars imo are Japanese.

I'd never buy a french or Italian car.

Best- VW Polo. Have a had a few of these and they’ve all been great- nippy, reliable, a pleasure to drive.

Worst- Mercedes E class estate. Absolute lemon, always going wrong, felt like driving a bus.

Best - VW Golf 2 litre. It had the oomph to be as nippy as you needed eg to do a quick overtake but easy to park, reliable etc.

Worst was a Citroen Saxo. Really clunky, ugly, crap acceleration, crap turning circle. Always something needing fixed. Company car and had no choice in the matter.

I'm on my third VW polo and no issues

i had a 206 first car. broke down on way home from garage when i bought it and basically went downhill from there. then bought an astra which got stolen twice once being used in a jewellery robbery. used to break down in wet weather so not an ideal getaway car really. best car ford kuga i really like the high up driving position and it was pretty reliable but by that point i’d got a bit more disposable cash so was done with old bangers.

Absolutely love my nissan juke

Aside from best car, M&S are the cheapest loan company. Borrowing anything over £7,500 is 6.6% equates to £147 payment per month. The website has a calculator.

I would suggest buying something newer than an older car, otherwise you're more likely going to have to look quickly for additional money for repairs.
I have always liked Ford and the parts are cheaper. I currently have a Mazda 3 which I do like, but it doesn't have a heated front windscreen which drives me up the wall at this present time. Having an inbuilt sat nav is a good idea, but not essential.

@MyRabbit79 If you're not sure what to buy, go with your gut and find a connection to a brand. I'm from Sunderland originally, so always buy Nissan cars - first Micras, now Qashqai's. They've never let me down.

My least favourite was a Peugeot 106 - hated it

My current car is a Renault Megane & I love it. Its my favourite

2006 - Ford Ka - not bad, nice to drive
2008 - Ford Fiesta - I loved this car! Drove it into the ground, had to get rid of it as it massively failed it's MOT
2010 - Peugeot 206. Good little car but had a problem with the seat and it used to randomly slam back.
2011 - Second Ford Fiesta. I wish I'd kept this car, I loved it.
2014 - Kia Picanto. I hated this car. Hated it. Worst car ever. Clunky, felt every bump. Awful. Felt like such a downgrade from the Fiesta.
2018 - Peugeot 108. Nippy, easy to park, reasonable spec. Reversing camera! Absolute must. I had an accident in it though and the damage for the impact terrified me.
2022 - Vauxhall Corsa. Nice to drive. High spec for the price. Random electrical issues that are very frustrating. I love all the bits on it though, city mode, reversing camera, sat nav.

I'd buy another of any of the brands other than the Kia. I cannot state how much I hated that car. Amazed I kept it so long!

Our Mazda 3 has a heated windscreen so that's interesting if it's not standard. We got it second hand when it was 6 years old so that was 5 years ago now and the windscreen and heated seats are amazing in the winter.

The worst car I ever had was a Kia Sorento. It got written off in black ice and my husband said thank god it’s gone, that car would’ve killed you. If you offered me any Kia now I’d say no even if you paid me. People rate them but I am not sure they’ve driven better cars (and yes I am really fussy about cars, it’s my job to be a bit obsessed by them).

My very fussy mechanic really rates Volkswagen group cars (VW, Audi, Skoda, Seat) - I have a Seat Leon for work which is absolutely brilliant. Very clever, easy to drive, it’s forgiving and sturdy, I love it. Also have a BMW 5 series which I love too. Well built, excellent to drive, fun and practical. But expensive to fix and to fill up.

I think I'm leaning towards a Japanese brand or a ford fiesta at the moment. Decided the fiat 500 is just too small

Best BMW M3, Range Rover.

Worst Mercedes SLK, BMW 6 series.

I mean they probably don't make most of the cars I've enjoyed over the decades.

But, with the information you've given, then probably best starting point would be to look at insurance groups, then start narrowing down from there.

Only ever had a skoda octavia, great car if you need boot space (so much space!!!) and my 2019 has lots of legroom so long journeys for passengers is super comfortable not to mention the doors open up almost 90 degrees so if someone like my elderly dad struggles he can have plenty of door space to get in.

Its pretty good on mpg and repairs are affordable as its more middle of the range.

I dont think I could change to another brand to be honest unless they really mess the spec up.

And they last a long time my previous one was 20yrs old and only had to scrap it cos of ulez.

Best : Mazda MX-5 & BMW 440I M Sport. The Mazda was just incredible fun, it put an huge smile on your face every time you drove it. The BMW was just incredibly capable, a car in which you could drive halfway across Europe in a day at ridiculous speeds & want to do the same again the next day. That engine is an engineering masterpiece.

Worst : Vauxhall Vectra. An unreliable, uncomfortable, shoddy piece of badly built junk. Fiat Uno. Italian junk.

Another vote for Mazda 3s - we got ours when I was pregnant with our eldest and he's just learning to drive in it now! It's been really reliable and we've had to do very little to it. Rust is just starting to become an issue at this point, other than that it's been great.

Best: Honda Jazz and VW golf and Toyota avensis

worst: Mercedes and Renault. Both spent more time being fixed than I got up drive them.

Best have been Ford Ka or Mini.

Wound never buy a vauxhall after a terrible experience with a vectra a long time ago. I do hold grudges🤣

I am old, my first car was an original mini, I now have a new style mini and it is literally my dream car.

Work car is a Dacia, I hate it. Previous one was a Kia Niro, wouldn’t get one of them either!

Depending on what size you’re after, I LOVED my Toyota Yaris - super reliable - and liked the Mazda2 until it developed a fuel injector(?) issue that cost about £750 to fix. Hated driving the Peugeot 206 and my FIL has a Kia that is literally falling apart, though that seems unusual looking at this thread! For a bigger car, I loved my Nissan Qashqai. She was only the base model but I found her smooth to drive, reliable, and good on petrol. I only sold her as we needed something bigger

Worst by far was a Fiat 500, it overheated and broke down constantly. The only way to avoid this was to drive around with the heater on full blast...even in the summer, which was pleasant! 😬

Best car, Hyundai i10, I had one for 9 years without one issue so I basically went out and bought the same car again.

Best car... Fiat Panda 4x4. I'm surprised at the hate for Fiats here! Mine is now 10 years old, absolutely the most reliable car I've had (and I have had a LOT). Goes through anything, cheap to run.

2nd place... Nissan Micra... fab little car.

Renault Twingo was nice too.

Worst... Mini convertable. Poor visibility and felt like a brick.

Best family car.. Peugeot 308SW... absolutely brilliant MPG (diesel) and huge boot space. Never gave us any trouble and my DD has one now as perfect for kids.

Best Skoda Yeti - I’ve had 2 over 11 years and they’ve both been brilliant.

Worst - Renault Megane. Just awful, and horrible to drive.

Ah no we had an i30 and totally loved it, most reliable car ever
now on our third Hyundai.