Help me choose a car (please!)

[Ozzyskye]

My Renault captur has served me well but has recently had a fault occur that is going to be too expensive to repair compared to its value. I need a new (as in new to me, not brand new) car but having just spent hours looking my brain is fuzzy and I can't make a decision so I wondered if you'd be able to help!

I need;

Automatic
5 doors
A car big enough for me,Dh and ds (6)
Less than 10000 ideally
Less that 5 years old
Low milage (under 35000 seems reasonable?)

I would like/am open to;
Hybrid but any fuel type ok
A similar size to my captur
GPS
Parking sensors or camera

I've driven (and liked) Toyota Yaris, corolla, ford fiesta

🙏

Can’t argue against the Yaris or Corolla, they’re likely to be amongst the most reliable cars on the road.

Agree with previous poster, Toyota's have always been extremely reliable for us, make sure one you buy has full service history.

don't obsess on mileage - service history is far more important

Would put a vote in for the Hyunadi i20 - I have a 68 plate i20 Premium SE Nav - had it 5 years and simply awesome

If you're happy with the Captur seek out a Renault specialist, theres bound to be someone somewhere nearby that can fix it. It cant be that catastrophic of a failure?! 1.2 engine woes?!

Or if it is,] terminal failure then avoid Nissan as well as they are basically the same cars as Renault. The Captur is the French Nissan Juke.

If it has to be something different then a proper Japanese car is your best bet. Honda HRV (older shape), Or Korean - the Kia Stonic/Hyundai Kona are a similar size to the Captur.

Our last three cars have been ex-Motability. Two to three years old, low mileage. Find your local dealer and see what they have.

^Less than 10000 ideally
Less that 5 years old
Low milage (under 35000 seems reasonable?)^

I think this will be a big ask unless you go for a very small car. If you want something bigger, you might get something around that price range if you go for something with higher mileage and/or a couple of years older. If it has a full service history, it will be fine.

Look at Kia and Hyundai.

My parents always swear by Toyotas for their reliability, although I've never had one.

I've got a kia sportage that has passed every MOT (2015 model). It's been a fantastic family car for us, not too big and has a spacious boot. It's 9 years old now and is starting to show some wear and tear after 90000 miles , but up to this point its been very reliable. At some point in the next few years I expect I'll have to trade it in 😣

@Bjorkdidit Oh yeah I missed the £10k bit as there was no pound sign in front of it. £10k gets you nowhere near any of these suggestions at under 5 years old, not in this marketplace.

I'd go for an engine rebuild on the Captur if thats what it is.

Looked on Autotrader and its the auto gearbox that makes those criteria impossible to meet. You'd need to spend considerably more, or get a manual. Even then the closest decent car would be £11k meeting those other criteria.

@Ozzyskye what's wrong with the Captur? If it's knackered what are you planning on doing with it? Selling it spares or repairs?

The cost of second hand cars has soared in recent years. You will struggle to match your criteria on a budget of £10k.

Your budget is low for what you want but I'd recommend looking at a Skoda, I live the brand and have driven most models and never been disappointed

Do Skoda even do a mini SUV type car like the Captur? There's the Seat Arona but again you're paying for the perceived Germanness of the VAG brand.

Thanks all. Ive done a bit of a more thorough calculation and reckon I could go up to £13k so hopefully that'll open it up a bit.

The issue with my car is to do with the semi auto gearbox - at best it's a fix to the module and I've had ballpark estimates of 2 grand, at worst the gear box will need rebuilding and it'll be another £3k ISH on top.... To be honest the car is only worth about 3k so I'm not convinced it's worth spending money on fixing.

I'm awaiting valuations on my car (with dealers and with full disclosure) so I can factor that in to how much I'll need to put in or borrow

Interesting about the juke as that was one I was thinking about

Yep the Juke is the Captur in disguise so if you fancy one then ask your mechanic if the gearbox is the same in the newer model.

£13k would get you an electric or hybrid Kona in auto. Or a mazda mx30 seems incredible VFM. Id never even heard of them till today!