Which new (to me) car for 12k?

[Apolitia]

Currently driving an ultra reliable but ancient, small Japanese car.

Single parent, do about 8k miles a year and this will probably increase to around 10k over the next few years for various reasons relating to elderly care and not being able to afford overseas holidays involving flights in the next few years.

my lovely mum has offered me some money toward a newer car and I’m considering a Skoda Kamiq, or Seat Arona or some form of used Kia or Toyota because of the warranties. Would love a RAV-4 but I don’t think I can run to a decent one. Used car obviously.

Budget is 12k or thereabouts.

essentials in descending order of importance are:

-reliability, cost of repairs and running costs
-insurance costs (I live on a main road with no off road parking so £££)
-space: dog and two hulking teens
-comfort for long drives. We will be doing at least 2 1200km journeys each year
-needs to have a warranty/ consumer protection, so needs to come from a dealer, I can’t chance a private sale.
—needs to be ULEZ exempt and not electric or hybrid unless the battery is just a ‘nice to have’. Bitter experience of being stung for a replacement battery for a MHEV in the past.

I don’t care much about looks, power or styling but would appreciate a decent music system.

also why does mumsnet not have a car section? I’m not asking pistonheads 😂

We have a seat arona and love it, we had gone to buy the Skoda kamiq but it didn't suit DH as he is tall and has a tendency to bang his head getting on and out of many cars!

@Passmetheaero sadly the eco boost engine by ford is a known issue, which Ford have not responded well with. If you have the engine management light showing, take it to a garage asap and have it looked at. Get the light off and get rid of the car to another dealer. Lots of information and forums detail the problem, 😔

I don’t know why people buy VW, when Skoda is effectively the same, but cheaper. The layout of DH’s VW was exactly the same as my Skoda. I had a Karoq and a Kamiq and preferred the Karoq. Really spacious boot and the back seats re totally removable, should you need to use it like a van for something. I wish I still had it, but we went to one car and we both had to compromise.

It sounds like you need an estate car. Kias are solid, reliable cars and nice to drive.

I'm finding this thread really helpful as I have a 20 year old Japanese workhorse car I'll probably need to replace soon with a similar budget and spec needed as the OP's. But this thread is in Chat so will disappear. I'm going to ask for it to be moved to a more permanent section, if that's okay @Apolitia

Whats your workhorse? Jazz or Yaris?!

Jazz. Just doesn't go wrong except rain now leaks in sometimes.

Beautiful. Sadly those days of cars are long gone.

There's some good suggestions on here. How big do you need the replacement to be?

I could go smaller but worry I'd miss the boot space. Think Aygos look great but suspect a Yaris is more sensible. Hadn't considered Mazdas but this thread is making me take a look.

£12K will get a nice Mazda 2 or a CX3 if you prefer a higher seating position.

That said, the old Jazz lingered on until approx 2020 and is in budget if you want to keep it Honda. They did a 1.5 Sport which looked nice.

What you may note is many engines downsized from a 4 cylinder to a 3 cylinder which sound raucous and tinny. I'd always be looking for a proper 4 cylinder engine as they're smoother and quieter.

Aygos are basic city cars and do a great job at that but your 20 year old Jazz is more refined than any Aygo.

Thank you for the recommendations 😊 Good to know.

I have a Seat Arona. I absolutely love it. It's the most comfortable car I've ever had, and I've had a few. I've only ever had shitty second hand cars in the past, so maybe that why I love this one so much! It's a company car and after much deliberation I chose the Arona. I would happily drive it for the next 50 years if I could, that's how much I like it.

They're known in the industry as eco booms, mostly the 1.0 litre versions.

I'd get it to a garage sooner rather than later, if it goes it's a new engine

Thats right. Fords are heaps of turd and always have been.

They have a wet timing belt which disintegrates and lunches the engine.

Buy a proper car.

As an aside, I've asked in site stuff for mumsnet to have a board for car stuff. (I want to ask for advice, but don't want to derail OP's thread). This is the thread if you'd be interested in this as well (if you could just post agreeing if you think it's a good idea) https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/site_stuff/5201263-could-we-have-a-new-board-for-all-things-car-related-please Thanks

Skoda Octavia

I thought I’d update here now I’ve been to look at a few.

-Suzuki vitara was a solid car and I was really impressed by the dealership but ultimately it wasn’t quite comfy enough given the miles we are likely covering per year. Mechanically really good and I loved the long warranty options.

-tried a mazda3 but sadly too small for my hulking teens, dog and much camping luggage. Such a fun car though and felt like a quality proposition.

-then tried a Dacia Duster. I was really impressed by this car and the sheer amount of boot space and engine quality. Value for money was amazing. But same issues as the Suzuki: bumpy ride, functional interior with no USbs in the back, and we love our music: the info screen and stereo was fairly bargain basement. Maybe I should be less bothered and fit an after market sound system …

-then tried a Skoda Octavia and this was such a lovely car. Really good balance of quality important components without feeling cheap and uncomfortable. Unfortunately I have a very small on road parking space lengthwise so I’m worried that it will not fit and I’ll be parking it miles away which would be a big inconvenience with the dog, shopping and luggage.

lastly I tried a Renault Kadjar and this was my unexpected favourite. Boot was not as big as some others but loads of legroom in the back, nice turbo, good value and 3 years platinum warranty available.

So, I think this is the car I want but I just need to wait for a good one to come into a main dealer.

The top spec is really nice and also cheaper than any of the other cars I looked at bar the Dacia. A new crop should start appearing in feb as people trade theirs in, so I may just have to gird my loins till then.

I also booked to see a Seat Arona, got there, booked in (on a paid day off) and hey guess what, they didn’t have that actual car available: did I want to see something fancier but older? No thank you. I was so cross ! But I know it’s just some shonky bait and switch dealer.

Skoda and SEAT seem to be pretty pricey right now as second hand prospects, I’ve looked for Karoqs, Kamiqs, Aronas and Altecas but the good ones go so fast.