Buying a car for the first time in 15 years

[Mutzu]

I'm wanting to buy a car in September but haven't owned a car for about 10 years and my last purchase was around 15 years ago so I am a bit nervous about making such a big decision and getting it wrong.

Can any mumsmetters make recommendations to this criteria:

• good fuel economy on short distances
• ideally get 10 years of use out of it
• mainly used for short distances

-just me and me son so something small -very reliable, easily repairable -will be buying from a dealership rather than privately

I'm not interested in having all the lasted gadgets and technology. Main thing is that it gets me from A to B and doesn't break down. Any recommendations greatly appreciated! Also interested in any advice on questions to ask at the dealership or tips for keeping the car in good condition as long as possible.

Are you looking at new or second hand?
Do you want finance or buying outright?
Brands like Kia, Toyota etc are deemed to be reliable, so if you want small, Kia Picanto, Toyota Aygo or Yaris maybe.

DH swears by VW! I had a Polo for a few years which was great.

Go on Autotrader and put in the search criteria of mpg, age and doors etc within say 25 miles and see what comes up. Sounds like you’re not too bothered. If you then see something that you like, do a google search of “common problems make, model, engine.” If it looks reliable research the garage. If the garage has good reviews and looks/sounds ok, do a Mot history check on the car.

there won’t be much that fits your criteria so won’t be as cumbersome as you think.

You need to give a bit more info: budget, petrol, diesel , hybrid, electric, new or used, manual or automatic ...... as a starter !!! ...... otherwise people will spend time making suggestions that could be a complete waste of time.

Not bothered whether it's new or used, hybrid or electric or whatever.
Just has to be reliable and get good milage.

Happy to pay up to 25.000. Will definitely buy and not lease.

I love my VW t-cross. Roomy but not massive, and zips along nicely.

Looks lile there are a few bits for VW. I don't think we have ever had one in the family so I'll have to do more research in to the brand.

I have a Honda Jazz Hybrid. Small car but large inside for a small one. Current MPG is 57.9 in the last 6 months since I have had it. Probably 70% miles are stop start town driving.

very reliable.

I bought a top spec 8 month old one with couple
of extras for 24k, I did see some brand new ones without those extras for that price brand new in March.

whether that was a year end thing I don’t know.

VW Polo small but still spacious and lovely to drive
or go for a VW Golf - great car, reliable, spacious and fab to drive

Do you have a drive, and could you fit an electric charge point? If yes then electric is an option. Does your employer offer EV electric car lease scheme? They can be very cost effective.

What's your budget?

I agree VW is a decent quality brand and I enjoyed driving a few golfs as company cars. Reliable.

Japanese cars are known for their reliability. Toyota has a 10 year warranty if you have it serviced at one of their garages. May be worth considering an Aygo - the Aygo X is quite nice and Toyotas are all hybrid so should be relatively economical.

I came to suggest an EV, but as @Rollercoaster1920 asks, ownership will be a lot more convenient if you have a charger at home. ( install ~£1200 here in North Wales ).

you can get a lot of used EVs for £25000 , some new ones too.

much easier driving too seeing as they’re all automatics.

Toyota Yaris - petrol hybrid.
Aygo if you can manage with a supermini, Yaris Cross if you want something a bit bigger.
10 year warranty.

I actually bought mine via Cinch. Can pay on a 0% credit card.

I have a Toyota Yaris & it’s great. It’s a self charging hybrid so it’s part electric but you don’t have to plug it in or anything - it’s basically like a very economical petrol car. I get approx 65 MPG.
For reliability I would always go for a Toyota or a VW (I had a VW Golf for about 12 years previously & it was brilliant.)

Seems to be a lot of support for Toyota too. I'll check them out as well as VW.

Toyota every single time. VWs are mediocre at best.

I would NOT consider any VAG group car if you are looking for ultimate reliability (VW, Skoda, Audi etc).
As pp have said Toyota is the undisputed king of reliability.

Also with a 10 year gap in driving you may be shocked at the changes - unfortunately you will struggle to buy any "modern" car that isn't chock full of gadgets and gizmos - plus the car will make lots of beeps and bongs and try to take over steering from you half the time. Unfortunately this is all due to modern regulations so all new cars have to have all these "features". The simple car just does not exist any more.

Also, carefully consider if fully electric is right for you. They are wonderful cars in many ways and perfect for short journeys - but only make sense financially if you can charge at home. And chargers are approx £1k to install. Also EVs require a slight shift in driving mentality if you do ever need to go on a longer journey. You can't be so spontaneous and have to plan your charge beforehand and plan where you are going to stop to charge along the way, and plan for a break for the 20-30 mins it will take to charge. So no just leaving in 5 mins and filling up with petrol in 5 mins at any point in the journey.

VW would be my preference but I drive a Vauxhall Corsa at the minute, not the height of luxury but excellent on fuel economy.

Toyato will go and go and go. Let my last one go with 133,000 miles on the clock and it was still okay. Got a BMW - bloody thing is always dying. Don’t. Just don’t.

Nissan a very good choice
Dont mistake small for reliable and comfortable. I have had a VW Polo, a Fiesta, a Qashqai and a Fiat 500. All of them were roughly the same to insure, and the same MPG. The Qashqai was the nicest as you sit high and everything works well and servicing is Ok as we're the VW and the Fiesta

I’d avoid anything Volkswagen group. I recently had an Audi and VW as a courtesy car after a crash. The vw would slam its brakes on randomly as I was driving or parking because it thought I was about to hit something. Even when I turned the emergency braking off. It nearly caused a few crashes. The Audi didn’t do that but they’re cut from the same cloth. The cruise control on both would randomly slow down due to a car in the next lane and I felt I had little control. I guess this is something to do with the 2024 road safety changes but colleagues with older vws say they do the same. I had a golf in 2018 that didn’t.

nissan are Renaults underneath so avoid.

toyotas are great but not the most stylish. Hondas too

You'll be pleased to know that there is no longer a requirement to have a man carrying a red flag ahead of your car now.

VW, Honda and Toyota that have been mentioned are good build quality.

I’ve just sent back a Toyota I had for 3 years (Corolla Hybrid) and it was good (bit small though). Build quality and reliability was spot on.

I’ve just dipped my toe into the EV world and gone a bit mad, but it’s a salary sacrifice scheme so get a good deal. Free home charger too, but waiting at the moment for a survey to get it installed.

Toyota Yaris. Bombproof and newer ones have a good level of tech.

It's incredibly stressful as they're all so big these days. Electric are more expensive to insure as repairs are more of a faff (nice man in Kia garage told me that).