Car advice - best reliable small used car around £5/6K?

[Fedupwitheveryone]

Please advice on next shitty car purchase. My old car has finally died and i'm stuck as to what to replace it with - I know nothing about cars and can't afford to get it wrong.

Need something small - medium for short distance London school run driving a few times/week. Only needs to fit one adult, one child, but ideally four doors as I child will need to be in back seat for a few years yet. Automatic only. Needs to feel safe enough for occasional motorway driving.

Any suggestions as to reliable cars that are good value in that price range - I don't want to buy something cheap that's going to cost more in repairs.

2007 + Golf? Renault Clio? Ford Focus? Any advice welcome.

Toyota - I retired my last with 278,000 miles on the clock. Never more than wear and tear.

I have a 2013 Toyota Prius C which has fingers crossed never yet had a problem.

I used to have skoda fabias but was in the garage with them quite often, I would not get another.

I just read an article that said Toyota is the most reliable manufacturer in 2023 but I guess that varies depending on year and model.

I didnt think Dacia did automatics?

I can only drive an automatic, never found it makes a huge difference in terms of what you can get your hands on

Skoda citigo/seat mii/vw up. These are basically the same car. We have 2, 6 years old, all they've needed is the occasional new wiper blade and tyres. Come in 4 door and automatic, lovely to drive.

They've stopped making them now as they last too well :)

Fabias are also great but despite being bigger my 6'4 son finds them more difficult to fit his legs in than the smaller citigo.

I’ve had many Vauxhall Astras over the years and always loved them. Super reliable and excellent value for money. You can usually get a newer car for the price compared to many other makes of car. Would definitely need to be a turbo engine, as they can be very sluggish without.
We’ve also just bought a 4 door Vauxhall Corsa, first time having one, it’s only as a little runaround but I’m absolutely loving it! It’s not a turbo but is a 1.4 so very nippy!

I have an automatic Ford focus that’s coming up for 15 years old and runs great, hasn’t needed any repairs just regular service since I got it 3 years ago. Totally rate it but wouldn’t consider it a small car- I learnt in a Yaris and it took a bit of getting used to how long the Focus is in comparison. Can fit literally anything in the boot though

Toyota Yaris
Honda Jazz
Hyundai l10 / l20
Mazda 2

I wouldn’t buy a French or Italian car or a mini at that price point.

Ford Fiesta and Nissan Note have been good small cars for me.

Currently have a Toyota Yaris and it's the most god awful thing I've ever driven. Air conditioning doesn't work, windows are constantly steamed up, check engine light comes on and goes off for seemingly no reason, it's just a bag of crap. Can't wait to change it.

DH broke down recently and the breakdown truck driver told him that the only make of car he'd never had to rescue was Toyota.

Might be worth thinking about?

You know you can get Aircon recharged?

Suzuki Celerio. I bought mine new in 2017 and apart from a new tyre and servicing, it’s not cost me a penny in maintainance. Tons of room for a tiny car, easy to get in and out, fits a pushchair in the boot and costs me £25 a month in petrol, daily use x 2, all short town journeys.
It’s bullet proof, I just wish I’d gone for a higher spec with aircon.
I paid £6900 new and it’s still worth £4500+ , 5 years on.

At that price point, I personally think that manufacturer and model matters less than history and condition. So you should look for something that has a solid service history, a good MOT record (you can look it up online) and hasn't been crashed, repaired or stolen/recovered.

Our second car is a VW Polo. It’s almost 13yrs old, has 130k on the clock and has never had a major fault. When it goes it will be replaced with another VW Polo. DS2 has one, too, because he lives in a city. He loves it. VW automatics are very good, too.

Nissan Juke, first car I’ve felt comfortable with.

Kia Picanto would be one to look at.

From what I can see online Dacia started making automatics (at least in the UK) in 2017.

Also echo Hyundai i10. Very fuel efficient and reliable. Their only Achilles heel is they don't like sitting around not being driven. If you leave it for a few weeks the battery drains quite quickly. Discovered this to my cost during first lockdown and had to replace the battery.

I would avoid anything French. I know Dacia are popular on here (basically a Renault that's even more cheaply made than an actual Renault) but check out their safety credentials. They're cheap for a reason.

I work in the motor industry and we sell all brands of cars, the absolute worst for reliability for us have been Nissan Jukes and Qashqais.

VW are great but expensive, you would get more for your money with Skoda or Seat. Maybe a Fabia or an Ibiza?

Us too. Lovely car

Ah @Hallyup14 Currently have a Toyota Yaris and it's the most god awful thing I've ever driven. Air conditioning doesn't work, windows are constantly steamed up, check engine light comes on and goes off for seemingly no reason, it's just a bag of crap. Can't wait to change it.

This sounds like my Hyundai i10 - also adding that in three years of owning it, we had to replace the transmission and the alternator. And the fan belt whined. And we were constantly having to top up the oil. Very glad to scrap it when it had only done 85k.

Just shows that every brand can have a Friday afternoon car. Tho the garage did say the oil thing was a thing with a lot of i10s.

I'm curious as to whether the people recommending their small cars have experience of the automatic models, as tge OP needs. Automatic transmission adds to price abs adds to things that need servicing/can break down, so direct comparison with the manual model is not necessarily useful.

@Fedupwitheveryone , the only auto I've ever had is a Golf DSG, which is 4 years old and I have no complaints at all. No idea what used prices are like, or if it is ULEZ compliant.

Another vote for the Yaris, I had an Aygo previously and that was brilliant too - low tax, low insurance and never failed the MOT

I love my Yaris! I inherited it when my dad died. Older than you're planning to buy it's still a little cracker. 5 doors, auto, it's more versatile, reliable and copes better in most situations than my Land Rover does. I think I'll keep it until it's uneconomic to repair. It was a bit of a bargain at £1800 compared to other identical ones for sale during lockdown. He crashed his old one which was written off and I had to get him one exactly the same.

@IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads thanks, good point. It's so hard to tell because a lot of people haven't had issues with their own car, but you never really know if you will get unlucky. The number of responses does help with that though. (My current car is 20 years old as has been problem free until now, but was high spec in its day)

re ULEZ - I think all petrol cars post 2007/8 are compliant, so it's not much of a problem really.

I'm currently leaning towards a Polo. Have not ruled out Ford Focus, Kia Picanto or Yaris. Would love a higher car but can't justify it when i don't need the space. One day.......

We love our focus and we’re considering getting a fiesta as a second car. Cheap to run and repair. They’re not known for their auto gearbox though. Can probably find one in that price range.