Car-spiration

[TheApprenticeAdult]

Re-posting from Chat for traffic, due to time critical subject!

Not bought a new car in nearly 20 years but my current much loved motor is on its last legs & needs replacing v urgently, by month end.

So I'm looking for car-spiration! Based on experience rather than cars you'd like to have ifywim. Budget is in the used market range, up to 10k although I might be able to stretch to 12k at a push.

Currently have a Toyota yaris which I have loved. I wouldn't want to go smaller. It will be our only car & needs to be super reliable for a good number of years as I don't change cars often. It's to do me & my 2 teens.

I keep looking at newer yaris but I want / need to open my mind to possible alternatives.

What else in my price range is super reliable, decent at holding value, good for safety & economic on fuel...? Ideally I want a car less than 5 yrs old with low mileage but that may be unrealistic with other factors!

Go go go 🚗

Anything Japanese will do you. They are usually a great balance of features, reliability and value.

If you liked the Yaris, why not have another?

Skoda Fabia

Whatever you get, make sure it's got a full service history

New yaris is a different design to mine, so it's not exactly the same car, but I can't think further than what I (sort of wven though its a bit different) know.

It's a decision I will need to make alone so no other perspective to feed in to stop my thoughts going down the 1 track.

And also, it's good to consider alternatives if only to reassure that your original thought was the right one!

Ex had an octavia estate yrs ago, which I liked. Fabia could be a good shout thanks.

Bumping

I love my skoda, I have a Karoq which may not be in your budget but it doesn't sound like you need a car that size. they are a decent make. I find it much more fuel efficient than my old Astra was.

I’m a huge VW fan but don’t think they will fit your criteria on price

What about a Nissan Juke. We had one which was very reliable, but I don't know if they'd fit into your price criteria. I've had several different models of Nissan, my favourite being the Qashqai, but the Juke is just a smaller version. They've all proved to be very reliable.

Honda - Jazz which is similar in to the Yaris, or a Civic maybe. You might just get an HRV for that too budget. All Hondas are like Tardis’s too. I’ve spent the last 25 years trying to not buy a Honda (thinking I should have a change) but I’ve gone back to them each time and had three CRVs and an HRV in that time. That said, if you love Toyotas, stick with it, they’re also fantastic cars, both my DDs have a Yaris and love them.

VW Polo