New car

[pandapopadance]

Why is buying a car so expensive and stressful?!
Do other people find it easy?
What car should I buy for £10k?
Reliability is importance and cheap to run.
Something a bit higher up (SUV) about the size of a ford Kuga.

The Skoda Karoq is a budget Tiguan. I have a Karoq and a colleague had a Tiguan; they share a floor pan and on the surface share a dashboard. OP said the Karoq was outwith her budget.

@snoopyfanaccountant the difference is that the Tiguan has been around a lot longer than the Karoq so will definitely be within budget.

I love buying cars. Search on autotrader with your price range and see what comes up, then search reviews for the cars you like the look of. Compare the spec of each car to see what you can get for your money, Ford usually have high spec.
I've bought cars at dealerships and over the phone to be delivered. If you have them delivered you normally get at least 2 weeks to drive the car and you can return for a refund if you don't like it. Look at reviews of dealerships before you buy.

But from a dealer that advertises that they offer a six month warranty, consider buying an extended warranty from a company that actually cover issues - have a look at the T&C's and the hourly rate they pay and the max amount.

Look for service history and Google common faults.

Honestly newer cars are crap. Consider spending less on an initial purchase of a 2000-2005 car and then spend money getting it up together

This is so stressful! Thank you for all the advice, I'm taking it in. I just don't have much time to sort it out as I need the car next week.
Going to google RAV4s now!

Albeit that you get what you pay for.

German cars haven’t been the paragon of reliability for a long time, most are average reliability or below. There’s a reason Lexus/Toyota smash the reliability surveys every year. Japanese every time for the sort of person who’s looking for good value, reliable transport.

That's interesting about the tyre pressure! I have an i10 and it's been faultless in every way except that bloody light on the dashboard 😂

Skoda are solidly built and reliable. Try a Kamiq if the Karoq is a bit out of price range

Nissan Qashqui or a Toyota Rav4

Nissan are Renault underneath. I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole despite popularity and relative reliability.

Agreed, the one Japanese brand that’s a load of shite. Shame, as pre-Renault they made quality cars.

I’ve just gotten rid of my 2020 Tiguan. Wouldn’t touch one again with a barge pole. It had so many faults within the first 6 months that I was on first name terms with the garage. VW are not the good value, high reliability brand that they used to be.

We just had our 2013 Passat sadly written off due to an accident. It had done 183'000 miles and sailed through every MOT. It was a great car. Anyone I know with a Tiguan has loved it. Maybe the new ones aren't up to scratch.

A family member has a RAV 4 and loves it.

If you want an SUV style (and even filtering by SUV i wouldn't class some of these as one!) then you seem to be down to the Ford Kuga, Kia Sportage (might be too big for you??), Hyundai Tucson or Darcia Duster. Of those I'd probably go for the Tucson. For your money you might get a slightly newer Darcia than the other brands but that's because they're cheaper to start with. Your best option is to probably go to one of the big car supermarket type places where they have a range of makes and models so you can compare them more easily.
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Thank you all for your advice. Got a list of four to go and look at tomorrow. I'll let you know how I get on.

I've had a Ford Kuga. Now just got my fingers crossed it doesn't break down.
I narrowed it down to 3, viewed them all this morning and then made a decision.
It's got 12 months MOT.
I hope the rest of you looking for a new car find one soon!

Very good cars. Apparently a real drivers car. They were on my list but I've gone off fords after owning a few. Make sure you service regularly. I've always done every 10k regardless of what the manual says.

If you haven't already picked it up and paid make sure you do an MOT history check to make sure it's not been ragged in the past. Look out for things like lots of repair work at time of MOT. A big hint that this car only saw a garage when legally required.

Happy driving!

Very good cars. Apparently a real drivers car.

Decent transport maybe, a driver’s car? I think not.

I don't know as I've never driven one but I turned up to test drive one at the Carshop as someone else just put the deposit down on it. All of the lorry drivers or field based people I know, aka "drivers" say they actually really enjoy the kugas. Not like the ultimate driving machine but comfortable, practical and everything you need when out in the car for hours, particularly country to country. However, that's the older ones up to around 2017. Don't know about the new ones.