What car should I buy?

[Golondrina]

Hi,

If you were me and looking to buy a car (new or second hand) what would you buy?

I work from home, DH doesn't currently need to drive to work.
Two kids 6 and 9.
We do a very low mileage.
About twice a year my brother comes to stay and we travel to other bits of the country in one car (so 3 adults and the 2 kids).

Thanks!

Something petrol and Japanese. Honda Civic maybe?

Definitely petrol.

A lot depends on what you are comfortable with and how much you are prepared to spend.

I tend to buy at 3-4 years old when they should be less than half the new price. If you aren't going to do a lot of miles yourself, then I see little value in getting a particularly low mileage car. A modern car should last 200,000 miles, so a well maintained car with less than 50,000 miles on the clock should still be pretty reliable.

My default recommendation is a Ford Focus. It's a moderate size, not too big, not too small. There are loads around, so it should be easy to find a decent example. All the local garages see plenty of them and know how to look after them and parts aren't too dear.

If you look at a Focus as a starting point, then you can see whether it suits you or if you would prefer bigger or smaller, a higher driving position or anything else that doesn't feel right for you.

Our current car is a Citroen C4 from 2009. We bought it from a friend when it was 3 years old. It's a diesel, but I wouldn't choose a diesel now as our mileage is so low now.

A 2 wheel drive 1.2 litre skoda yeti. Fab car. Great space, Versatile interior. Often for 3 adults and 2 kids in ours.

So what's good or bad about the C4?

Do you want more space, a smaller car, a higher seating position?

Or would you like something very similar, just newer?

We're on our second skoda octavia and are really happy with it. The other car we considered was a Honda civic tourer.

Skoda Fabia, we have driven a hatch back which has plenty of space. We upgraded to an estate when our baby was born to give us a bigger boot. They are fantastic cars

I really like the C4, although when my brother comes it's a bit tight in the back and will get more so as the kids get bigger. But, then he only comes 2-3 times a year, so perhaps that's not worth worrying about.

So, I think I'd like something bigger (maybe a C4 Picasso, but maybe I should take a different approach. All the C4 Picassos I've seen 2nd hand are diesel.

I'm not sure about whether it's bigger than a C4, but yes, the Octavia is a very good car. I had a mark 1 for 8 years. My main criticism was that leg room in the back wasn't so good, but that is apparently solved in the mark 2.

Maybe a Ford S-Max would be worth a look?

Kia Venga... we love ours. Kias have a 7 year warranty too so even if you get a secondhand one if it's relatively new you can transfer the warranty. It's a mini mpv and you sit high up in it and it's lovely to drive.

in your position i'd keep the C4 for a few more years.

really pushed i'd look at petrol versions of the zafria, focus, yeti, octavia, i20 etc.

but i'd save up and keep what you've got till it dies

Yeah, that's the plan really, lovely because it's what we can afford to do. It's just that I wanted a bit of an idea what to do if it does conk out in the coming years.