What used car for 80yo, and how/where to buy it?

[Catabogus]

I am looking for a car for my 80yr old Mother. I don’t drive and I know nothing about cars - and I live at the opposite end of the country from her - so this is rather tricky.

Can anyone advise me please? The car needs to be economical to run and extremely reliable. I have heard Toyotas are good, especially Yaris - is this right? Any other makes/models I should be looking at?

I have a budget of up to about 5k but couldn’t stretch further unfortunately (less would be better). Would it be better to buy an older car with a lower mileage? Or a more recent one with more miles on the clock?

And where do I buy it from? I worry that I will be totally ripped off in a private sale as I know so little about what to look for. If I buy from a dealership is this better? At least I would have a warranty, right? Is this worth the (probably) higher price they would charge?

Thank you so much for any help with this. It’s been keeping me awake at night!

Have you asked your mother what she would like?

Toyota and Honda tend to be pretty reliable and my mechanic friend always recommends buying Hondas because he hardly ever needs to fix them other than routine maintenance. Honda Jazz would be a good bet for a small car. Probably older, lower mileage rather than newer, higher mileage because the newer the car, the more electronics they add, which have quite a bit of potential to go wrong.

Aim for Japanese models, older cars with v. low mileage. Look on something like Autotrader and only on dealerships, so you get an guarentee. I've just got an 8 year old car with 27,000 miles - 3,300 miles a year. It pootled to the shops and back.

Saying this as kindly as possible - is your mum's eye sight up to driving still at 80, if she doesn't currently have a car, or are you looking for a replacement?

Yes, I have asked my mother. She says she doesn’t want a new car as I shouldn’t waste my money on her. This isn’t very helpful really.

The problem is that realistically her current car (15 yrs old) isn’t going to last more than another few months and then she’ll be stuck in the village with one bus a day.

Her eyesight is fine and she’s a good driver. It’s just her car that is knackered! And she can’t afford to replace it herself.

Right: Japanese, older model with low mileage, buy from dealership. This sounds promising. Can I get something decent for £5k? Reliability is the main thing. Her current car is breaking down once a month!

You should be able to buy something decent for 5k. My car is worth around 2k is 9 years old and only has 21000 miles on the clock. It runs like a dream and has never even had an advisory on an MOT.

Make sure you shop around and see if you can take someone with you who is more knowledgeable about cars.

I’d have a look on auto trader as it’ll give you an idea of private and dealer prices. Shouldn’t be too bad trying to find either a Honda or Toyota on 5k. I love my vw golf but it’ll be at least 7k.

Maybe have a look at Kia. They’re not bad value wise and seem to be doing well in the market.

Honda are great .. yes try a Jazz. Perhaps her local honda dealer will have a part exchange. However they may do a deal on a slightly newer one.

I know no one who knows about cars, sadly (live in London and none of us own a car). I’m not even sure how I would get the car to her once I’ve bought it. I assume they don’t deliver!

On that note, can she transfer her tax and insurance to the new car? How does that work?

Ooh, part exchange. Hadn’t thought of that. Would they really want a 15ty old Fiat though? Is it worth anything?

Is she currently driving a manual or an automatic? If an automatic there is no way she’ll want to move to a manual so best to check.

A manual. Thanks for checking though!

Something like a Honda Jazz would be ideal for her, I agree.

I was just coming on here to say Honda Jazz! I've got one, 12 years old, runs like a dream, easy to maintain. It's easy to drive, not a huge tank of a car, but there's still plenty of room for me, passengers, and boot space for a large greyhound or a load of groceries (I don't advise mixing those 2). I love it.

Do you all work for Honda?!

It seems a Honda Jazz is the way to go!

Honda jazz. Toyota Yaris. Fiat panda

But what sort of mileage is she doing?

Would she not be better safer using taxis if it’s low.

Hyundai i10 seem very popular with older people round here.

All the elderly drivers around here drive Nissan Micras.

Haha! My mum has a Nissan Micra, it is really nice actually but was expensive for a small car.

The elderly I know drive the following,
Kia Picanto
Nissan Micra
One drives a Mercedes but she is rich.
And yes, Honda Jazz.

My mum loved her Fiat Uno because they have a high driving position and great visibility which becomes more important as you get older.

It is easy to get in and out of and you are not stooping to get things out of the boot.

For his 80th birthday my great uncle bought himself a new mini cooper with all the trimmings!!