What (second-hand) car do I need?

[FiveGensOfLove]

Hit me up with your top recommendations!

We need a second car. We already have a family car - an estate with a huge boot. But we're moving to a more remote location and we'll need a small 'runaround' type car for short trips and to get one of us to the station for work, leaving the other person with a car too.

It needs to be economical on fuel but good on motorways (so, prob not a 'city car'), big enough to get two primary age kids in the back if needed. Reliable and cheap to run and repair. The kind of car you'd use for a quick shop or nip out to buy milk or to the station.

It will have to be second hand as we can't afford anything newer and we want to buy it outright. Max budget £4000.

What should I buy?

My first thought would be a Yaris, although maybe a bit small?

We are in the exact same position, so following with interest. My initial thought was a Corsa as I had one years ago. I know a Honda Jazz would be the sensible choice, but they’re just so ugly looking, IMO.

Aygo, 50mpg even round town trips, love it

I'd look at a Honda Civic or Toyota Auris for this. Anything smaller will be a nuisance on motorways.

Highly recommend the Kia Picanto. Twas my first car and had it for 4 and a half years. Got a new car (Vauxhall Astra) as I needed a car with a bigger engine and better MPG due to new job which entailed more travel.

Love my Honda Jazz for short trips and my Honda CRV for carrying bales of hay and the such like.

Something like a Clio? You can get them in 1 litre (mine averages 46.1mpg and costs £50 to fill). We live semi-rural however I travel to via motorway (about an hours drives) every other week and it doesn't struggle.

We often use my car - the run around - for weekends in the Lake District as it fits the dog in the boot much better than my husbands company car.

We have a Seat Ibiza (5 door model) which doesn’t have the fastest acceleration but it can certainly handle motorways and two car seats in the back. Very economical with fuel, in my experience.

Would highly recommend a Toyota Auris, mine is 11 years old and still perfect

How remote are you moving to? I.e. does it need a large enough engine to deal with hills? Or 4wd? Are there narrow lanes? Flooded roads possible? Snowy/icy roads with no salt put down? Depending on how remote you're going would make a big difference what car you really need

Consider a Volvo, V40 is a great size, they go forever, very safe in all weather conditions, lovely and stable to drive, great on motorways. A D2 engine is powerful but seriously economic and low enough emissions for zero road tax (depending on reg date but for that money you are looking at a 2013/14 model anyway).
They aren't nicknamed tanks for no reason, but the V40 is a compact size.

Second choice would be a Honda Civic, the body work will crumble before you have engine worries.

I have somehow ended up with my dad's Nissan Note as our second car runaround and I've been really impressed with it! Decent boot space, even more with the back seats down, perfectly quiet and surprisingly capable on motorways (1.6 engine), very calming to drive (auto), lots of tech stuff that he never used like bluetooth handsfree, sat nav, etc. We've all got rather attached to The Note.

Honda Civic all the way.

Ignore the unreliable steaming piles of shit from German and French car makers. Ditto Nissan.

You wont find a single reason to bypass the Civic.

Wow, Honda Civic overwhelmingly the top choice! Will investigate. I was leaning towards a VW Polo, but only because I’ve driven them before and they’re ok.

Agree re the Auris looking a bit shit.

@Damia there are country lanes, but to get anywhere we’re not far off a main dual carriageway A road, and surrounding area is fairly flat in general. So I don’t suspect we’ll need a 4x4 or anything similar. I grew up down a remote farm track and remember being properly snowed in!

Sorry, the Honda Jazz is ugly, not the Auris!

VWs are fucking shite money pits.

I wouldnt touch one with a shitty stick.

Civic all the way. Bombproof, reliable, spacious, cheap to run/tax/insure/maintain.

And far higher equipment levels than rival German trash. 👌

The only issue I had with my civic was it was a bit shit in the snow, the back end is quite light. I used to put winter tyres on and as it was a 2.2ltr diesel it was torque'y enough to pull away in second gear.

Honda Jazz, I had one until recently. They don't go wrong, don't cost much to run and a 5 door is very roomy. You don't see the outside when your sat inside it.

Honda Civic.

We've got a Honda Jazz and a VW Up.

The Jazz is our main car, it's fairly hideous and grey but it's a fantastic car. Never, ever had a problem with it. I can fit 2DC in car seats plus all of our stuff. It's safe, comfortable, nice to drive and has a huge boot. It was DH's car and he gave it to me when he stopped needing it for getting to work, and I didn't like it at first but now I do.

The Up is a lot smaller (DH needed it for driving to his new job but didn't need a big one) but could also fit both DC and a moderate amount of stuff if needed. The boot is fairly small but it's fine. I don't like driving it quite as much but it's pretty good overall.