Gunman Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 I am not car person in so much I am not clued up on all makes and models , to me a car is a tool to be bought and used , so may be you could be of some help , My wife's 16 year old Nissan Micra will not past its MOT this coming April so we are looking to find a small car replacement , Its not going to do big miles maybe 3000 plus pa. It has to be small enough to fit in a garage and we do not want to spend more than £3000 on a 5 year old second hand replacement , Question is there being a large number of possibilities is what not to buy or to avoid . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les*1066 Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 Go for another Micra. They are superb cars, and your wife will notice a huge difference if she takes a newer model out for a test drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 (edited) A Citroen c one or Peugeot 107 both same car as a Toyota Aygo for a lot less money. Good reliable cheap to run little car. Both my children started off with one each of these, son still has his Daughter has had a few cars now and loves her polo 1.6 diesel, sadly not in your price range at that age. Don't go for the newer model moves to the one you have they are plagued with problems, the newest one is good. Edited January 1, 2015 by figgy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdubya Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 Wife has just had her 2005 C2 written off ( hit from behind at speed) she had it from new and apart from a literally £10 fix of an electrical problem with the rear off side light it never missed a beat, however on replacing the car she wanted a different model, and did not want to spend to much, so we looked about and picked up a 2007 ford KA with only 32.000 on it for the princely sum of £1200 and she loves it, out of the two the ford is surprisingly more solid in feel than the C2. KW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 Micra/Corsa/Colt/swift The micra is softer the swift more dynamic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royboy Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 As said the C1 is a belter, i can't believe I'm saying this about a citroen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brett1985 Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 just to buck the trend, my time spent with the C1 was a nightmare. it was 3 years old when we got it, and had 17000 miles on the clock. within 12 months i had replaced the whole exhaust system, the alternator, the water pump, the boot seal, all of the locks (boot, doors, ignition) and a wheel bearing. luckily i work in the motor trade so there was no fitting costs involved, but if i couldnt have done it myself the repairs would have equated to around a third of what we actually paid for the bloomin thing! the one plus point was the fuel economy, we did a 700 mile round trip and it averaged 78 mpg. if you decide to go down the C1/107/aygo route, buy the toyota. its more expensive for a reason... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browning 425 clay hunter Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 A girl at work had a c1 nothing but problems. Avoid French cars like the Plaugue. Jap or German beat option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brett1985 Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 A girl at work had a c1 nothing but problems. Avoid French cars like the Plaugue. Jap or German beat option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Passionforangling Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Go for another Micra. They are superb cars, and your wife will notice a huge difference if she takes a newer model out for a test drive. +1 I've had a couple of the older Micra's for tootling about. A friend just sold a V reg one for £250 with just 23000 miles on the clock. The guy that bought it knew he was getting a bargain and gave him £400 for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oowee Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 your wife will notice a huge difference if she takes a newer model out for a test drive. I dont doubt it lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marki Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 It may be a bit too big but Honda Jazz is a pretty decent car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenshooter Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 A girl at work had a c1 nothing but problems. Avoid French cars like the Plaugue. Jap or German beat option. Agreed. See the reliability surveys that have the bottom places filled with French cars. Jap and German work well, painful as it is for me to say that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andypaint Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Hyundai I10, small and reliable little cars. Don't see many in the garage. Nissan not as good since Renault got there hands on them. Citroën and Peugeot ok till around 6 years old then can start costing money. Toyota ok but more expensive to buy so you'll end up with an old one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michufc Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 I used to work for Citroen and left not long after the c1 came out don't be put off by the Citroen badge as many people have said French cars are rubbish well they are but the c1 is jap it's completely made by toyota the only difference is the badges. Even when you service them the filters are all toyota. Now I am not saying they are great cars in anyway as they are not my kind of car I would go down the line of a polo I think if it was me just a bit more safety features. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browning 425 clay hunter Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 I used to be a mechanic about 6 years ago and as a general rule the French should be avoided, German and jap most reliable but still have issues and ford/vauxhall are ok but as all makes have issues. A few at work with sigma/corsa/Meriva have been having issues recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
four-wheel-drive Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Like most things in life if you are lucky and get a good one of anything just enjoy it you can spend a fortune on something that everyone will tell you is the best one to get only to end up with a pile of poo I just go with the one that I like the look of best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blunderbuss Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 (edited) Another to consider. My wife has had a Mitsubishi Colt for the last 6 years and its been utterly reliable. Other than servicing and consumables like brake pads and tyres it's been maintenance free. Edited January 4, 2015 by Blunderbuss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowStandards Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Micra, yaris, would be sound, I had a yaris for years and it never missed a beat Stop putting cars in garages, not good for them... Have you considered an LS400? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan. Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 (edited) Mk3 Renault Clio 1.4 petrol, does everything you want it to with a good size boot etc. Toyota Yaris good car also slightly smaller Suzuki swift also a nice car in 1.3 form. Keep it small, petrol and non turbo engined and it will be reliable enough for small miles. If you go for an older car go for a lupo 1.7 SDI does 200k on an engine easily and due to being diesel and non turbo it's very reliable for smaller miles unlike a turbo diesel cars but also £30 a year tax Edited January 4, 2015 by Dan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Galore! Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Peugeot 107 same car as a Toyota Aygo for a lot less money. Good reliable cheap to run little car. Both my children started off with one each of these, my wife had one of these, I enjoyed driving that more than the current 207 she has now. only £20 a year to tax and about 60-70mpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan. Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=151522200778 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny thomas Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 How about a kia picanto we used to run them as loan cars great little cars brakes are a bit keen but nice to drive You won't go far wrong with a micra Just look around and find what you like no modern cars are really unreliable if looked after Fiats being around the worst but on the flip side they are really cheap to repair Find something you like and I'll try and point you at what to look for if you like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triumphant59 Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 For someone that's happy to keep their car for many years just buy the best vw pool you can find. They are reliable and unlike anything made by ford, vauxhall, Peugeot or Citroën don't rot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanksbids Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Honda Jazz, wonderful flexible little car, nippy and @ 55 mpg at speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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