Looking to replace my current car, need suggestions please
Discussion
I bought a 2008 Honda Civic last year and have had nothing but trouble with it so am at the stage where I feel getting rid of it will be a better option than putting up with a car I hate. Not knowing cars myself, I have no idea how to choose between cars myself except from a superficial standpoint. Therefore, I am hoping somebody here could help me narrow the market down.
Here is what I am looking for:
Here is what I am looking for:
- Around £5000
- I would like to get a car newer than I currently have. Newer than 2011 is preferable.
- Hatchback
- Petrol (I don't like what I read about diesels getting clamped down on by government these days - plus I don't do massive mileage)
- 5 doors is preferable but I would be happy to go down to 3 door if it is significantly cheaper for the same car.
- Not French (I have always been told this advice, I don't know if it is still the case that French cars are crap)
- Not Honda - I am not touching Honda again, despite what everyone says, I am put off the brand after my Civic.
- I want it to be able to accelerate decently - both of my past 2 cars struggled to keep up with other cars at lights and struggled to get up hills.
- I don't want a small car - I am over 6ft and find some cars too small for me. For example, I am too tall to get into my Civic's boot without hitting my head, it is very frustrating.
- The size of a Ford Focus seems good (This is what I used to own, but the 2002 model).
- Manual transmission
- Most of all, I want something that will require little maintenance beyond an MOT, service, and general day-to-day things.
Not sure if you know this already, but the boot of a Civic is huge and will be much larger than regular hatchbacks, so if you've become accustomed to its larger size, then changing to another hatchback may be an issue.
Otherwise, an Auris springs to mind:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Both under budget, although are 2010 cars. The black one is more expensive with higher miles, but is an approved used car. Each to their own with warranties and main dealers, however it might put you more at ease given your past troubles with your Civic.
Otherwise, if you can stretch your budget to 6k you can get a 2011 approved with lower miles;
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Otherwise, an Auris springs to mind:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Both under budget, although are 2010 cars. The black one is more expensive with higher miles, but is an approved used car. Each to their own with warranties and main dealers, however it might put you more at ease given your past troubles with your Civic.
Otherwise, if you can stretch your budget to 6k you can get a 2011 approved with lower miles;
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Wonderful reply, thank you very much.
I did actually consider Auris a while back. But sort of dismissed it lately, not sure why.
The Civic boot is rather large. However I am not completely concerned with boot space. To be honest, it is wasted most of the time. I only really use it once per year when I move to a new part of the country. But I can always make multiple trips if I have to.
I did actually consider Auris a while back. But sort of dismissed it lately, not sure why.
The Civic boot is rather large. However I am not completely concerned with boot space. To be honest, it is wasted most of the time. I only really use it once per year when I move to a new part of the country. But I can always make multiple trips if I have to.
Any of these are worth a look,
Ford Focus, Kia Ceed and Vauxhall Astra are cheap to run and reliable, not very interesting but you can't really go wrong with either. All can be had as 1.6 petrols, with the Astra and Focus available in 1.8 and 2.0 guises. The Astra also comes as a 1.4 Turbo with 140bhp.
If you want something a bit more funky, I would suggest a Nissan Juke, but check the size is fine first.
Also look at the VW Golf but you will struggle to get a decent one under 7 years old.
However my money would be on a Seat Leon or Mazda 3. On the Leon, don't discount the 1.2 TSI petrol - I have that engine in a Skoda Fabia and it's brilliant; does 45mpg and is very peppy. Choose the 1.6 or 2.0 petrol on the Mazda.
Ford Focus, Kia Ceed and Vauxhall Astra are cheap to run and reliable, not very interesting but you can't really go wrong with either. All can be had as 1.6 petrols, with the Astra and Focus available in 1.8 and 2.0 guises. The Astra also comes as a 1.4 Turbo with 140bhp.
If you want something a bit more funky, I would suggest a Nissan Juke, but check the size is fine first.
Also look at the VW Golf but you will struggle to get a decent one under 7 years old.
However my money would be on a Seat Leon or Mazda 3. On the Leon, don't discount the 1.2 TSI petrol - I have that engine in a Skoda Fabia and it's brilliant; does 45mpg and is very peppy. Choose the 1.6 or 2.0 petrol on the Mazda.
S54Love said:
Otherwise, if you can stretch your budget to 6k you can get a 2011 approved with lower miles;
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Approved by whom I wonder?https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
I approve this message btw.
IDontKnowCars said:
I bought a 2008 Honda Civic last year and have had nothing but trouble with it so am at the stage where I feel getting rid of it will be a better option than putting up with a car I hate.
Your Civic is 10 years old, it will have things go wrong with it. How many miles has it done, where did you buy it from and what has been going wrong with it? - Around £5000
- I would like to get a car newer than I currently have. Newer than 2011 is preferable.
- Most of all, I want something that will require little maintenance beyond an MOT, service, and general day-to-day things.
I don't think that £5,000 is enough money to buy a car that you know will require just routine maintenance. It will be a decent car, but you will almost certainly need to spend money on it as it will be likely around 8 years old with 70,000+ miles on it. The miles aren't an issue if you had done them, but if you were selling such a car, would you have done the cam belt, changed the tyres etc if you knew you would be selling it soon?
kieranblenk said:
Any of these are worth a look,
Ford Focus, Kia Ceed and Vauxhall Astra are cheap to run and reliable, not very interesting but you can't really go wrong with either. All can be had as 1.6 petrols, with the Astra and Focus available in 1.8 and 2.0 guises. The Astra also comes as a 1.4 Turbo with 140bhp.
If you want something a bit more funky, I would suggest a Nissan Juke, but check the size is fine first.
Also look at the VW Golf but you will struggle to get a decent one under 7 years old.
However my money would be on a Seat Leon or Mazda 3. On the Leon, don't discount the 1.2 TSI petrol - I have that engine in a Skoda Fabia and it's brilliant; does 45mpg and is very peppy. Choose the 1.6 or 2.0 petrol on the Mazda.
What an insightful reply, thank you so much. A list of possible cars is exactly what I was after. I can now go and research the models you mentioned and see if they are right for me.Ford Focus, Kia Ceed and Vauxhall Astra are cheap to run and reliable, not very interesting but you can't really go wrong with either. All can be had as 1.6 petrols, with the Astra and Focus available in 1.8 and 2.0 guises. The Astra also comes as a 1.4 Turbo with 140bhp.
If you want something a bit more funky, I would suggest a Nissan Juke, but check the size is fine first.
Also look at the VW Golf but you will struggle to get a decent one under 7 years old.
However my money would be on a Seat Leon or Mazda 3. On the Leon, don't discount the 1.2 TSI petrol - I have that engine in a Skoda Fabia and it's brilliant; does 45mpg and is very peppy. Choose the 1.6 or 2.0 petrol on the Mazda.
Interestingly, a number of the cars you mentioned were the ones in the forefront of my mind. Namely the Ford Focus (Having previously had one of these), and the Vauxhall Astra. I was not aware of the engine variations though, I will definately be on the look out for these!
Thanks again
Willy Nilly said:
Your Civic is 10 years old, it will have things go wrong with it. How many miles has it done, where did you buy it from and what has been going wrong with it?
I don't think that £5,000 is enough money to buy a car that you know will require just routine maintenance. It will be a decent car, but you will almost certainly need to spend money on it as it will be likely around 8 years old with 70,000+ miles on it. The miles aren't an issue if you had done them, but if you were selling such a car, would you have done the cam belt, changed the tyres etc if you knew you would be selling it soon?
You make some excellent points. I guess the reason many people are selling such cars is that they don't want the maintenance that they see coming up.I don't think that £5,000 is enough money to buy a car that you know will require just routine maintenance. It will be a decent car, but you will almost certainly need to spend money on it as it will be likely around 8 years old with 70,000+ miles on it. The miles aren't an issue if you had done them, but if you were selling such a car, would you have done the cam belt, changed the tyres etc if you knew you would be selling it soon?
As for the details of my Honda. I bought it from a dealer last Spring from Vantage Select in Morecambe. It is currently on 75k miles and has had the following problems since I bought it (Some fixed, some not):
- Paint flaking off across the entire bodywork
- Corrosion around the suspension
- Water making its way into my boot when it rains (I noticed when buying, the dealer claimed they had just washed it and it was simply drying - being spring when I bought it, there was no rain to actually enter the vehicle properly for months)
- Scraping sounds from one of the rear wheels that I fear may be a failing wheel bearing
- Broken instrument cluster causing no backlight while driving and thus no readings.
- A radio display that is beginning to fail
- Leaking A/C radiator (Causing total failure of A/C system)
IDontKnowCars said:
Willy Nilly said:
Your Civic is 10 years old, it will have things go wrong with it. How many miles has it done, where did you buy it from and what has been going wrong with it?
I don't think that £5,000 is enough money to buy a car that you know will require just routine maintenance. It will be a decent car, but you will almost certainly need to spend money on it as it will be likely around 8 years old with 70,000+ miles on it. The miles aren't an issue if you had done them, but if you were selling such a car, would you have done the cam belt, changed the tyres etc if you knew you would be selling it soon?
You make some excellent points. I guess the reason many people are selling such cars is that they don't want the maintenance that they see coming up.I don't think that £5,000 is enough money to buy a car that you know will require just routine maintenance. It will be a decent car, but you will almost certainly need to spend money on it as it will be likely around 8 years old with 70,000+ miles on it. The miles aren't an issue if you had done them, but if you were selling such a car, would you have done the cam belt, changed the tyres etc if you knew you would be selling it soon?
As for the details of my Honda. I bought it from a dealer last Spring from Vantage Select in Morecambe. It is currently on 75k miles and has had the following problems since I bought it (Some fixed, some not):
- Paint flaking off across the entire bodywork
- Corrosion around the suspension
- Water making its way into my boot when it rains (I noticed when buying, the dealer claimed they had just washed it and it was simply drying - being spring when I bought it, there was no rain to actually enter the vehicle properly for months)
- Scraping sounds from one of the rear wheels that I fear may be a failing wheel bearing
- Broken instrument cluster causing no backlight while driving and thus no readings.
- A radio display that is beginning to fail
- Leaking A/C radiator (Causing total failure of A/C system)
Are we taking serious rust around a suspension component or it just not looking like new?
The water getting into the boot make be either a blocked drain or it needing some new seals, I doubt either would be expensive.
The scraping noise could be the brakes which are a consumable, wheel bearings aren't expensive, do both sides at the same time.
I would expect the back light for the instrument cluster to be replaceable, you've replaced light bulbs in your house, haven't you?
The radio display beginning to fail on a new car is a warranty job, on a ten-year-old car is something you would live with.
The air conditioning condenser can get a hole in it at any time on any car. Some are certainly more vulnerable than others. It's a relatively expensive fix if you want the AC to work, but the car will run without it. Air conditioning doesn't run for free.
Let's say it costs you £1,200 quid to fix all of that lot. You will then have a car that you know that works fine, or as well as you can expect a 10-year-old, 75,000-mile car on run. Now, can you go out next week and swap your car for 12 hundred quid and get car as good as yours that needs nothing doing to it?
There are good used cars out there but you have to be picky and patient for the right thing to come along. In this price range I'd suggest buying privately as you'll probably pay a 20% premium buying from a dealer.
We paid <£4000 for my wife's 2010 Nissan Note just under two years ago (so just under 7 years old at the time) with 24000 on the clock. Slightly smaller than what the OP wants obviously. It has been completely trouble free as I expected from previous experience with the model. The only thing we've spent on is servicing and two tyres.
Having said that, I also agree that the types of things the OP noted could happen on any car, including our Note. If you don't want to think about these things, buy a new car.
We paid <£4000 for my wife's 2010 Nissan Note just under two years ago (so just under 7 years old at the time) with 24000 on the clock. Slightly smaller than what the OP wants obviously. It has been completely trouble free as I expected from previous experience with the model. The only thing we've spent on is servicing and two tyres.
Having said that, I also agree that the types of things the OP noted could happen on any car, including our Note. If you don't want to think about these things, buy a new car.
Edited by nmd87 on Monday 11th June 11:49
Willy Nilly said:
If you had a 10 year old car in 1990, for example, a few flaking bits of paint would be the least of your worries, the chances are it would have had terminal rot.
Are we taking serious rust around a suspension component or it just not looking like new?
The water getting into the boot make be either a blocked drain or it needing some new seals, I doubt either would be expensive.
The scraping noise could be the brakes which are a consumable, wheel bearings aren't expensive, do both sides at the same time.
I would expect the back light for the instrument cluster to be replaceable, you've replaced light bulbs in your house, haven't you?
The radio display beginning to fail on a new car is a warranty job, on a ten-year-old car is something you would live with.
The air conditioning condenser can get a hole in it at any time on any car. Some are certainly more vulnerable than others. It's a relatively expensive fix if you want the AC to work, but the car will run without it. Air conditioning doesn't run for free.
Let's say it costs you £1,200 quid to fix all of that lot. You will then have a car that you know that works fine, or as well as you can expect a 10-year-old, 75,000-mile car on run. Now, can you go out next week and swap your car for 12 hundred quid and get car as good as yours that needs nothing doing to it?
Thanks for the detail you went through there Are we taking serious rust around a suspension component or it just not looking like new?
The water getting into the boot make be either a blocked drain or it needing some new seals, I doubt either would be expensive.
The scraping noise could be the brakes which are a consumable, wheel bearings aren't expensive, do both sides at the same time.
I would expect the back light for the instrument cluster to be replaceable, you've replaced light bulbs in your house, haven't you?
The radio display beginning to fail on a new car is a warranty job, on a ten-year-old car is something you would live with.
The air conditioning condenser can get a hole in it at any time on any car. Some are certainly more vulnerable than others. It's a relatively expensive fix if you want the AC to work, but the car will run without it. Air conditioning doesn't run for free.
Let's say it costs you £1,200 quid to fix all of that lot. You will then have a car that you know that works fine, or as well as you can expect a 10-year-old, 75,000-mile car on run. Now, can you go out next week and swap your car for 12 hundred quid and get car as good as yours that needs nothing doing to it?
I am unsure about the rust. It was something mentioned on my MOT but not picked up on my service 3 weeks later. I haven't had the chance to jack up my car and even then I'm not sure what I'm looking for.
I've tested the seals as best I can, I can't see any ingress on any of them. As for the drains, I am not sure where these are but I see no water pooling anywhere when I pour things over. I am fearful that there may be a hole on the underside.
My brakes are sure for a change, hoping to do these myself. I will see if there is a difference in noise once I manage that.
The backlight was not replaceable unfortunately. I took it to a cluster repair specialist several times and they couldn't do anything despite their best efforts - they gave me a full refund though. In the end I bought a replacement from eBay and had Honda fit it (Otherwise Honda quoted me £700 for a new one).
Yeah, I'm not particularly bothered by the radio. It started last week and just seems like anew problem in a never ending battle to have this car fully working.
I got the air con fixed a while back. Though it was 5 trips to garages because non-specialists were useless in identifying the cause. It was just very uncomfortable being in a black car with black leather seats during last summer when some days was hitting 35 degrees and I needed to do some 200 mile journeys.
You make a good point at the end. but I'm still just getting more and more let down by this car. I had a car twice its age before, was worth a quarter of the price and never had any issues whatsoever. Perhaps I just got very lucky with my banger and now have unrealistic expectations regarding what to expect from a car.
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