Cheap car to last 9 months - advice please :)

[vongole83]

Hi there

We are expecting our first child in a few weeks and with the public transport/ COVID situation, we think it best we buy a car for now.

We live in zone 2 of London, so need something that is OK in ULEZ. We are also planning on leaving the UK in 9 months or so, so we just need it to last us through til early 2021. We won't be doing all that many miles.

Our requirements are:

- Pref. 5 door as easier with the little one
- Good in the city but also good for the odd jaunt down the M3/ optimistic staycation in the autumn
- Won't lose too much value on resale
- Cheap to run/ tax

My O/H likes the look of Vauxhall Astra, Seat Leon, Honda Civic, and Mazda 3 (Based purely on aesthetics!!)

Doing some research, the BMW 1 Series seems to come well regarded by review sites, and a lot of people seem to rate the 1.6 Focus as well (Moreso than the Golf or similar). I also see a lot of good things written about the Civic.

As you can tell we really don't have a clue at this stage!

With a budget of £1-£3K, what would you recommend we look at? I'm not going to go comparing a load of different models, but just take a recommendation on what is a good model to focus in on, then I will look for the best condition/ value I can.

Thanks for any advice!

Edited by vongole83 on Sunday 21st June 19:49

[ZX10R NIN]

Vauxhall Signum they're decent reliable & have all the space you want & they're cheap to buy because of the badge.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Vectra SRI

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

2.5T Titanium X these are sort after but where you only need the car for 9 months I'd be going for the Vectra/Signum as they're less of an outlay & will easily last the 9 months.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...