Cheapish auto for a 20 year old

[OverSteery]

My son's girl friend suffers from arthritis (At 20 - life can be really be unfair..). When it's bad she can't manage the clutch on her current Clio.

Any recommendations for a cheapish (say 3-4k) for a reliable and insurable auto. It's not really a market I know anything about. I keep getting distracted when the search filters turn up a high mileage S class auto in budget....

It would be nice if it weren't too dull. I suggested a Jazz and her response was "And I know I have aches and pains like an 80 year old, but I'm not actually old"
(Sorry if I have offended any Jazz owners )

[Saleen836]

Swap the Clio for an auto one?

[InitialDave]

A Yaris, perhaps?

[defblade]

My daughter plumped for a (gently bashed all down one side) Toyota Corolla 1.6 auto over a Jazz (and various other cars). It certainly feels like a class above, even with twice the mileage. Insurance was very sensible - a fair bit lower than similarly engined Civics etc.

[Seanseansean]

My wife used to have a little auto lupo but they are getting quite old now.
A few random cars, that popped into my head.

What about a Ibiza
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104261...

Jazz
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102169...

Aygo
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105263...

Yaris
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103310...

[samoht]

A cheap, reliable auto probably means something Japanese I think - most drivers in their home market take autos, so they make lots of reliable torque converter autos. I think most of the VAG stuff is DSG, which is nice but at that price point I'd be concerned about it throwing a £4k bill on top.

I don't know how insurance will go, but here are a few more or less interesting ideas in budget:


Toyota Auris, Prius (Prius prices have collapsed lately due to a glut of unwanted minicabs)

Lexus IS200/IS250, RX300/400

Subaru Legacy 2.0R/3.0R

Nissan Cube, Note

Mazda MX-5 NA/NB, 3



Sadly R33 GTS-T Skylines are a bit more than £4k now even with an auto box, and probably wouldn't be insurable anyway ;-)

[dhutch]

Fiesta?

Any car, any fuel, automatic, within 20 miles, sort be price?

[eleveneleven]

An automatic Yaris is a good shout, will be cheap on fuel/insurance and most of all reliable.

[anonymous-user]

After searching for a similar car my conclusions were :

1)DSG - Bork factor and I read reports of it being jerky at low speeds. Plus, I don't know if they creep like a traditional auto when you take your foot off the brake.
2)CVT - I hate the way the revs rise and they make loads of noise as you accelerate.
3)Japanese cars + Kia/Hyundai - They all seem to use a four speed auto. If, as I suspect this is the same gearbox we had in my girlfriends mazda 2 then it is truly hateful. Ancient, dumb with a slow gear change from first to second.

What I want is a traditional slush box with six speeds and a torque converter. This is where I start looking towards Mercedes and BMW but then you have problems with the four cylinder engines.

So I gave up, but I would still be interested if the car I want existed.

[ZX10R NIN]

Mercedes CLC 180 Sport ticks all the boxes, they're sensible to maintain/insurable for a 20 year old & they look smart too, getting one with the Pano/Sunroof & heated seats is the cherry on top:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105243...

Pano/not heated

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105243...

Base Spec

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103240...

With the Mercedes they're supposed to have their Gearbox Filter & Fluids changed every 40k (to be honest I'd say this should be done on every auto) if there are no receipts showing this has been done then knock £300 off the price.

Supermini wise I'd say the DS3 with it's conventional Auto is the pick but you'll have to haggle/stretch the budget a little.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102259...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104302...

It makes more sense to go for a Focus sized car with a conventional auto.

Astra Elite great value & a nice reliable car

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105192...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104231...

SRI

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105313...

Focus Titanium

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103170...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105182...