Wife's new car

[mike9009]

My wife is wanting another car, so looking for suggestions as I am stumped....

Family carrying duties so big enough for five, but small enough to park easily. *
Stylish, she likes MINIs. *
Convertible but doesn't leak.
Decent on a occasional motorway trek.
Leather, all the toys.
Decent aircon
Would like Electric, but diesel would do.
Less than 50,000 miles/ lower mileage *
Less than five years old
Cheap to run *
Less than £9k *
Colour unimportant...

Obviously all these criteria make this an impossible task and as such she just keeps moaning about her Nissan Note instead. We are going to look at a 500L, but any other recommendations which might come close? I have put a star next to the things that are important in my head.....

[M.F.D]

You can forget about electric at that money, unless you're happy with a 10yr old Nissan Leaf with some decent miles thereon. Wouldn't be my money.

If the wife likes Mini's, then what about a countryman? Probably fits the criteria, albeit you might need to compromise with 50k miles or you're budget, but probably not by an awful lot. Fiat 500L probably does the same job though, as does the plethora of other crossovers out there.

[ZX10R NIN]

You're going to have to compromise on your wish list but here are some other options.

Ecosport Titanium not a looker but a good car:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112110...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110289...

Vauxhall Mokka Limited Edition

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110158...

SE

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111290...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112220...

Tech Line

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201061...

Infiniti Q30 SE you'll have to haggle/stretch the budget a bit but you get a very nice family car:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111270...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201101...

Astra Elite

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201051...

500L Lounge

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112030...

500X Lounge

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110268...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112070...

[Driver101]

If the car is only doing short trips and the occasional motorway trip I would forget getting a diesel.

[mike9009]

Thanks, some good suggestions there. The list of criteria was somewhat tongue in cheek, as wifey does not quite understand how her wishlist basically means there is nothing available......

I am just wondering whether to keep her Nissan Note going for one more year, before changing. We have had it for nine years now, so itchy feet are having an influence. Hopefully by then the second hand market might be more reasonable again. The Nissan has some battle scars (dodgy paint, small dents, grazed front bumper, etc) so is probably worth very little, despite nothing wrong with it excepting it needs new disks and pads up front......

[ZX10R NIN]

Only you can answer that one but don't expect the used market to have changed to much.

[georgeyboy12345]

Citroen DS3 fits the brief pretty well

Stylish
Convertible roof, but won't leak (because it's not a real convertible)
Decent on the motorway as they have 110 - 165 bhp depending on engine
Leather
Some toys, touchscreen, satnav, cruise, sensors, etc
Below 50k miles
Around 5 years old
Cheap to run - pre 2017 1.2 puretechs are £0 tax, even the THP is only £130 a year. Insurance groups 21-30. Should get around 35-45 mpg in the real world.

Here are some good ones

2017 1.2 PureTech
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201121...


£0 tax 2016 1.2 PureTech
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112110...


Or for a bit more oomph, the 1.6 THP
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112140...

[elanfan]

Noooooo! Hateful car.

[mike9009]

Just to conclude the thread.

We bought a 5 door MINI Cooper D with lots of toys (leather, sunroof, auto lights/ wipers, upgraded stereo thing). 7 years old, 50k miles for a smidge under £10k.

Happy wife, except I didn't realise that 'modern' cars do not have CD players!!

Thanks for entertaining her impossible wish list

[ZX10R NIN]

Glad you got OP & the OH is happy too.

[Canon_Fodder]

mike9009 said:

We bought a 5 door MINI Cooper D

Nice drive - try to make sure it gets a regular outing on the motorway for an hour or so

[mike9009]

Canon_Fodder said:

mike9009 said:

We bought a 5 door MINI Cooper D

Nice drive - try to make sure it gets a regular outing on the motorway for an hour or so

Yeah, aware of this, but being on the Isle of Wight limits our dual carriageway frolics to 0.5 miles!! However she does do two thirty mile round trips per week....and this worked for the Nissan Diesel we had. We do get on the mainland too every couple of months, so it will get some longer treks too.....

I quite enjoyed it too, having had three MINIs previously. I forgot how darty and fun they are!!

[HocusPocus]

mike9009 said:

We bought a 5 door MINI Cooper D with lots of toys (leather, sunroof, auto lights/ wipers, upgraded stereo thing). 7 years old, 50k miles

Happy wife, except I didn't realise that 'modern' cars do not have CD players!!

My old Mini of that era had a CD player fitted in the glove box. Took up much of the space, but then there is the upper dash box for nick nacks.

[Mr Tidy]

mike9009 said:

Just to conclude the thread.

We bought a 5 door MINI Cooper D with lots of toys (leather, sunroof, auto lights/ wipers, upgraded stereo thing). 7 years old, 50k miles for a smidge under £10k.

Happy wife, except I didn't realise that 'modern' cars do not have CD players!!

Good to know how your search ended happily.

My sister bought a 2018 Fiat 500 last year and has the same "what no CD player" problem!