Yet another what car thread. Can I please the missus for 3k?

[Bl0ndie]

In the market for a replacement car from our current Seat Altea 1.6tdi DSG. We only do about 8000 miles a year and mostly journeys less than 20 miles, so seems silly to keep a diesel. We only have it as we got it cheap from my partner's mum when she was replacing her car. Various car buying companies are offering around the 2.5-2.6k mark, so I think we could get maybe 2.8 or even 3k selling private as it's a 2011 and only got about 76k on the clocks.

My partner is doing her driving test shortly and will end up using the car mostly, as I only need to be in the office twice a week. We'll get me a second car eventually, but can cope with one for now. She's only doing an auto test, so that narrows the options considerably. The difficulty is that she has some very particular views on cars which impedes options. She doesn't like Civics or Focuses (Focus's?) as she associates them with chavvy boy racers from her time spent working at Halfords. No saloons, as they are for old men, athough she is partial to an estate (don't even ask me that logic), in particular an Audi avant, or (weirdly) a jeep. I'm not sure if picking up an auto Audi for 3k would be worth the risk or not as they'd all be 2002/2004 sort of age and well over 100k miles. Sensible choices are things like a Nissan Note or Toyota Corolla, but they're just so sensible I might as well start wearing corduroy.

Requirements:
£3k, might be able to stretch to £3.5k.
Hatchback or estate (no saloons allowed)
Petrol and auto (she'll only have an auto licence)
Big enough to comfortably fit the 1yo in the back and all the stuff for said child in the boot.
Unlikely to throw a big bill in the next 2 years before we can afford to replace with something more expensive (I normally do servicing etc. myself).
If possible, something not desperately dull like my entire car history has been (Fabia, Avensis, Jazz).

If it makes any difference we're in the midlands. Any ideas PH community?

[anonymous-user]

Personally I would keep your current car.

Anything automatic seems to double the price, I don't think you are going to get anything for £3K

[_Rob]

Agreed. My Mrs found the same, adding auto limits choice and increases the cost. Add this to an already 'specific' (I didn't say fussy) list of requirements and a £3k budget, and IMO you're in dangerous territory.

Keep what you have for now, until used car prices fall, or your budget increases. It's also likely that the price penalty for auto's will disappear over time, as more and more new cars are bought as auto.

[ZX10R NIN]

Mercedes CLC/C Coupe sometimes come up with sensible insurance numbers Insurance wise & they're a reliable set of wheels.

CLC180:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301123...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210130...

C Coupe:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212222...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301213...

Astra SE:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301093...

Exclusive:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212272...

Megane Coupe:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301153...

Lexus IS200, this may not work on two (insurance & they're saloons) fronts:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301223...

[Bl0ndie]

Thanks guys. I think I may have convinced her to get a small loan to increase the budget to 4-4.5k which should open up a few more options for us. She seems happier with an estate than any of the hatchbacks in budget. Probably looking at a Honda Accord as I know they're likely to be pretty reliable and taken care of. I'm not sure I'd feel as confident about a 100k+ A4 avant as I would a Honda. There's also a couple Saab estates in that price point which don't look too bad.

[Strocky]

Get a less fussy missus?

[ZX10R NIN]

They don't come up often but keep an eye out for the Mazda6 Estate:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301123...

[Bl0ndie]

Strocky said:

Get a less fussy missus?

Honestly, for someone not interested that much in cars she's got a lot of specific ideas

[TCX]

Just keep current car,get one of these Mrs pleased?

[scot_aln]

ZX10R NIN said:

They don't come up often but keep an eye out for the Mazda6 Estate:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301123...

You just have to watch the undersides of these for rust though don't you. Appreciating we are talking 10 year old+ cars but these always seem to have corrosion in MOT history.

[Bl0ndie]

scot_aln said:

ZX10R NIN said:

They don't come up often but keep an eye out for the Mazda6 Estate:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301123...

You just have to watch the undersides of these for rust though don't you. Appreciating we are talking 10 year old+ cars but these always seem to have corrosion in MOT history.

I think Mazda in general are known for rust on the sills. The Mazda 3 is fairly common though and I don't think she has any grievances with Mazda owners, so the 3 or the 6 estate could be options