Small economic car for £5000, Fiat 500, Mini, Citroen C1, ??

[Rudgey]

Can anyone based on experience give me some advice on the best very economic car I can buy used for £5k.
I cannot afford anything too sporty and looking for good mpg, low tax with room for two small children in the back.
I'm a bloke who is confident about his sexuality so no need to worry if it's a girls car or not nonsense. Needs to be ok for motorways some of the time as I visit my dad who is 130 mils away.
I have not driven any of these cars but my first car 30 years ago this year was a mini and I loved bombing around in it.
Would be a bonus if DIY servicing was possible.

[OllieJT]

Get a mk1 yaris! Far less than 5 grand! Mines worth 1100 odd quid with 31k miles and ftsh. Youll get kids in the back, its safe and sips fuel!
You'll never look back

[CrowCrow00]

OllieJT said:

Get a mk1 yaris! Far less than 5 grand! Mines worth 1100 odd quid with 31k miles and ftsh. Youll get kids in the back, its safe and sips fuel!
You'll never look back

Might even be able to squeeze a mk2 for £5000. I had the 1.3 petrol and got around 50mpg, and there's loads of room inside too.

How about a Suzuki Swift? Might be too small in the back though.

[wilbo83]

Probably best to post this in general gassing. Readers cars is for members to post up about their current cars

[mi1ne]

Dont buy C1, 107 or Aygo. More often than not clutches onlt last 30-35k.

[sawman]

why dont you get another mini - while you liked the last one

[Podie]

Mk1 Fabia vRS.

Diesel, perfectly capable of keeping pace with things on the motorway, cheap to service and solidly built.

[Aused]

My vote for the C1. Fantastic fun commuter, more practical than a smart car and the engine has a 3 cylinder 911ish note. The sensible choice would be a yaris or mini i'll admit.

[Rudgey]

Did not consider the Yaris as dare I say it, I wanted something a little cool with a bit of cred.
I like the quirkiness of the C1 and not as common as the Mini. Re buying another classic mini like I had is not really a reliable option, are you saying the new ones compared to BL classic drive the same??

[CallorFold]

Podie said:

Mk1 Fabia vRS.

Diesel, perfectly capable of keeping pace with things on the motorway, cheap to service and solidly built.

Good shout for the 130 mile trips, not sure what daily commute is like though? Diesel could work out more expensive if only doing short trips.

[Podie]

CallorFold said:

Podie said:

Mk1 Fabia vRS.

Diesel, perfectly capable of keeping pace with things on the motorway, cheap to service and solidly built.

Good shout for the 130 mile trips, not sure what daily commute is like though? Diesel could work out more expensive if only doing short trips.

The missus has one. Used to do mega miles, but now pootles to the station most days. Still gets well into the high 40's MPG wise.

[andygtt]

I bought my daughter an Argo, they are stupidly cheap to run... Ended up bombing around in it for 9mths and did a number of miles in it.... It's a bit like the old mini except it can do 100mph (just) and returns silly mpg... It's even fun to drive and much nippier than rival cars of same mpg and value. I enjoyed driving it and yet I have some very nice cars of my own to drive but still used to use the Argo on long journeys.

They have their mechanical faults, but our cars done 60k and I've known the car since new and it hasn't had a clutch... Only serious issue is i recently found my daughter has run it with no oil at all in it for quite a while and has killed the bearings... Joy lol

[VWAUDI]

mi1ne said:

Dont buy C1, 107 or Aygo. More often than not clutches onlt last 30-35k.

I'd guess that is probably down to the typical C1 etc. driver

[trashbat]

500 and Mini both incur a premium in purchase price for being 'lifestyle' cars - although on the flipside they hold their value OK.

In the case of the 500, the Panda might be a financially sensible alternative.

[Toaster Pilot]

Kia Picanto, you'll get into a 2 year old one with 5 years warranty left for less and they do 50 to 60 mpg all day long.

[Munter]

Hyundai Getz? Had one as a hire car once and was quite impressed for a small car.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/h...

[350zStee]

I bought a 2009 Mazda2 1.5 'Sport' for £6800, mint condition and has averaged 43mpg over 10,000 miles.

[Rudgey]

Thanks for all these comments, very useful. I think the only way is to drive them, started today taking a C1 for a swim at my local main dealer.
Expecting not much improvement from my 1980's mini I have to say I was blown away. These are great little cars and so cheap in all areas. Also took in to the next junction of the M4 and was not intimidated at all, spun along lovely at 70mph. Can also get 4 adults in it, impressed. I would like more pwer but this is going to put up Tax + MPG etc. Should really compare this in the mini group not super mini group.
Next to try the others for comparison, however these are going to have to be older due to £5k budget.

[dai1983]

Toaster Pilot said:

Kia Picanto, you'll get into a 2 year old one with 5 years warranty left for less and they do 50 to 60 mpg all day long.

I had one as a courtesy car once and I have never wheel spun a car so much in my life! Other than that it was a completely horrendous car. I would take a mid ninties Corsa over a new one as it would be built better and probably better on fuel. I gave it back and they gave me a C2 which was better built and was better on fuel despite having a 20% larger engine.

I'd try a Fabia vrs or a 100hp panda. Both 5 doors, economical but without being completely bland