New daily... what should i consider for £12k?

[EliteAlex000]

Hi all,

I’m looking for a new daily. I’ve got a budget of £12k absolute tops, cannot be extended. I don’t like doing finance so a brand new car is out of the question. I drive the car daily and have a 18 mile each way to work which is mostly dual carriageway. I want the car to be fun and obviously as reliable as possible.

I’ve currently got a Toyota Yaris SR 1.8 which i’d describe as a warm hatch. I’ve had it 6 years and has been pretty good to me. The time has come to get shot as it needs the expensive exhaust centre section (about £1k - not far off what it’s worth!).

The question is, what do i get next? On the shortlist so far are the F56 Mini Cooper S and the Mk7 Fiesta ST 2/3. These will both be around 2014 cars. I don’t know whether to consider a VXR corsa as well?

I’ve test driven the Mini and i liked what it offered but would note the gearbox was very notchy. The car felt very solid with plenty of power on tap. It felt very refined too. Hopefully going to test a fiesta soon to compare.

I don’t know how reliable the mini would be in comparison to the alternatives? Does anybody have any experiences? Realistic opinions would be appreciated such as servicing and running costs etc. I like the mini the most at the moment but i don’t want my heart to rule over my head if it’s going to cost an arm and a leg to maintain!

In summary, i want a reasonably quick daily for £12k... what should i look at?

Cheers all!

[Monkeylegend]

You can buy a new car for less then £12k. Check out Dacia prices for example.

[Deep Thought]

Monkeylegend said:

You can buy a new car for less then £12k. Check out Dacia prices for example.

You know this is PistonHeads and not mumsnet right?

[Deep Thought]

EliteAlex000 said:

Hi all,

I’m looking for a new daily. I’ve got a budget of £12k absolute tops, cannot be extended. I don’t like doing finance so a brand new car is out of the question. I drive the car daily and have a 18 mile each way to work which is mostly dual carriageway. I want the car to be fun and obviously as reliable as possible.

I’ve currently got a Toyota Yaris SR 1.8 which i’d describe as a warm hatch. I’ve had it 6 years and has been pretty good to me. The time has come to get shot as it needs the expensive exhaust centre section (about £1k - not far off what it’s worth!).

The question is, what do i get next? On the shortlist so far are the F56 Mini Cooper S and the Mk7 Fiesta ST 2/3. These will both be around 2014 cars. I don’t know whether to consider a VXR corsa as well?

I’ve test driven the Mini and i liked what it offered but would note the gearbox was very notchy. The car felt very solid with plenty of power on tap. It felt very refined too. Hopefully going to test a fiesta soon to compare.

I don’t know how reliable the mini would be in comparison to the alternatives? Does anybody have any experiences? Realistic opinions would be appreciated such as servicing and running costs etc. I like the mini the most at the moment but i don’t want my heart to rule over my head if it’s going to cost an arm and a leg to maintain!

In summary, i want a reasonably quick daily for £12k... what should i look at?

Cheers all!

I'd a F56 Cooper S and absolutely loved it. I didnt find the gearbox notchy so it might be worth trying out another example.

Fiesta ST mk7 is a fantastic choice also.

I'm sure other people will be along soon to offer advice / options, but if that fails a nice new Dacia Sandero 0.9 TCE is probably within budget

[Nickp82]

GT86?

[jjr1]

Nickp82 said:

GT86?

Thread closed.

Would have another in a heart beat if I didn't drive a million miles a month.

Did 40k in mine in 2 years and still is in my top list of best fun cars I have owned including Porsche and Lotus.

[Monkeylegend]

Deep Thought said:

Monkeylegend said:

You can buy a new car for less then £12k. Check out Dacia prices for example.

You know this is PistonHeads and not mumsnet right?

Dacia are well liked on here.

[Deep Thought]

O/P - if you havent spotted it already, this thread might be of interest?

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[Deep Thought]

Monkeylegend said:

Deep Thought said:

Monkeylegend said:

You can buy a new car for less then £12k. Check out Dacia prices for example.

You know this is PistonHeads and not mumsnet right?

Dacia are well liked on here.

So someone says they want a fun daily with £12K to spend and they're thinking of a Mini Cooper S or a Fiesta ST mk7, and the first thing that comes in to your mind would be a new Dacia?

OK....

[Monkeylegend]

Deep Thought said:

Monkeylegend said:

Deep Thought said:

Monkeylegend said:

You can buy a new car for less then £12k. Check out Dacia prices for example.

You know this is PistonHeads and not mumsnet right?

Dacia are well liked on here.

So someone says they want a fun daily with £12K to spend and they're thinking of a Mini Cooper S or a Fiesta ST mk7, and the first thing that comes in to your mind would be a new Dacia?

OK....

OP said he couldn't afford a new car, i simply pointed out that he could so don't get yer knickers in a twist

[Deep Thought]

Monkeylegend said:

OP said he couldn't afford a new car, i simply pointed out that he could so don't get yer knickers in a twist

He said he couldn't get a fun car that he wanted new for £12k.

Keep up at the back.

[Monkeylegend]

Deep Thought said:

Monkeylegend said:

OP said he couldn't afford a new car, i simply pointed out that he could so don't get yer knickers in a twist

He said he couldn't get a fun car that he wanted new for £12k.

Keep up at the back.

Dismissed

[ZX10R NIN]

The ST-3 is the pick of the bunch but also consider these.

Peugeot Sport 208 GTI:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

125i M Sport

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Coupe

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Clio RS220 Trophy I know ones slightly over but I'm sure you can haggle £2-300 off of the price:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

GT86

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

370Z

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...


Seat Ibiza Cupra

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[ChrisH72]

I started the hot hatch thread mentioned above the other day and you seem to be looking at similar cars to me.

The other suggestion was a Polo GTi which is well within your 12k budget.

I would say that a 14 plate ST won't cost you 12k but I guess you know that. If you intend to keep this car for a few years and want reliable then probably buy as new as possible. Cars like the fiesta ST and Pug 208 GTi can be had on 17 plates with very few miles for that money. A 14 plate ST2 is more like 7-8k.

All those cars will be a huge performance upgrade over your Yaris. But if you were happy with the Yaris and only need a warm hatch you could consider something like a Swift sport 1.4 or Up GTi which you should get on 18 plate for under 12k. Or even the Kia Picanto GT line S 1.0 turbo virtually brand new with a 7 year warranty.

A friend of mine has just bought a new Sandero and they love it. It's brown. And they can seat 3 kids in the back in comfort. Would I have one....erm...no thanks.

[Monkeylegend]

ChrisH72 said:

A friend of mine has just bought a new Sandero and they love it. It's brown. And they can seat 3 kids in the back in comfort.

As you were

[Tyre Smoke]

Can I chuck a MX5 in the mix? Loads of fun for the money.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[ChrisH72]

Probably worth mentioning that Corsa vxr as well as it's often the elephant in the room!

I have looked at them. A bit cheaper than the competition and the interior and seats are quite nice. Fast enough too. Reading reviews I'd say it's not necessarily a bad car but unfortunately the rest do seem to be a fair bit better. The old Corsa vxr had a bad reputation for reliability which put me off a bit but it seems that most problems are caused by people messing about with them.

I don't know really. I have always had a soft spot for them and have owned a couple of corsas in the past. I was half tempted to buy a really cheap one and see what happened but probably won't!

[Deep Thought]

Monkeylegend said:

ChrisH72 said:

A friend of mine has just bought a new Sandero and they love it. It's brown. And they can seat 3 kids in the back in comfort.

As you were

Note he doesnt mention "fun" or "performance"

[EliteAlex000]

ChrisH72 said:

I started the hot hatch thread mentioned above the other day and you seem to be looking at similar cars to me.

The other suggestion was a Polo GTi which is well within your 12k budget.

I would say that a 14 plate ST won't cost you 12k but I guess you know that. If you intend to keep this car for a few years and want reliable then probably buy as new as possible. Cars like the fiesta ST and Pug 208 GTi can be had on 17 plates with very few miles for that money. A 14 plate ST2 is more like 7-8k.

All those cars will be a huge performance upgrade over your Yaris. But if you were happy with the Yaris and only need a warm hatch you could consider something like a Swift sport 1.4 or Up GTi which you should get on 18 plate for under 12k. Or even the Kia Picanto GT line S 1.0 turbo virtually brand new with a 7 year warranty.

A friend of mine has just bought a new Sandero and they love it. It's brown. And they can seat 3 kids in the back in comfort. Would I have one....erm...no thanks.

Thanks for the info Chris! Yes, just seen the link above, useful! Polo GTI could be a good shout, will do some research into those!

I’ve found a st3 with 20k miles on a 66 plate, and a mini cooper s with 22k on a 65 plate, both the same price - £12k. I agree, newer would be better!

I really wanted an upgrade with regards to performance but the up GTi would be pretty quirky! Not hugely practical of course but still cool!

I anticipate keeping whatever i go for for about 3-4 years again.

Interested to know what you opted for in the end? 👍🏼

[EliteAlex000]

Deep Thought said:

Monkeylegend said:

ChrisH72 said:

A friend of mine has just bought a new Sandero and they love it. It's brown. And they can seat 3 kids in the back in comfort.

As you were

Note he doesnt mention "fun" or "performance"

Hahaha, yes, i’m not particularly keen on a Dacia if i’m honest! 😂