Said goodbye to ancient 106 - what car next?

[sitbh]

Hi PHers. I just blew a head gasket on my 2001 106 - it had done 65k miles on it and was a great car, bought for 2.5k back in 2007.
I'm now looking for a replacement, in the 3-4k mark. Not fussed on fuel type, nor fussy on 3dr/5dr, but generally put off by high mileage vehicles as i've gotten a lot of use out of my 106 and would like another car I can keep for 10 years and not have to splash too much on it. I drive around 3000 miles a year and no commuting, just small trips at the weekend and a few getaways every year across the country. Astra's look like they can fit the bill but i'm open to other considerations!

[samoht]

I wouldn't give up on a 65k mile 106 just because the head gasket's gone, personally. Head gaskets are a common failure on Peugeots of that era and not too expensive to fix AFAIK. And 65k miles isn't that many. If on the other hand the whole car's generally tired, or worse starting to rust, then giving up on it makes a lot of sense. Anyway 19 years is pretty good going for such a small car.

An Astra is a good bit bigger than your 106, are you looking for a larger car? Of course there are pros and cons of that.


Looking on Autotrader for since 2010, up to 50k miles:

Citroen C1 / Peugeot 107 / Toyota Aygo - if you want something as small and light as your 106

one size up from the 106, but not as big as an Astra:

Mazda2 / Fiesta Mk7 - probably best to drive

Honda Jazz / Toyota Yaris - likely best for reliability

Fiat 500 - cute/different

[ZX10R NIN]

The Astra would be my pick something with 60-70k as you annual mileage is so small that you'll be able to run any of the suggestions for another 10 years:

Astra GTC Sport

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008262...

Astra Elite 1.6

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008252...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008232...

1.4T SRI

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008072...

Alfa Mito Veloce 95/140

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007311...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007291...

Quadrifoglio

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008252...

Megane Dynamique TomTom

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008072...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007141...

For me this is the pick:

208 GTI

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008252...