Cars that you recommend to others but wouldn't buy yourself
Discussion
Most people that ask me for car buying advice just want something comfortable, reliable, well-equipped, cheap to run and economical that looks nice and are less concerned with the more visceral aspects of driving. On that basis, what cars do you/would you recommend to others but not necessarily buy yourself.
For me, it's:
Hyundai/Kia - easy to justify with their long warranties and strong value for money and increasingly more stylish but still a bit "white goods" in my view.
Toyota/Nissan - much the same and mostly very reliable and I think the current Juke/Qashqai are fantastic cars but I've always found Honda/Mazda a bit more interesting (although with the exception of the Type R, Hondas are increasingly becoming more "white goods" sadly). GT86/GR86/GR Yaris/Nissan Z cars buck that trend though. Technically I've owned a Toyota (Corolla) and it was every bit as reliable as one would expect but a little dull.
Honda Civic Type R (FK2/FK8) - These are by all accounts fantastic cars, I'm a big hot hatch fan and I can well believe that they drive brilliantly but I couldn't look at them sat on my drive. The FL5 Type R looks amazing though.
SEAT/Skoda - better value than their VW/Audi counterparts and I think the Ibiza/Leon/Fabia/Octavia are all fantastic cars but I've always leant towards VWs myself.
Ford Fiesta/Focus/Mondeo - fantastic cars for the most part that I've enjoyed driving but I've never taken the plunge myself.
Porsche - well engineered and built cars that are relatively practical and could be used every day but approaching middle-age, a Porsche seems like a bit of a cliche. A Lotus/Caterham or even an MX5/Nissan Z seem like more of a raw sports car experience than a Boxster/Cayman and a 911 seems a bit dull in comparison to something like an R8/V8V/AMG GT that can be bought for similar money. I could be tempted by a cheap 986 Boxster and would have a 964 Turbo/993 in a heartbeat though.
So what cars do you/would you recommend to others but can't see yourself buying?
For me, it's:
Hyundai/Kia - easy to justify with their long warranties and strong value for money and increasingly more stylish but still a bit "white goods" in my view.
Toyota/Nissan - much the same and mostly very reliable and I think the current Juke/Qashqai are fantastic cars but I've always found Honda/Mazda a bit more interesting (although with the exception of the Type R, Hondas are increasingly becoming more "white goods" sadly). GT86/GR86/GR Yaris/Nissan Z cars buck that trend though. Technically I've owned a Toyota (Corolla) and it was every bit as reliable as one would expect but a little dull.
Honda Civic Type R (FK2/FK8) - These are by all accounts fantastic cars, I'm a big hot hatch fan and I can well believe that they drive brilliantly but I couldn't look at them sat on my drive. The FL5 Type R looks amazing though.
SEAT/Skoda - better value than their VW/Audi counterparts and I think the Ibiza/Leon/Fabia/Octavia are all fantastic cars but I've always leant towards VWs myself.
Ford Fiesta/Focus/Mondeo - fantastic cars for the most part that I've enjoyed driving but I've never taken the plunge myself.
Porsche - well engineered and built cars that are relatively practical and could be used every day but approaching middle-age, a Porsche seems like a bit of a cliche. A Lotus/Caterham or even an MX5/Nissan Z seem like more of a raw sports car experience than a Boxster/Cayman and a 911 seems a bit dull in comparison to something like an R8/V8V/AMG GT that can be bought for similar money. I could be tempted by a cheap 986 Boxster and would have a 964 Turbo/993 in a heartbeat though.
So what cars do you/would you recommend to others but can't see yourself buying?
Edited by white_goodman on Tuesday 6th August 04:03
Edited by white_goodman on Tuesday 6th August 18:26
Toyota. I think they're great cars but as I buy mostly used cars that around around 10 years old. There are too many German performance car bargains at that age range and people want WAY too much money for a 10 year old Camry with 200k on the clock.
If I did not know how to work on my cars and have the space and tools, a brand new Camry would be my only car.
If I did not know how to work on my cars and have the space and tools, a brand new Camry would be my only car.
I buy about 15-20 cars a year for wider family and most of the cars I wouldn't buy, but absolutely suit the person needs who will be owning a car.
For instance, PH wouldn't spend 24k on a Jazz, but I've just ordered a Jazz Hybrid for my 70 year old aunt to replace her Insight.
Another example. I test drove a A-Class Avantgarde for my Dad and it had sports suspension and was almost too reactive. So we went for the Elegance model with standard suspension.
I think during the early 2000's I was responsible for putting a dozen MPV's on the road - sorry PH!
For instance, PH wouldn't spend 24k on a Jazz, but I've just ordered a Jazz Hybrid for my 70 year old aunt to replace her Insight.
Another example. I test drove a A-Class Avantgarde for my Dad and it had sports suspension and was almost too reactive. So we went for the Elegance model with standard suspension.
I think during the early 2000's I was responsible for putting a dozen MPV's on the road - sorry PH!
CraigyMc said:
Spudgunassassin said:
Toyota. Dull as ditch water but it’ll do the job very well with minimal fuss.
Chinny reckon?I recommend Toyota to absolutely anyone buying white goods, if you're buying a dull car it makes absolute sense to only buy the one that'll last the longest with the least ballache, which has been proven time and time again for literal decades to be a Toyota. Plenty of stories of Korean engines crapping themselves and general quality issues, but the only complaints I recall about Toyota were regarding diesels causing bother at minicab mileages.
Asinine arguments about "boring" have always been complete nonsense, you can't even see the needle move on the interesting meter when you compare the likes of a Corolla and a Qashqai and a 1 series and an A class and whatever else people spunk money on.
I don't want one though, but then I wouldn't buy any car of that sort.
white_goodman said:
... a bit "white goods" in my view. ...
User name checks out. And to answer the question ... boring ones with low miles.
I have found my appetite for risk to be orders of magnitude higher than the average car buyer. A BMW M5 with 120k miles, a brace of Mazda RX8s and a 986 Porsche Boxster S with 100k miles and no history of IMS/RMS being addressed. My girlfriend currently drives a Jag XF with the 2L diesel engine that everyone says is literally guaranteed to explode. So far, I've only had to take a bath on the RX8s - everything else has been fairly reliable.
I've accepted that I'm far from average in this respect, and so if people ask for my opinion, I'll usually say that a low mileage blandmobile is likely to be exactly what they want - despite the fact I would never use my own money on one.
vikingaero said:
I buy about 15-20 cars a year for wider family and most of the cars I wouldn't buy, but absolutely suit the person needs who will be owning a car.
For instance, PH wouldn't spend 24k on a Jazz, but I've just ordered a Jazz Hybrid for my 70 year old aunt to replace her Insight.
Another example. I test drove a A-Class Avantgarde for my Dad and it had sports suspension and was almost too reactive. So we went for the Elegance model with standard suspension.
I think during the early 2000's I was responsible for putting a dozen MPV's on the road - sorry PH!
I think you can be forgiven for that, MPVs are all about form over function, so do serve a purpose (unlike the majority of crossovers). My parents have owned Xsara Picasso diesel, Nemo Multispace diesel and C3 Picasso petrol. All have been cheap to buy, reliable, economical, comfortable and very practical. None were my recommendations or cars that I would buy but the Nemo/C3 both drove surprisingly well and the Xsara was horrible to drive but a pleasure to be driven in. Looking at MOT checker it also went on to do nearly 300,000 miles and outlive the car that replaced it (a mk5 Golf diesel, which was my recommendation)!For instance, PH wouldn't spend 24k on a Jazz, but I've just ordered a Jazz Hybrid for my 70 year old aunt to replace her Insight.
Another example. I test drove a A-Class Avantgarde for my Dad and it had sports suspension and was almost too reactive. So we went for the Elegance model with standard suspension.
I think during the early 2000's I was responsible for putting a dozen MPV's on the road - sorry PH!
That said, we just replaced a Grand Voyager that we owned as our main family car for 8 years with a crossover (Mazda CX5). I would have preferred a large estate car for dynamic reasons but my wife prefers a tall, short car. However, I have to concede that it’s more comfortable and spacious inside than my mk7 Golf Estate and unless you’re transporting long loads, a tall boot is just as useful as a long one, as it fits a surprising amount of stuff. It’s not sporty at all but I actually quite enjoy driving it. My one concession was that we get an AWD version for some all-weather ability/credibility but if I was recommending a crossover (for my parents for example), I would recommend that they went for a FWD version, as they’ll just complain about the fuel economy and would never drive it hard enough or on slippery terrain/in inclement weather for the AWD to be of any benefit.
I might also add Vauxhalls to the list from the late GM era (I have no experience with the PSA-derived ones to comment) but I think the ones from the 2010s are mostly decent cars that are cheap to run/fix and offer excellent value on the used market. Having owned an early 90s Astra that was otherwise a decent car but very poor dynamically and experienced Vauxhalls from the 2000s, which were mostly pretty dire, I really wasn’t a fan of Vauxhalls but I had a Mokka diesel as a holiday rental a few years ago and it was surprisingly good. All the visual appeal of a wet weekend and a “Poundland” interior but it was well equipped (Elite spec), comfortable, quite spacious and drove surprisingly well. More economical than a Focus diesel rental that I had prior too. My experience of Corsas/Astras from that era were that they were also pretty decent if unexciting and the last of the Insignias look like fantastic value for money (but I don’t want one)!
Truckosaurus said:
Honda Jazz or Civic. (Unless they bring back the Civic estate with the 1.5T engine).
Which is a shame, as I saw a new Civic in a bright blue metallic the other day and thought it was a great-looking car. I looked it up though and Type R aside (which is well out of my budget), they only do it as a hybrid automatic now ☹. I’m a bit of a serial VW Golf buyer but I really don’t like what they did with the mk8 Golf, so was looking for an alternative and a lesser petrol-powered Civic with a 6 speed manual would probably have been right up my street! I think it depends who you are recommending them to!
I've become addicted to straight 6 petrol manual BMWs because I love RWD, but my sister and niece wouldn't notice the difference between RWD and FWD. So I found my niece a Polo and a Corsa when the Polo got written off, then an R50 Mini Cooper and Fiat 500 for my sister who seems to like retro cars.
The exception was my nephew who had a Seat Leon 1.6 that was due a cam-belt change. He'd been quoted about 50% of its' value for a replacement so I let him have a drive in my BMW E46 325ti Compact, and a few weeks later I'd found him one! Then he became a dad so I tracked down a 325i Sport Touring replacement.
But he tended to drive it like he stole it and combined with an incident that made it a Cat S and other ongoing issues he replaced it with a 1.4 turbo Skoda Octavia estate. I had nothing to do with that but it was probably a pretty sensible choice, given that his sister was working at a Skoda dealer!
To be fair I'd rather people made their own choices, then it isn't my fault if it goes wrong.
I've become addicted to straight 6 petrol manual BMWs because I love RWD, but my sister and niece wouldn't notice the difference between RWD and FWD. So I found my niece a Polo and a Corsa when the Polo got written off, then an R50 Mini Cooper and Fiat 500 for my sister who seems to like retro cars.
The exception was my nephew who had a Seat Leon 1.6 that was due a cam-belt change. He'd been quoted about 50% of its' value for a replacement so I let him have a drive in my BMW E46 325ti Compact, and a few weeks later I'd found him one! Then he became a dad so I tracked down a 325i Sport Touring replacement.
But he tended to drive it like he stole it and combined with an incident that made it a Cat S and other ongoing issues he replaced it with a 1.4 turbo Skoda Octavia estate. I had nothing to do with that but it was probably a pretty sensible choice, given that his sister was working at a Skoda dealer!
To be fair I'd rather people made their own choices, then it isn't my fault if it goes wrong.
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