I want a car about the size of a Ford Focus or a bit smaller. It's been very many years since I did any driving and I've completely lost touch with what models are available.
Is there a chart or page which groups manufacturers' models by category (small family, subcompact, etc) so I can draw up a shortlist?
Right now, so many cars look the same to me and few look familiar.
Yes there is a lot of choice. Without knowing anything about anything, I think Seat or Skoda offer good value as they are based on VW underpinnings. However, once deciding on the manufacturer, then there are numerous other decisions: Petrol or diesels. Hatch, estate or SUV derivative. Most of the pain of new car ownership is shabby quality control and the problems which comes with that.
Your best bet is a petrol Ford Focus, arguably one of the best in class and available everywhere.
Not that I know of.
The best site, although far from perfect, might be this:
Really? I think there is a trend currently to make some weird and wonderful cars to try and break that trend; look at some of the strange things Renault produce, for example.
In order to get help here, you need to provide more information.
New or used? Budget? Manual or auto? Preference if any for fuel type? Expected annual mileage? City or motorway driving? Need for lots of luggage/passengers? Your insurance status? (If you have zero NCD, smaller cars might be better for you.)
Chris
All I see right now is a commonly shared bizarreness which I'm sure will change as I get to know the models better!
I was going to attempt a shortlist myself but if people here can advise then that's great!
I want a used car. Reliabilty is very important which is why I immediately think Japanese/Asian. Toyota springs to mind.
Manual gearbox. Four (five) doors.
It's for town driving but must be able to handle motorway journeys which is why I am thinking of something about the size of a Ford Focus. If it wasn't for my need for motorway comfort then a slightly smaller car would do as it's other use is as a runabout mostly for shopping.
Annual mileage will probably be 3,000 to 4,000 miles.
I haven't driven for many years so all I might get is an introductory discount for insurance.
Google pointed me at the Toyota Auris but as I stare at the photos it looks a bit big and when I dip into the prices it seems a bit pricey (not that I know what those different model variants mean). I really need to see some of these in real life once I get a shortlist.
Budget might be ?4 or 5K although I have no idea if this is realistic.
Is that enough to go by?
What is used reliability like? This site suggests new models (which I'm not in the market for) have slightly lower than average reliability. which is not encouraging.
Review 1: "I absolutely love this car."
Review 2: "Without doubt one of the worst cars I have ever owned. Without doubt one of the worst set of car dealerships and customer services I've ever dealt with. "
Aren't the Volvos supposed to be like Fords? My missus has a V40, and it all seems completely alien to me, but I am assured that they are like Fords :-)
Yep.
As Mr C suggests, a petrol Focus.
Chris
The mark one Focus, discontinued in 2004 so too old for your budget, beats just about everything else in its class, including so-called 'prestige' marques, for reliability, and that was confirmed by surveys in Germany.
The later Focus is still a very good car, although a bit larger.
If I were only to be driving 4,000 miles a years, I would buy the best mark one Focus I could find. I would look for a Ghia with a 1.8 engine. I would look to spend a maximum of 1,000UKP, and put the rest towards running costs.
Disclaimer: I bought a new Focus in 1999, then replaced it after ten years with a 2003 which I still have. I keep looking to see if I should replace it, but it just keeps going. (I only do about 5,000 miles a year.) I still love driving it, and even new cars don't seem any better to drive.
Averaged over those 17 years, I haven't spent 100UKP a year on non- maintenance repairs.
They are the best cars by far that I have owned in 52 years.
Chris
I see a lot of them for servicing, they are very good, I own one myself. If you want ultimate quality and reliability then buy something Japanese: Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Nissan. A Toyota/Lexus are my top of the tree stuff, and I own a Lexus, over twenty years old and runs/drives like new.
A Toyota Corolla would probably suit you well, I did not like the Auris that I had for a long test drive abd returned it and was pleased to get back to my old Metro !!
With such a low mileage fuel costs ain't going to be quite so important. So do you really need to go for a small car which tend to be poor value used? As more want them. Youngsters as being the only car they can insure etc.
Does it have to fit a small garage or parking space?
As regards actual driving, there's not really any difference between a small and medium car - and not really for parking either in most places. They're all about the same sort of width - with larger ones merely being longer.
But a larger car is likely to be much better value at your price range and much nicer for longer journeys.
I was more aware of car models back in 2004 when you say the Mk1 Focus was discontinued. I remember the Focus was very well regarded. But isn't such an old car (12 years plus) a bit long in the tooth and major parts will start wearing out?
The ?1000 price tag looks very affordable (it would bring a smile to my bank manager's face) but can such an old car really be reliable today?
In what way is the Auris so different from a Corolla? I thought the Auris was the hatchback version of the Corolla and would be almost the same.
If properly maintained, yes.
I would happily jump in mine and drive it anywhere that I would go in a new car.
Chris
We always have one estate car, and I keep them for three or four years. I've had a Victor 101, a Simca, a Cortina, two CXs, an Escort, two Montegos, and two Astras. The next one is going to be a Focus.
(looks outside at X reg Citroen with 218k on the clock...)
Most of the cars I see broken down by the side of the road are younger than ours. And I drive a car which many people would run away screaming from as the absolute pit of unreliability - they're wrong, but it does make them cheaper to buy for me :-)
The P and R reg Corollas I know were still running well - well, until the P reg one met the back of another car on the motorway. They seemed pretty idiot proof.
The Toyotas my MIL and FIL drove/drive also seem very reliable. The Starlet was retired at something over 200K miles - we have yet to see if the replacement Fiesta will do as well.
The late 90s Ibiza a friend drives just got its MOT with no problems.
Basically cars are just a lot better than they used to be. Chris swears by his Focus - but all cars have improved in reliability in the same way in that time. Consider how car engines used to be - the engine bay would be this black oily hellhole. These days they're surprisingly clean. And the bodywork doesn't fall apart in the same way things from before the
90s did.It is of course all a risk. If your life or job depends on absolutely
100% reliability, I'd not necessarily get something that old. But very few people are in that situation, and there are other things you can do to mitigate the risk - eg membership of a suitable recovery operation who will help you hire a car if it all goes T/U.(note also reliabilty is a feature of you too - the reliability of the abovermentioned Corolla was no longer useful after it had been crashed...)
Mine is 16 and a bit and perfectly reliable, when needed, parts are cheap and widely available, everything still works as it should, it was written off last year due to superficial damage, but it can carry on indefinitely as far as I am concerned.
Pity, one of my customers just sold his focus 1.8 petrol estate, practically mint and very low mileage, 2003, 800 quid, someone got an absolute bargain, if I did not already have one, I would have bought it.
They certainly seem very different to drive, Corolla: light, good visibility, Auris: poor rear visibility and larger all round. Best that you go to a dealer and take a test drive.
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