Reply With QuoteYaris
I may have a requirement for a 'beater' car in the near future (child approaching 17). Low mileage is anticipated, and the primary concerns are low running costs and reliability. I want something that I can use as well, for chucking a load of crap or muddy dogs in, so probably nothing too small.
My current thinking is Honda Jazz or Hyundai i30, as cheap as possible. Is there anything else I should be considering? For any car you suggest, I'd be interested to know what that model commonly dies from, so I can look out for that in particular.
Yaris
Vertu Honda are doing 0% on s/h cars and there's quite a few used Jazz.
Toyota Yaris is also a good call.
Clio MK 3 onwards. My MK 3 is 14 years old and i dont think it ever broke down it is life or failed to start.
And when a part does go i can find it easily with breakers businesses for peanuts money.
If you're going to be doing low mileage and short journeys then stick to a Petrol; you may have issues with DPF's if you buy a diesel and do lots of short journeys.
Any indication on budget? would be easier to recommend something if we know what you're looking to spend.
Hannibal Smith was always on the jazz.
I'm not sure he meant Honda but I think it's a sensible choice. They're very roomy considering their small size.
I would add Suzuki Swift into the mix.
We have had one since new in 2007 and it's only ever had 1 issue which was the speedo.
It's also great fun to drive, though not too much space in the boot.
I’m currently looking for a car for my 22 year old daughter. Passed her test 4 years ago and hasn’t driven since, she’s been at uni and on 2 internships abroad so hasn’t needed one. So I’ll be watching this thread with interest.
I’ve a budget of 2k and was thinking along the lines of Skoda Fabia, Hyundai i20, Toyota Yaris, Suzuki Swift etc.. she loves the DS3 but they seem quite pricey.
Vauxhall Corsa's 1.2l petrol seem to be popular amongst the 17yr old crowd as cheap to buy, "cheap" to insure, cheap to fix, cheap to tax, cheap on refinement too! A good starter car imo!
2K if I can, 3.5k if I have to.Originally Posted by ubiquitous
I was going to suggest some sort of estate given you wanted space but then realised your son will be driving the car too and so wouldn't be best pleased
I think something like a Vauxhall Astra or Renault Megane would be good, you will certainly be able to find something decent between £2-3k; autotrader would be your best bet, ebay can be good too.
Yaris are great little cars! My 18 year old has been driving one for circa 8 months and does not lift the bonnet! Got it for him after his C1 got taken out by a car on the wrong side of the road. His initial thoughts where what’s that Dad, but it’s ultra reliable, comfy and safe and done over 100K Now, apart from having a exhaust section and gas the aircon which you expect on any 13 year old car.
Don’t think it’s been washed since Feb/March either which is strange because we are talking about a lad that has to have his own towel in the shower room?
Agree on the Yaris.
One of the best first cars ever with Japanese reliability and cheap as chips to look after.
I have an old Jazz that I effectively use as a skip on wheels. Very reliable, cheap to run and huge amount of space for such a small car.
I’ll just leave this here.... 18 years old, it’s needed a battery, a set of tyres and an 02 sensor..
No cam belts or chains to muck about with (gear driven) 50mpg and feels like it’ll run for ever
Yaris looks good, and they're well priced. Is the Yaris boot big enough for a largish dog (Labrador)?
This thread looks promising.
Lots of choice. https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...ny-Little-Cars
The back seat moves forwards to create a bigger boot, so I’d say it’d just about take a lab size dog, but at the expense of rear seat passenger leg room..
Corsa or Fiesta cheap and easy to fix
Corsa or Fiesta cheap and easy to fix. While the Jap cars are good, parts are expensive. I bought Corsa’s and Fiesta’s for my daughters after they passed their tests, great first cars or runaround’s.
Might be worth having a look at this.
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...-revealed.html
MOST RELIABLE
1.*Lexus RX
2.*Honda Jazz
3.*Mitsubishi ASX
4.*Dacia Sandero
5.*Mazda 2
6.*Volkswagen UP!
7.*Nissan LEAF
8.*Lexus CT
9.*Ford Ecosport
10.*Suzuki Alto
If you need the space and can live with the looks then a Honda Civic would be ideal, tons of space, Honda petrol reliability, magic rear seats that fold out the way to give more space. Got one for my eldest and despite being the 1.8 it was less than £900 for his first year insurance after he passed his test. 9 months without a hitch except changing one relay switch (£6 and watched a Youtube video).
Lexus or Toyota. Is200/250, rx400h, gs all have minor issues but are incredibly unlikely to fail to get you there and back. Avensis or corolla also good. Avoid diesels.
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+1 on the Honda Civic Petrol. My daughter bought one waaaaaaaaay back and even though she has another car now, she still hangs on to the Civic, for her hubby to use in the bad weather when cycling would not be a good option! I've checked it over for test a couple of times and it just goes on and on and on ................. The only expense has been consumables. It's an 03, worth peanuts and still looks pristine and drives superbly!
The only thing I would caution about the Civic 1.8 is that it's fairly nippy. As in possibly too nippy for a first car. It has almost 140bhp.
Almost all insurance for brand new drivers is now 'black box' policies. This means that the performance is monitored so having a more powerful car is less of a worry. I'm happy that my lad has the available performance (well more than most first cars) if he really needs it but he can't be an idiot all the time without the insurance company mentioning it. In fact the company he's with gives a speed, smoothness and use score on each drive and gives a cash back reward every 3 months if he gets a certain average score. He treats this like a competition and has got the max money back for each quarter. So the either drives well when he's on his own or knows how to fool the black box!
What happens if he drives everywhere on the redline but sticks to the speed limits - does it invalidate the insurance?
One of the scores is smoothness, that designed to pick up on that sort of driving.
If he got consistent low scores then "We won't fine you or increase your premium in the first year of your policy based on your driving style score. However, if the black box identifies examples of poor driving, such as excessive speeding on multiple occasions or an unacceptable driving event, your policy may be cancelled." Not sure if its the same for all black box policies.
So pretty much like having a cop see you do something stupid there may be repercussions.
^Thanks, good to know.
I may be in the same position as the OP in a few years.
I’m six foot two and a smidge and comfortable fit in the front seat with more than adequate head space. I never got in the back so can’t comment but my little one in his baby seat and my mother would fit with our few shopping bags and our Phil and ted buggy in the boot without the need to jam it all in or figure out how to make it fit... it just did. I was actually surprised... as it is a small car.
Thanks for all the interesting replies. I'm now not that sure that my original idea of a dual purpose dad's mobile skip / son's runaround is actually achieveable. An insurance black box would probably have an aneurysm with my driving, and he's a fraction under 6' 3" and still growing like stink (after his most recent growth spurt he reminds me of a baby giraffe).
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