My car wouldn't start the other day, and I have been told it would take £6oo to mend. The VV man didn;t know what was wrong with it. I have had it 15 years, and it has gone perfectly until now, with regular servicing and all. I have only done 41,000 miles.
So it looks as though I will need a new one because I like a reliable car. Has anyone any suggestions please? I don't want anything flashy, but I don't want to have to buy another one after only a few years because I can't be bothered with it.
What type of driving are you doing? How big a car do you need? Is mpg important (probably not looking at the milage!) Is comfort important Do you want "all the toys" - a/c, electric windows, etc, or just basics
Posted 11-04-08 08:14 Hide Post Need a bit more to go on!
What type of driving are you doing? How big a car do you need? Is mpg important (probably not looking at the milage!) Is
Thanks for the replies - the AA man suggested a Toyota as well - he reckoned a Yaris.
I am not sure what type of driving I do, just all types but mostly down the M32 into the city a couple of times a week, and very occasional longer trips to the seaside, and otherwise the usual shopping mall run and also to the station once a month (I go to London on the train).
I am 6 feet 2 inches tall, so a low roof would be a nuisance, but don't care about size otherwise; don't care about mpg.
Actually I do care quite a lot about having decent people there when I get it serviced but perhaps that is just the luck of the draw. My wife has a Ford but she says that they are really grim, surly service with a snarl of resent if you go anywhere near the place.
Anyway thanks for the suggestions: I will have a look at Toyotas and Skodas if I can find dealers around these parts.
For the mileage you are doing a diesel is probably not worth the premium, and neither is any sort of special such as the vRS, no offence B! A small petrol should be ok 1.2/1.4 size.
In view of your hight I suggest that you take a trip round the dealers to see which car will fit you, especially if you are considering a Supermini.
Most of the main makers make good reliable cars these days, so chack out the Fiesta, Corsa, Fabia, Swift, Yaris etc. and see which you like the best....
If you want the next size up, go for either a Kia Cee'd or Hyundai i30.
If you can't face driving either of the above (even though they are very good cars), then go for a humble Ford Focus - probably the best car in the real world; great build; good deals to be had on it & apparently the journalists say that it sticks to the road well if you fancy hawking it around your local area at speeds in excess of the speed limit.
if your thinking about a new/ish yaris then that will prove to be a good car to live with.
If you need a bit more space, esp boot; the last of the corollas will make a good buy and are cheap as the new auris is out now.
then again depending on your budget you could pick up a ex-demo or older 07 auris TR if you can find one. Same toyota reliability but a bit bigger and higher roof as you requested.
The i30 is suppose to be good too. They may come with those super long warrantys too.
Thanks for the info. I had not thought of buying a used car. Perhaps I will look at a few. My wife will say I am getting dottier than ever and my children will call me Arnold.
(That's after the chap in Christine in case you don't know. If you don't know what that is, a bloke buys a second hand car and it runs over people he doesn't like. Film is by John Carpenter who started off with Assault on Precinct 13. Actually I dream myself as the Barry Newman version of Kowalski the man who drove a Dodge Challenger to Vanishing Point, though in relity I'd be too scared to race. Right that's enough.)
Here's a money saving suggestion, get a new mechanic "the VW man doesn't know whats wrong with it" I reckon he just might be in the wrong job. Of course, you're car is 15 years old, so it probaly does need a proper mechanic to diagnose the problem. You probably took it to a "vehicle technician"
