Mum needs a new car

Thanks all for the suggestions so far - I've found some reasonable looking Astras and Ford Focus autos for around £8k which I think would do the trick. Will also suggest the Jazz and see what she thinks. Up/Mii/tiny Skoda too small really, as she has two/three other adults in the car several times a month when she goes out with her friends.

In response to the recommendation that she gives up driving - I understand there's an argument for older drivers giving up their keys, but Mum's perfectly fit and healthy. She regularly does 5-10 mile walks with her friends all over the country, she's part of a quiz team who regularly win competitions (including pubs in Oxford where as you might imagine the competition is strong!) and this is her first accident of note in over 50 years of driving.

I've not actually seen pics of the car yet, but she said it randomly lurched forward when pulling away from a petrol pump and a metal bollard took most of the front bumper off on one side and damaged both front and rear passenger doors to the point she couldn't open the driver's door properly. Given the car is basically worthless, insurance have written it off. I did ask whether it would worth trying to fix it with spares, but she'd been considering a smaller car anyway so here we are.
 
we are are all salt and vinegar versus an SUV

had you said what brand the old car was ? getting the same auto for familiarity sake, maybe beneficial , Aunt has an astra auto without problems,
suggested to father that he stuck with his manual yaris rather than change to an auto, for familiarity - Yaris has great visibility though, for positioning/reversing/turning
a cvt box'd one maybe smoother than either of astra/focus options (which aren't zf std) for safe pull out at junctions.
 
jpaul said:
we are are all salt and vinegar versus an SUV

had you said what brand the old car was ? getting the same auto for familiarity sake, maybe beneficial , Aunt has an astra auto without problems,
suggested to father that he stuck with his manual yaris rather than change to an auto, for familiarity - Yaris has great visibility though, for positioning/reversing/turning
a cvt box'd one maybe smoother than either of astra/focus options (which aren't zf std) for safe pull out at junctions.
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Yeah it was a 2011 Vauxhall Zafira - it was my Dad's car then she kept it after he died in 2019 and sold hers. She had a Meganne convertible, which wasn't much use for driving grandchildren around.

Will have a look at the Yaris, thanks for the tip.
 
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Mum, also in late 70’s has an Automatic Corsa and likes it. It’s not bad really, feels a bit cheap inside compared to my BMW but to be expected. 8 speed auto is good though, surprisingly so.
 
MissChief said:
Mum, also in late 70’s has an Automatic Corsa and likes it. It’s not bad really, feels a bit cheap inside compared to my BMW but to be expected. 8 speed auto is good though, surprisingly so.
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Good to know, thanks. She's actually hired an auto Corsa for Christmas to get to Surrey, London and Sheffield so will see how she gets on with it for size.
 
jpaul said:
we are are all salt and vinegar versus an SUV
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Tell that to an old Volvo with SIPS etc, or any American barge ;)

chaparral said:
Up the budget and get her a kawasaki Ninja H2...She love it
:D
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V8 or GTFO!
 
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I would have suggested the Jazz as for all their bad press they are brilliant cars. Not sure about the auto though.
 
Just don't forget that the Jazz takes 8 sparkplugs when you service it :cry:

It actually does
 
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Nevakonaza said:
Oh yah,I completely skipped that part of it was mentioned in Ops original post .
Maybe a Mercedes B class would be more suitable, although unsure if they make them recent not seen many in the road.
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I suppose if it's just the Mum in front and 2 kids/teens in the rear, there should be enough leg room all round :)
I haven't seen one of them in ages either! I wonder if an A class would be roomy enough too?
 
Mazda 3 Petrol Auto. Very reliable although not very frugal. Around town its sub 30 mpg if that matters. Decent space inside too and the boot is a good size.

Gearbox is a 6 speed torque converter. Spec to consider is SE-L or Sport Nav.
 
Deleted member 280263 said:
Fun fact, the Jazz has the most stolen Cat, due to how easy it is to access/quick to cut off. They write the cars off because they cost more than the cars average value to replace.
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There's only one particular model, the 2001-2008 SE that has the cat that people want, none of the others are desirable.

My wife's had a Jazz for a couple of years now, she thinks it's the best car she's had, and it can manage four full sized adults. It's as though it's dimensionally transcendental.
 
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