£4k small car - CAZ exempt

Haggisman

Haggisman

Haggisman

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Joined
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Location
Birmingham
The other half is going to be (hopefully) passing her test soon (FINALLY!), and is looking for a little run around to practice, and then commute in; she was originally planning to get an automatic licence and was looking at getting a 22kWh Zoe, but she's just found out she needs a full licence for a role she's going to be applying for soon, so that scuppers that plan!

She'll need to drive through the Birmingham CAZ most days, so a key requirement is that it is exempt from the fee.

Other than that, she's pretty flexible (giggidy). Budget is £4k (could maybe stretch to £4.5k if that makes a massive difference), and she wants something quite small; she reckons my Niro is "too big" to give some comparison.

I'm guessing petrol is the better option given the relatively short start-stop journeys she'll be doing.

Looking at the usual suspects:

Honda Jazz/Civic
Hyundai i20
Kia Picanto/Rio
Mazda 2/3
Nissan Micra/Note/Juke/Qashqai
Renault Clio
Skoda Fabia
Suzuki Swift
Toyota Yaris/Aygo

Anything I've missed, and any to particularly avoid?
 
Suzuki swift or Toyota Yaris would be my vote, we've owned both

I had a 1st gen yaris for 70k and the wife currently has a swift which we've done 80k in and both have been amazing.
 
Honestly, for practicing in, just buy anything manual that can be quickly and easily moved on after passing the test and then buy the car she actually wants afterwards, if she actually wanted an EV.
 
Armageus said:
Mini
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Is that not going to command a premium, along with BMW maintenance costs? TBH I'd ignored them based on that assumption!

Armageus said:
Fiat 500
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I'll add that one to the list

MissChief said:
Fiesta? I'd much prefer a Yaris over an Aygo, the Aygo's and equivalent Pug/Citroën are very basic.
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She had a Fiesta before - one of the "bug-eyed" 2006 models, don't know much about the newer ones to be honest, are the little turbo engines not a bit of a weak point?

sovietspybob said:
Suzuki swift or Toyota Yaris would be my vote, we've owned both

I had a 1st gen yaris for 70k and the wife currently has a swift which we've done 80k in and both have been amazing.
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She does like the look of the Swift, and there are loads around, so that's definitely one of the top choices so far. Any particular issues you noticed?

Kenai said:
Honestly, for practicing in, just buy anything manual that can be quickly and easily moved on after passing the test and then buy the car she actually wants afterwards, if she actually wanted an EV.
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It's probably worth her keeping it for a while, just to keep in practice if nothing else; once she's a bit more confident/experienced, and settled in the new role then she'll most likely do that
 
Haggisman said:
Is that not going to command a premium, along with BMW maintenance costs? TBH I'd ignored them based on that assumption!
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No more of a premium than anything else. Maintenance costs are no different to any other car, as at this price/age of car you surely aren't going to use main dealers?

If you avoid the Cooper S, and just get a 1.6 Cooper (R56) then that reduces a few of the commonly reported issues.

(1.5 and 2.0 hatches are the newer F56 model and will be early or high mileage examples for that price range - better to avoid imo)

Haggisman said:
She had a Fiesta before - one of the "bug-eyed" 2006 models, don't know much about the newer ones to be honest, are the little turbo engines not a bit of a weak point?
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I'd avoid the 1.0 Ecoboosts - there's enough of a Stigma with them, even if they are likely ok if looked after / serviced / had the belt recently replaced. The only downside is that other than the Ecoboost you are likely looking at the 1.25 Zetec Engine which whilst great is fairly underpowered.
 
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Haggisman said:
She does like the look of the Swift, and there are loads around, so that's definitely one of the top choices so far. Any particular issues you noticed?
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We've got the 1.6 sport version, had it since it was 3 years old, it's now 12 years old.

Only thing we've had to do is replace both rear brake calipers as one seized up. I did that myself so was only about £60, wouldn't be much in a garage though as its a dead easy job. Otherwise a couple of the LED's on the dashboard backlights are starting to go but it's been pretty faultless in our time.

I'd also echo avoid anything with a ford ecoboost 1.0 engine and also the small PSA wet belt turbo engine, think they're 1.2's. Just an absolute ticking time bomb you could do without.

I'd personally avoid a Mini as they're more expensive compared to competition and anecdotally they do seem far more prone to things going wrong compared to other cars from the people i've known with them. Only buy if you really want to own one because of the image and accept the higher running costs and worse reliability.
 
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Armageus said:
No more of a premium than anything else. Maintenance costs are no different to any other car, as at this price/age of car you surely aren't going to use main dealers?
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Nah, I'll be doing the majority of it myself most likely

Armageus said:
If you avoid the Cooper S, and just get a 1.6 Cooper (R56) then that reduces a few of the commonly reported issues.
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Good to know, I'll add it to the list, thanks :)

Armageus said:
I'd avoid the 1.0 Ecoboosts - there's enough of a Stigma with them, even if they are likely ok if looked after / serviced / had the belt recently replaced. The only downside is that other than the Ecoboost you are likely looking at the 1.25 Zetec Engine which whilst great is fairly underpowered.
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IIRC it was the 1.25 she had before (assuming it's the same engine), and yes, "sluggish" I think would be a good description!

sovietspybob said:
We've got the 1.6 sport version, had it since it was 3 years old, it's now 12 years old.

Only thing we've had to do is replace both rear brake calipers as one seized up. I did that myself so was only about £60, wouldn't be much in a garage though as its a dead easy job. Otherwise a couple of the LED's on the dashboard backlights are starting to go but it's been pretty faultless in our time.
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Cheers, basic stuff like that I can DIY, so not an issue there - just want to avoid anything where the engine is going to lunch itself!

sovietspybob said:
I'd also echo avoid anything with a ford ecoboost 1.0 engine and also the small PSA wet belt turbo engine, think they're 1.2's. Just an absolute ticking time bomb you could do without.

I'd personally avoid a Mini as they're more expensive compared to competition and anecdotally they do seem far more prone to things going wrong compared to other cars from the people i've known with them. Only buy if you really want to own one because of the image and accept the higher running costs and worse reliability.
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Cheers
 
I wouldn't pick a Fiat 500 either. I owned an Abarth 500 for a while. They eat parts.

Diddums said:
Is that why you can't drive more than 50 yards anywhere in the country without seeing one?

Go back to eating crayons and stop giving people wrong information for once in your life.
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What are you on about. The Juke etc are known for being bad. Just because there are loads around doesn't make them reliable. There are loads of Range Rovers too.
 
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Nasher said:
I wouldn't pick a Fiat 500 either. I owned an Abarth 500 for a while. They eat parts.
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:confused:

A Fiat 500 is not an Abarth 500 though. Again much like Nissans there seem to be 100's of them around and no horrible scare stories, so I think any issues are going to be relatively minor.
 
Armageus said:
:confused:

A Fiat 500 is not an Abarth 500 though. Again much like Nissans there seem to be 100's of them around and no horrible scare stories, so I think any issues are going to be relatively minor.
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They are 95% the same. Suspension parts are reinforced on the Abarth but it still chews them up, including rear wheel bearings for some reason. I also fix at least 2 oil leaks and one petrol leak! By the time I got rid of mine the wiring in the engine bay and to the headlights was also deteriorating which is a bit worrying.
 
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For a budget of £4K I’d be looking at i20, Rio, swift or Yaris.
Fiat 500’s are nice to look at, but are made from the absolute cheapest possible components, and a mini in that price range could be an absolute nightmare if you get a dud.
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Just to add, I got one of my nephews a i20 and more recently the other a Rio.
I’ll have maintain and MOT both, hence why I got those models (I want an easy life).
 
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Yea the old Rios are pretty bomb proof and feel solid. Chain driven engines too which is helpful (as are Toyotas). I love it when they put the oil filters at the top of the engine, it makes driveway servicing so easy :D
 
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Yeah the Toyotas are cam chain as is the swift we've got, i think all the other engines in the range are chain too which is always handy to not worry about cambelt changes.
 
sovietspybob said:
Yeah the Toyotas are cam chain as is the swift we've got, i think all the other engines in the range are chain too which is always handy to not worry about cambelt changes.
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That's good to know; one less thing to worry about!

Looks like it's narrowed down to the Swift/Yaris/Rio/I20.

No thoughts on the Jazz? A bit too grannyish? :cry:
 
She likes the Swift :)

I'm just trying to compile a shortlist for her, otherwise I know she'll just get lost in the amount of choice there is, and end up with a 30 year old Jag XKR or something :cry:
 
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