Mrs now wants a car after ive been making her walk for the last 6 months. So any suggestions. Got 3k tops. Thinking of a polo, corsa or something else. Has to be able to transport a grandma (alive) and not fall apart.

Any ideas?

What does she want? Have you asked her.

peteimpreza – Member
What does she want? Have you asked her.

Don’t be silly! Far better to ask a bunch of folks on teh interwebz instead!

Has to be able to transport a grandma (alive) and not fall apart.

Toyota yaris

If she drives anything like my Mrs, then one of these is probably your best bet…

Mazda2

ahhh popemobile. out of my budget unfortunatly.

She would like a golf but there all very high milage or 1.4 that im concerned wont get up our local hill

What does she want? it might come as a shock but women are perfectly capable of buying cars these days.

Rachel

allthegear – Member
What does she want? it might come as a shock but women are perfectly capable of buying cars these days.

Rachel

You’ll be wanting the vote next! 😉

Mazda 2

Honda jazz

1.6 16V mk4 Golf or the equivalent Mk5. We had a mk3 for a few years, seats 4 happily, did 40mpg, only ever needed brakes, tyres and a service every 10k. We eventually got rid of it after 60k and lost about 500 quid in depreciation. Polos are basically Mk3 bits underneath, but not great 4up.

All the 8v 1.4 engines are pretty sluggish. Not a huge weight difference between the Polo and Golf either.

I can’t imagine a 1.4 anything wouldn’t get up your local hill…it may do it at 20mph in second rather than wafting up in 3rd but it’ll get up it 🙂

Toyota Auris
Suzuki Swift
Nissan Micra
Mazda 2
Honda Jazz
Hyundai i20 or i30

Fiesta 1.25 zetec. Best small car there is.

1.2 Fiat Panda they are a hoot!!

Check http://www.reliabilityindex.com

More votes for Yaris, 3dr ones quite easy to get hold of, 5drs harder. 1.3 goes pretty well

As above Corsa/Micra/Fiesta/Polo – smaller engined cars hold their value better but if the Mrs isn’t doing so many miles you may find 1.6+ models cheaper, eg Astra etc

chewkw – Member
Toyota Auris
Suzuki Swift
Nissan Micra
Mazda 2
Honda Jazz
Hyundai i20 or i30

A pretty much perfect list – any of these will give years are trouble free motoring (unless you buy a diesel version).
Easy to drive and park, cheap on fuel, great reliability.
Japanese and Korean cars may not be as funky as European ones, but they are a whole lot more reliable.

Seat Ibiza – cheap and reliable

Toyota Auris
Suzuki Swift
Nissan Micra
Mazda 2
Honda Jazz
Hyundai i20 or i30

Honda Jazz seems to win all the reliability awards going. We know a couple of people who have them, and nothing has gone wrong, and the owners love them.

Missus has an i10, which is surprisingly roomy for rear passengers. The boot is tiny though. One minor issue in 2.5 years of ownership, sorted quickly under warranty. She’d go slightly bigger next time though.

allthegear – Member

What does she want? it might come as a shock but women are perfectly capable of buying cars these days

What car do you drive Rachel?
Is it a red one?
😆

FWIW the Jazz are great for bikes as rear seats fold flat into the floor. Used to get my bike into a Yaris (older shape) stood up with front wheel off and passenger seat forward. Have to say I struggle with Jazz image/shape but they are very good cars. Can be quite hard to find manual ones as a lot are auto.

i wanted a panda, they come in on budget but its been rejected.

Im concerned that a 1.4 golf will be too underpowered. not driven one mind but i fint the 2.0l focus under powered if im honest.

she will only be doing a 6 mile round trip!!!

mazda 2 looked nice, untill se saw the one we could aford. christ its horrible.

fiesta is a good shout. going shopping at the weekend i hope.

Skoda Fabia
Honda Jazz
Newer Ford Fiesta if you can find one for that much, even the most basic ones are great. The older boxy ones are genuinely horrible cars.

Mrs. Pinkster has a Suzi Swift and it’s a real fun rollerskate of a car to drive.

If I was after/needed a small car that’s cheap to run I’d definitely get one of these.

andybrad, you have a simple choice here:
1. Buy a Golf, you will think it’s underpowered and will hate to drive it but it’s what she wants and so she will be happy.
2. Buy something else. You will think it’s the right decision, she will resent that you for forcing her to drive something she didn’t want even if it’s “better”.

I’d buy her a Golf if I was you…

for a 6 mile journey don’t be stupid, get a small engined petrol car that will be able to warm up in that distance

Im concerned that a 1.4 golf will be too underpowered.

Is it going to be any slower than the other alternatives mentioned? I doubt it. Easy to compare performance from the online guides.

do not – i repeat DO NOT buy a mk4 1.4 golf….
its actually reasonably nippy for a 1.4 in a heavy car thanks to low gearing BUT the engine is a disaster and get it on the motorway and its near the red line at 70

universally quoted as the worst engine vw make – coupled with it being highly stressed lugging a heavy beast of a car around.

if its done anything more than pootle about town it will start knocking about 80 k … by 90k it will start to pass/burn oil by 100k it will need a new engine – dont ask me how i know that one …. the new engine wasnt much better. sold it to a chinese for their delivery vehicle.

equally do not buy into the VAG it must be reliable business…. in our family VAG cars have consistantly shown them selves to be just as crap as all the other cars out there.

for 3 grand id buy a fiesta.

A 1.4 Golf will be under-powered unless it’s a newer model/turbo and based on your budget it’s not going to be (EDIT: I see trail_rat makes the point rather well)

Just looked and the current Golf 1.4 has 122 hp. That’s enough isn’t it?

sorry I see you’re looking at £3K ones. In that case could be more like 80 hp then – so yes will be pants

Ebike

show me a current golf 1.4 for 3 grand.

show me a current golf 1.4 for 3 grand.

missed that part! See edit above. Agree will be shite.

sbob

What car do you drive Rachel?
Is it a red one?

For your information, I recently sold my car, a 1.4TSI Skoda Fabia VRS, and bought a BMW motorbike – an F800GSA. The car was white, with a black roof, if that matters to you?

Oh – I did once have a red car; it was a Subaru Impreza WRX PPP. Was a lovely shade of red.

Rachel

As said before – if she wants a Golf, buy her a Golf.
It’s not worth the grief otherwise.
Yes, Golfs are stupidly overpriced. They are not particularly reliable. They are not particularly nice to drive. You will pay more money for an older car with lower spec and higher mileage than the other, better cars suggested.
But she wants a Golf. If you buy her anything else then if the slightest thing goes wrong, or even sounds like it might go wrong – it is your fault.
Buy a Golf.
Mike (speaking from experience!)

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cheap-2005-vw-touran-20-tdi-sport-dsg-2

@allthegear – I cannot believe you responded, don’t feed the trolls.

Golfs are very good cars and hold their value well, the reason the 1.4’s are “cheap” is they are not so good, on the older models you need a 1.6 min or a 2.0L

bikemikes right you know …. how the hell do you think i ended up with a golf – engine issues asside i wouldnt wish a golf on my worst enemy.