The current lease car is going back at the end of this year, thinking about freeing up some cash and going for something older than we can pay off soonish rather than another lease, budget around £5-7k.

What is likely to last us 10+ years reliably, be big enough for a family and all that comes with it and be a nice place to be? It also needs to be acceptable to the Mrs who will drive it day to day.

Nothing is off the table, apart from things that are prohibitively expensive to run, so no Landcruisers (probably).

My mum in law has just boughta Toyota Auris 1.6TR for £5k (2010) from a main dealer. Looks zzzzzzz but inside is ok, but it will last and (hopefully) be reliable.

Buying something for only £5K and keeping it ‘reliable’ for 10 years means you 1)should expect to pay out a reasonable amount in maintenance in that time, and 2)be prepared for the hassle involved in keeping a old car on the road.

Leasing sounds like a much easier life to me, but I’m sure you will save money if you are determined to do so, and are prepared for the disadvantages.

you’ll be needing something Japanese for 10yrs+ reliability.

That narrows it down a bit.

I’d go for a 2l petrol Subaru Legacy. just over 30 mpg but you won’t be spending a lot on bits going wrong.

you won’t be spending a lot on bits going wrong.

you will be spending alot on the odd bit that does go wrong based on the price of certain parts.

For me KISS . base models non tuned up with not to many gadgets to go wrong – can you live without AC etc …..

i have a pug partner non turbo diesel thats 10 years old this year and over and above consumables its had a clutch(after i had been towing a loaded LWB HI top transit up silly hills when it ran out of fuel) and an alternator

costs me buttons to service and is light on fuel.

I wont suggest one as your clearly after a family car how ever all im saying is that a make and model of car does not make it reliable, knowing its history and how its been looked after and driven at least gives you a fighting chance… 9 out of 10 folk on here will tell you pugs are unreliable.

equally if you fancy shopping for a new rental car every 3 years and negotiating crack on – but it doesnt sound like you do 😀

I bought a 3-year old poverty spec diesel passat estate for £6k last year. Was slightly tatty ex-lease but mechanically fine. Expect it to be pretty cheap motoring over the next few years. Private/small dealers for that money as the same thing from a main dealer would have no doubt been cosmetically tidier, but about 40-50% more expensive.

Cheers, Rich

It’s not the faff so much, although to be honest I’ve not enjoyed having to keep in mind that any minor damage to the car is going to have to be fixed by a set date, we’d just like to be in a position where we’re not having to shell out £200 every month + fuel.

Appreciate that condition is a major factor when buying used, but I was just wondering if there are some makes/models that have a good reputation for not rotting/falling to bits mechanically.

I reckon that running costs for a car of that age (exc. insurance and fuel) are ballpark £120-150 per month.

Depending on the type of car, mileage and the value you assign to ‘peace of mind’, leasing or PCP may be a more attractive option.

I’ve essentially concluded it’s better to either lease a car or subscribe to true bangernomics. The middle ground is equally expensive long-term but a far greater headache with potential for expensive repairs that you are required to fund due to the cost of the vehicle.

makes/models that have a good reputation for not rotting/falling to bits mechanically.

Anything Japanese.

Although, buying at £5-£7k and hoping for 10years reliable motoring may be pushing it.

You’ll no doubt need brakes pads/discs, tyres and some suspension parts (bushes) replacing in that time. Most of the above is consumables though.

I reckon that running costs for a car of that age (exc. insurance and fuel) are ballpark £120-150 per month.

Rubbish.

I think you’d be extremely unlucky to have a £300 repair bill a year to start off with for the first few years.

“I reckon that running costs for a car of that age (exc. insurance and fuel) are ballpark £120-150 per month.”

Does that include paying off the loan … seems very high if its not including the loan.

I reckon that running costs for a car of that age (exc. insurance and fuel) are ballpark £120-150 per month

Seriously? £1800 a year? Where do you get that from?

I run “older” cars and it costs nowhere near that amount.

Find a good, independent garage and it should be a lot less than that.

Nissan Elgrand. !

we run two older cars for 200 quid a month – inc tax mot insurance and general repairs….

AND run a surplus for big repair(yet to happen) or the next car as i view it…..

But then 14″ steel wheels means 4 XL maxxis all season tyres is 200 quid fitted which cuts your costs considerably over 16 inch or 18 inch blings

I’d go for a decent BMW estate if I were spending 7k. 7k will get a diesel 3 series with leather (Never get cloth with a family!). Otherwise, as others have said, something Japanese like a CRV, Accord, Avensis etc etc maybe a Nissan Squashy all decent and ultra reliable cars.

All depends on your mileage really, we do about 4k a year in the dogmobile so 10 years is a few consumables, servicing and rust.

Keep the views coming, all very helpful.

Current mileage is about 10-11k per year probably less. Mostly short journeys with regular weekend jaunts and a couple of holidays.

I’d thought about a 3 series tourer, maybe a passat.

I’m happy with the fact that clutch/brakes/bushes will wear out, had a 4 year old hyundai a few years ago that needed new discs while it was still in warranty so was using the main dealer for servicing, that stung a bit.

Any thoughts on high milage cars that don’t look stressed?

High mileage generally not a problem these days, but remember, you’re talking about putting another 110,000 on it during your ownership.

We got a C-Max TDI last year within your budget with 40K on it and I have to say it’s the most relaxing car to do distance in I’ve ever had. Reliability appears alright on Honest John, good ordinary Dad car.

We bought a 55 reg Toyota Corolla Verso with 103k miles on the clock about three years ago for a bit more than £2000. We’ve put another 25000 miles on it since.

Most recent repair was a new wheel bearing which was less than £270 (the bearing plus the service it needed anyway was £270). The only other major repair was after a brake failure, which was a few hundred quid. Otherwise, it’s sailed through its MOTs with nothing more than bulb replacements or new tyres.

It was slightly scruffy when we got it but is far more so now, including an altercation with a multi-story car park’s ramp, so dread to think what we’d have paid to sort out a lease car – we have two kids, two dogs, and my wife’s a little careless.

The guy who runs the garage we take it to always tells us Toyotas keep going forever.

Buying something for only £5K and keeping it ‘reliable’ for 10 years means you 1)should expect to pay out a reasonable amount in maintenance in that time, and 2)be prepared for the hassle involved in keeping a old car on the road.

My C-max is now 10 years old, bought for £5k at 4 years old:

Sum total of the repairs in that time? A power steering hose replaced under warranty.

Sum total of service bills in that time? 1 cambelt at the local independent and an oil+filter on the driveway each year.

Consumables – tyres, batteries and wiper blades only.

Mrs’s Fiesta likewise is 12 years old, she’s had that for 10 years, I can’t remember anything other than consumables going into it either.

Keeping a modern car going for 10 years is almost boring, I doubt anything substantial is going to fail in the next couple of years on either car either.

I’d be opting for a Toyota Verso or Honda Accord Estate, with that money you have you should get something reliable and nice to sit in with the family.

Golf 02 1.9 TDI (pd) model….bought 5k @ 21000 miles now 132000 serviced annually and goes on on

Vw lupo TDI 1.4 bought 3k @ 43,000 miles sold for 2k @ 119000 annual service and a remap

Other end
Seat altea fr tdi bought 4.2k with 42 000 now with 67000 so 13k in 6 months bill for new gearbox fly wheel and clutch …..

Never really did badly till the seat so in 25 years near bangernominics I call it a fair run

You do have to add insurance in but that seat diesal with 170 bhp costs me 400 a year, but depends what you buy

Keeping a modern car going for 10 years is almost boring, I doubt anything substantial is going to fail in the next couple of years on either car either.

You sir, need to own my Alfa GT. Never a dull moment.

Quite a few new shape Zafiras going for around £8.5k now – get the Grand Tourer version and get 7 seats too.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201602030666761?search-target=usedcars&searchcontext=default&sort=default&page=1&radius=1500&model=zafira_tourer&postcode=HG2%209JG&price-to=9000&onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&make=vauxhall&logcode=p

This being STW, shouldn’t someone suggest a Unimog or something?

Actual suggestion: Toyota of some sort, if you can’t find one that hasn’t been minicabbed.

In the usual stw style i’ll recommend what weve got which is a mazda 6 estate.
Had it from 3 years old, ex lease, now 6 1/2 years old. Had the diesel sport version so all the extras. Very very good car, I believe the newer ones are even better which I’m sure you could pick up a 4/5 year old one for your budget. Only thing ive had on it in that time other than services is 1 set of tyres and discs and pads which were 130 fitted.

1)should expect to pay out a reasonable amount in maintenance in that time, and 2)be prepared for the hassle involved in keeping a old car on the road.

that’s not really true, I’ve got a 15 year old toyota that is only just starting to need bits repairing, mostly due to rust on things like suspension. Can’t remember exactly but think we paid about what the OP will be paying 10 years ago, so that’s basically 10 very cheap problem free years of almost no maintenance and no hassle.

You sir, need to own my Alfa GT. Never a dull moment.

I ride past a 2002 147 for sale on my way to work each day at the moment, take it I should keep on riding past…?

You sir, need to own my Alfa GT. Never a dull moment.

I’ve an MG Midget for that kind of fun 🙂

Working rule of thumb on that is petrol + 50% in spares.

I should shut up really, the C-max is tram-lining at the moment, could be the tracking needs tweeking, could be something more sinister 🙁

You sir, need to own my Alfa GT. Never a dull moment.
I ride past a 2002 147 for sale on my way to work each day at the moment, take it I should keep on riding past…?

Depends if it’s been well maintained or not, tbh. Not a full history – walk away.

Suspension wishbones are a service item though (almost)

Isn’t the default STW answer a Skoda Octavia/Superb?

Paying £5k for a s/h car will probably get you a 5 y/o car with circa 50k miles. So your talking of taking it to 15 y/o and 150k – so take a look at any 01/51 plate cars on the road, that’ll give you clues to manufacturers that will last.

What is likely to last us 10+ years reliably

It really depends on how you look after a car, ie do you do preventative maintenance or only do something when it falls off etc?

My C-max is now 10 years old, bought for £5k at 4 years old:

Which means you have 4 more years to go, and an ever increasing chance of something expensive going wrong. If you are lucky you won’t have to deal with a big bill, but the risk of needing an expensive repair is increasingly likely.

That is (part) of the reason people buy new cars. You are paying extra for guarantee of hassle free motoring*, knowing that your car will work every time you go to use it.

*I’ll add a pre-emptive ‘don’t be a stw dick :D’ footnote to anyone who wants to give an example of a new car purchase that was lots of hassle. Yes, I know it happens, but it is much less likely to be a problem than buying a 5 year old car, and keeping it for 10 years :roll:.

1)should expect to pay out a reasonable amount in maintenance in that time, and 2)be prepared for the hassle involved in keeping a old car on the road

that’s not really true, I’ve got a 15 year old toyota that is only just starting to need bits repairing, mostly due to rust on things like suspension. Can’t remember exactly but think we paid about what the OP will be paying 10 years ago, so that’s basically 10 very cheap problem free years of almost no maintenance and no hassle.

Hmm. Note that I used the terms ‘should expect…’, and ‘be prepared…’. It’s great that you have not had to shell out on your car, but do you really think your example is representative (on all cars, not just Toyotas, as the OP has not specified)? How often are you going to be lucky enough not to have to shell out on running a car for 15 years? I think being prepared for repair bills and hassle is fair advice when the OP is looking at it as an alternative to PCP/leasing.

Depends what you class as hassle. Im far more comfortable speaking to mechanics occasionally than dealing wih car salesmen playi the negotiation game every 3 years and having an unknown car for a couple of months every three years.

Regardless of the age of car or milage or brand the most risky time in a cars life is when its new and you dont know its foilibles and normal noises… And include brand new just collected cars in that as well. Nothing quite like the aa man taking the dipstick out and the oil not even registering on your 120mile old car when your sitting on the hard shoulder having driven 110 miles towards your house……

I’ve essentially concluded it’s better to either lease a car or subscribe to true bangernomics. The middle ground is equally expensive long-term but a far greater headache with potential for expensive repairs that you are required to fund due to the cost of the vehicle.

This is the situation i’m sort of in.

We want a bigger estate, that’s also quite a nice car, but can be used for driving to France for riding, up to Scotland etc, but is a decent spec, presentable car – I do a reasonable mileage and I don’t want to feel like i’m sitting in a tramps old shoe.

No disrespect to others choices, but I also don’t want to drive around in some rattly old French baked bean tin, nor do I want to be fixing it myself (no issues with taking it to a decent indy etc).

But, nice car, maybe a 6/7 year old E60 LCi 535d MSport touring with a decent spec & sensible miles may be ~£9-11k, but it still has £50k car running costs, with a truck load of tech in it.

There is a certain appeal to driving a car, and not worrying about any bills other than fuel & insurance.

I can see the other side to it too though, having a 150k ’53 Passat TDi that I don’t care about, even if I do get scared when it’s MOT time.

There is no right or wrong answer really. Unless you manage to bag an error & pick up a mega cheap lease deal.

Useful?

http://www.reliabilityindex.com/manufacturer

We’ve got two high mileage 320Ds, both 05 and north of 150,000 miles. They are both mostly original (clutch etc)and pretty cheap to maintain so certainly consider these. Mind you I do so little driving now, it’ll be a petrol engine next time.

Remember the old adege” if you cant afford to run it when its new……it doesnt get any cheaper to run as it gets older. ”

Depends what you class as hassle. Im far more comfortable speaking to mechanics occasionally than dealing wih car salesmen playi the negotiation game every 3 years and having an unknown car for a couple of months every three years.

Regardless of the age of car or milage or brand the most risky time in a cars life is when its new and you dont know its foilibles and normal noises… And include brand new just collected cars in that as well. Nothing quite like the aa man taking the dipstick out and the oil not even registering on your 120mile old car when your sitting on the hard shoulder having driven 110 miles towards your house…..

Thanks for the ‘new cars go wrong too’ anecdote (as predicted above!). When I say ‘new car’ I mean brand new, not ‘3 years old, new to you’. With a brand new car you are protected and will be very unlucky to have any hassle (but, yes it can happen, again see above).

As a slight aside, I don’t buy the argument about people preferring used to new for any reason other than cost though i.e. ‘in a used car the problems have already been ironed out. That’s why I don’t buy new’. Balls. Just some sort of defense for not being able/willing to spend more.