So, my mums car is getting decidedly long in the tooth, she’s early 70s and is looking to replace it. Budget was set at £10K – 15K to buy outright 2nd hand, but it might be an idea to lease instead. She does around 8,000 miles a year.

I was thinking of a 2nd hand Yeti or a lease Karoq, but that doesn’t seem to cause an outbreak of enthusiasm. She has been driving an 2.5l Volvo S60 with leather everything.

Must haves:

fairly upright driving position, due to hip problems
Automatic gearbox – she has an auto only license
Parking sensors all round
Nice to drive
Easy to drive
Will seat 4 (not very often ), but is more compact than the S60
Heated seats

What can the hive recommend ( if the hamsters have been kind enough to let you see this thread 😉 ) ?

Yeti like this

I like the Yeti, and I’m happy with my Octavia, so buying a Skoda would be a good idea, *I* think, but she’s just not that enthusiastic.

Any other cars that I might not have thought of ?

8k a year? Surely keep the Volvo is the answer…? Even significant spend on that will be less, for a very nice car.

Can’t think why she wouldn’t be enthusiastic about a Skoda 🙄

matt_outandabout – Member

8k a year? Surely keep the Volvo is the answer…? Even significant spend on that will be less, for a very nice car.

How can you come to that conclusion without knowing the age and condition of the car? 8K miles a year is bang on average in the UK BTW.
If having something nice, and new, is high on the agenda, I’d go new lease.

The Volvo has got to the stage where there is always something failing and there is a bit of a lack of trust that it is going to work properly. Nothing fatal, but the parking sensors needed replacing, the heater has an issue at the moment, etc, etc. It is also too big for her. It’ll make a great Bangernomics car for someone else, but the time has come for it to go to a farm in the country.

How about a Mazda CX-3?

Thanks for the recommendation of the CX-3, but it seems to lack front parking sensors.

if she likes the seating position in the volvo, get another volvo. the position and seat shape are pretty much identical across the line, and across at least the last decade – I had a 99 v40 which felt the same to sit in as my later 2011 v60, which felt the same as the new v40 courtesy car I had whilst the v60 was being serviced. Hands down the best seats I’ve had in any brand of car.

A V40 is golf ish sized, and on an 8k a year lease (over 4 years), you’ll have no probs finding a car for under £250 pcm fully loaded. In fact there’s lease deals under £180 out there – but you’ll need to go up a little to get parking sensors.

My mum’s just moved to a Fiat 500x and thinks it’s brilliant. Seems to fit the requirements for your mum too.

If you are thinking of leasing (rather than PCP etc.), the cheapest way to do it is have an idea of the type of car you want (e.g. small SUV, rather than a specific model) and look for a good deal (have a look at central vehicle leasing, for example). Often deals on premium brands that are much better value than mainstream models.

it seems to lack front parking sensors.

Am I one of the few people in this world who’s never driven a car with parking sensors? Talk about a solution to a non-existent problem.

Am I one of the few people in this world who’s never driven a car with parking sensors?

You should try them, they make parking not come alive.

😉

Am I one of the few people in this world who’s never driven a car with parking sensors? Talk about a solution to a non-existent problem.

Maybe if you had driven one with sensors you’d be better qualified to pass comment.

Andy R – Member

it seems to lack front parking sensors.

Am I one of the few people in this world who’s never driven a car with parking sensors? Talk about a solution to a non-existent problem.

STW in a nutshell yet again 🙄
😆 😕

It’s hard to not to have a look at Kia Cars with their 7 year warranty. I have no idea whether Kia’s are cost effective on a lease deal though…….