£8K auto for 23 year old female doing the M25 slog
Discussion
New (first proper) job means my daughter will be doing the 65 mile schlep around the A12/M25 from Essex to Heathrow Airport 2-3 times a week. So up to 400 miles per week.
Her old shape Smart ForFour (which was the wifes previously) has been 100% reliable but is on 112K miles so probably not ideal for the chores of the M25. Also being a 3 cylinder 1.1 litre it doesnt have the oomph to pull into the faster lanes when needed.
Requirements:
- Prefer an automatic (which seems to reduce the options significantly)
- 4 passenger doors
- 1.4 - 2 litre engine size. Not sure a little 1.0 or 1.1 is ideal for motorways
- Cruise control
- Some level of mobile phone integration to at least play music from phone
- Ideally under 70,000 miles at purchase as she will be adding a fair few miles per year
- As safe as possible - only daughter !
- Insurance will be a factor, but she has had a policy since being 17 so has some NCB
- Ideally £8K but could go to £9K thanks to bank of dad
I did a hunt using much of the above criteria but it didnt really bring up much that floated her boat. Did wonder about leasing something new but the mileage adds a lot to the payments
Collective wisdom of the PH brigade have any thoughts please?
Her old shape Smart ForFour (which was the wifes previously) has been 100% reliable but is on 112K miles so probably not ideal for the chores of the M25. Also being a 3 cylinder 1.1 litre it doesnt have the oomph to pull into the faster lanes when needed.
Requirements:
- Prefer an automatic (which seems to reduce the options significantly)
- 4 passenger doors
- 1.4 - 2 litre engine size. Not sure a little 1.0 or 1.1 is ideal for motorways
- Cruise control
- Some level of mobile phone integration to at least play music from phone
- Ideally under 70,000 miles at purchase as she will be adding a fair few miles per year
- As safe as possible - only daughter !
- Insurance will be a factor, but she has had a policy since being 17 so has some NCB
- Ideally £8K but could go to £9K thanks to bank of dad
I did a hunt using much of the above criteria but it didnt really bring up much that floated her boat. Did wonder about leasing something new but the mileage adds a lot to the payments
Collective wisdom of the PH brigade have any thoughts please?
Civic 1.8 petrol, comes with a proper TC auto:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306178...
Focus 1.6 Zetec:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306208...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306178...
Focus 1.6 Zetec:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306208...
Edited by Bannock on Wednesday 12th July 16:17
That Focus is a good shout. I had one that was a year younger with the 1.0 litre ecoboost engine (same 124bhp though) and that was fine on the motorways. The mpg took a notable knock the further above 80mph you got as the engine was working hard, but if you're commuting around the M25 at <50mph the economy was amazing. Great build quality too in my opinion and loads of space.
As a similar alternative, how about this Fiesta which ticks a lot of boxes:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305317...
4 door, 35,000 miles, auto, 2015 so a more modern interior than my focus with potentially better phone integration. Not a great deal of power for the motorways, but being lighter than the Focus the BHP/tonne is probabaly similar. Not a car for crusing in the outside land at 100mph, but far from out of its depth. Cheap to insure too i would have thought.
As a similar alternative, how about this Fiesta which ticks a lot of boxes:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305317...
4 door, 35,000 miles, auto, 2015 so a more modern interior than my focus with potentially better phone integration. Not a great deal of power for the motorways, but being lighter than the Focus the BHP/tonne is probabaly similar. Not a car for crusing in the outside land at 100mph, but far from out of its depth. Cheap to insure too i would have thought.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374585996694?mkcid=16&a...
Auris Hybrid would fit the bill. The values have gone crazy since 2021 and ULEZ expansion but they are a comfy, cheap way to get around.
My misses got her 17 plate with 23,000 miles for £11k in Jan 2021 and it’s worth that now with 50k on WeBuy.
Auris Hybrid would fit the bill. The values have gone crazy since 2021 and ULEZ expansion but they are a comfy, cheap way to get around.
My misses got her 17 plate with 23,000 miles for £11k in Jan 2021 and it’s worth that now with 50k on WeBuy.
3anascooter said:
New (first proper) job means my daughter will be doing the 65 mile schlep around the A12/M25 from Essex to Heathrow Airport 2-3 times a week. So up to 400 miles per week.
Her old shape Smart ForFour (which was the wifes previously) has been 100% reliable but is on 112K miles so probably not ideal for the chores of the M25. Also being a 3 cylinder 1.1 litre it doesnt have the oomph to pull into the faster lanes when needed.
Requirements:
- Prefer an automatic (which seems to reduce the options significantly)
- 4 passenger doors
- 1.4 - 2 litre engine size. Not sure a little 1.0 or 1.1 is ideal for motorways
- Cruise control
- Some level of mobile phone integration to at least play music from phone
- Ideally under 70,000 miles at purchase as she will be adding a fair few miles per year
- As safe as possible - only daughter !
- Insurance will be a factor, but she has had a policy since being 17 so has some NCB
- Ideally £8K but could go to £9K thanks to bank of dad
I did a hunt using much of the above criteria but it didnt really bring up much that floated her boat. Did wonder about leasing something new but the mileage adds a lot to the payments
Collective wisdom of the PH brigade have any thoughts please?
I'd say the Vauxhall Astra in either 1.4T SRI it'll require bank of dad but a bit of negotiation will get it nearer to 8k you also get all the connectivity she'll require:Her old shape Smart ForFour (which was the wifes previously) has been 100% reliable but is on 112K miles so probably not ideal for the chores of the M25. Also being a 3 cylinder 1.1 litre it doesnt have the oomph to pull into the faster lanes when needed.
Requirements:
- Prefer an automatic (which seems to reduce the options significantly)
- 4 passenger doors
- 1.4 - 2 litre engine size. Not sure a little 1.0 or 1.1 is ideal for motorways
- Cruise control
- Some level of mobile phone integration to at least play music from phone
- Ideally under 70,000 miles at purchase as she will be adding a fair few miles per year
- As safe as possible - only daughter !
- Insurance will be a factor, but she has had a policy since being 17 so has some NCB
- Ideally £8K but could go to £9K thanks to bank of dad
I did a hunt using much of the above criteria but it didnt really bring up much that floated her boat. Did wonder about leasing something new but the mileage adds a lot to the payments
Collective wisdom of the PH brigade have any thoughts please?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202307029...
Personally I'd go for the ULEZ compliant 1.6d it seems like it'll be spot on for her usage:
Elite Nav:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202307029...
SRI Nav:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306268...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202307109...
Q50 SE:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305267...
Check if this V40 D4 is ULEZ compliant, if it is this R Design Lux Nav could be the pick:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306128...
3anascooter said:
New (first proper) job means my daughter will be doing the 65 mile schlep around the A12/M25 from Essex to Heathrow Airport 2-3 times a week. So up to 400 miles per week.
Her old shape Smart ForFour (which was the wifes previously) has been 100% reliable but is on 112K miles so probably not ideal for the chores of the M25. Also being a 3 cylinder 1.1 litre it doesnt have the oomph to pull into the faster lanes when needed.
Requirements:
- Prefer an automatic (which seems to reduce the options significantly)
- 4 passenger doors
- 1.4 - 2 litre engine size. Not sure a little 1.0 or 1.1 is ideal for motorways
- Cruise control
- Some level of mobile phone integration to at least play music from phone
- Ideally under 70,000 miles at purchase as she will be adding a fair few miles per year
- As safe as possible - only daughter !
- Insurance will be a factor, but she has had a policy since being 17 so has some NCB
- Ideally £8K but could go to £9K thanks to bank of dad
I did a hunt using much of the above criteria but it didnt really bring up much that floated her boat. Did wonder about leasing something new but the mileage adds a lot to the payments
Collective wisdom of the PH brigade have any thoughts please?
Keep the Smart till it dies. Relatively modern, frugal, safe and she is familiar with it. Cheapest car is usually the one you own Her old shape Smart ForFour (which was the wifes previously) has been 100% reliable but is on 112K miles so probably not ideal for the chores of the M25. Also being a 3 cylinder 1.1 litre it doesnt have the oomph to pull into the faster lanes when needed.
Requirements:
- Prefer an automatic (which seems to reduce the options significantly)
- 4 passenger doors
- 1.4 - 2 litre engine size. Not sure a little 1.0 or 1.1 is ideal for motorways
- Cruise control
- Some level of mobile phone integration to at least play music from phone
- Ideally under 70,000 miles at purchase as she will be adding a fair few miles per year
- As safe as possible - only daughter !
- Insurance will be a factor, but she has had a policy since being 17 so has some NCB
- Ideally £8K but could go to £9K thanks to bank of dad
I did a hunt using much of the above criteria but it didnt really bring up much that floated her boat. Did wonder about leasing something new but the mileage adds a lot to the payments
Collective wisdom of the PH brigade have any thoughts please?
3anascooter said:
New (first proper) job means my daughter will be doing the 65 mile schlep around the A12/M25 from Essex to Heathrow Airport 2-3 times a week. So up to 400 miles per week.
Her old shape Smart ForFour (which was the wifes previously) has been 100% reliable but is on 112K miles so probably not ideal for the chores of the M25. Also being a 3 cylinder 1.1 litre it doesnt have the oomph to pull into the faster lanes when needed.
Requirements:
- Prefer an automatic (which seems to reduce the options significantly)
- 4 passenger doors
- 1.4 - 2 litre engine size. Not sure a little 1.0 or 1.1 is ideal for motorways
- Cruise control
- Some level of mobile phone integration to at least play music from phone
- Ideally under 70,000 miles at purchase as she will be adding a fair few miles per year
- As safe as possible - only daughter !
- Insurance will be a factor, but she has had a policy since being 17 so has some NCB
- Ideally £8K but could go to £9K thanks to bank of dad
I did a hunt using much of the above criteria but it didnt really bring up much that floated her boat. Did wonder about leasing something new but the mileage adds a lot to the payments
Collective wisdom of the PH brigade have any thoughts please?
For a start, forget the phone integration, just copy the music to a USB stick and you're sorted. Or get a stereo which does bluetooth from the phone. It's not an issue unless you're looking at 'modern stone age' cars where it's hard to change the stereo but it doesn't do USB or bluetooth. Her old shape Smart ForFour (which was the wifes previously) has been 100% reliable but is on 112K miles so probably not ideal for the chores of the M25. Also being a 3 cylinder 1.1 litre it doesnt have the oomph to pull into the faster lanes when needed.
Requirements:
- Prefer an automatic (which seems to reduce the options significantly)
- 4 passenger doors
- 1.4 - 2 litre engine size. Not sure a little 1.0 or 1.1 is ideal for motorways
- Cruise control
- Some level of mobile phone integration to at least play music from phone
- Ideally under 70,000 miles at purchase as she will be adding a fair few miles per year
- As safe as possible - only daughter !
- Insurance will be a factor, but she has had a policy since being 17 so has some NCB
- Ideally £8K but could go to £9K thanks to bank of dad
I did a hunt using much of the above criteria but it didnt really bring up much that floated her boat. Did wonder about leasing something new but the mileage adds a lot to the payments
Collective wisdom of the PH brigade have any thoughts please?
Automatic? maybe. Changing gear is not hard, what else is there to do?
Cruise control? hate it personally, but maybe works in variable speed limit land.
Personally, I'd be looking at a cheaper car than £8k, because your £8k car is going to be a £3k car in no time.
The best cars I've bought have been fairly high miles when I've bought them, if a car has run to 100k without trauma, it's more likely to do another 40k than one that's bimbled around suburbia for too long.
Being under 25, insurance can be crazy for a lot of sensible cars. I had a 2 litre Mondeo , couldn't give it away to a 24 year old bloke because the insurance was prohibitive.
Yaris Hybrid?
Other Yaris auto with MMT autobox to be avoided.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202307119...
Other Yaris auto with MMT autobox to be avoided.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202307119...
Canon_Fodder said:
Oh Gawd that's a 2 hour trip in rush hour and can often be more - a lot more, especially the homeward leg through the tunnels when yet another wagon gets wedged
Surely better to drive to Brentwood and get Crossrail? No quicker on paper, but consistent, cheaper and 10x less agg
I second the Lizzie line suggestion. It's a good service and drops you right into the heart of Heathrow.Surely better to drive to Brentwood and get Crossrail? No quicker on paper, but consistent, cheaper and 10x less agg
A mate of mine worked at Heathrow until recently, they were muttering back then about introducing charges for staff car parking (if they haven't already) to cut carbon impact blah blah. (I know, seems a bit gnats and camels for a huge international airport!) Something to be aware of/make enquiries about maybe.
I travel a similar journey on the other side, total 20/25k miles a year.
Some of the suggestions are cars I've owned and they have all been fine:
Auris hybrid - only reason I sold mine was crime, too many people locally have had the cats nicked/been put in hospital during the theft.
Yaris hybrid - slow above 50mph, but still just about ok on the motorway. Mine did 55mpg.
Volvo V40 - mine was a D3 I polstar chipped to a D4. Frustratingly mine was showing as ULEZ exempt before I bought it, but when I had the change of registration through it was then showing as having to pay. The Petrols T2/T3 are fine,quite a bit less torque but go ok.
Civic - I had the previous Mk7 model but have driven the Mk8+ models round the M25 many times. Good cars, a bit slow due to high gearing on the automatic. Ride is a bit stiff and rear visibility not excellent. Air con tends to fail on Hondas for some reason.
I'd looked at the Astras as well, seem fine. Peugeot 308's were also considered, but the ones in budget are likely to be the ones with timing belt issues.
Some of the suggestions are cars I've owned and they have all been fine:
Auris hybrid - only reason I sold mine was crime, too many people locally have had the cats nicked/been put in hospital during the theft.
Yaris hybrid - slow above 50mph, but still just about ok on the motorway. Mine did 55mpg.
Volvo V40 - mine was a D3 I polstar chipped to a D4. Frustratingly mine was showing as ULEZ exempt before I bought it, but when I had the change of registration through it was then showing as having to pay. The Petrols T2/T3 are fine,quite a bit less torque but go ok.
Civic - I had the previous Mk7 model but have driven the Mk8+ models round the M25 many times. Good cars, a bit slow due to high gearing on the automatic. Ride is a bit stiff and rear visibility not excellent. Air con tends to fail on Hondas for some reason.
I'd looked at the Astras as well, seem fine. Peugeot 308's were also considered, but the ones in budget are likely to be the ones with timing belt issues.
Many thanks for the numerous suggestions. Won't see daughter till weekend but will knock up a shortlist.
She did like the Infinity Q50 as a slightly bigger car should be more comfy. Also the Volvo and Audi A1 could work. I know she is keen to avoid the usual "young person" stuff like fiesta/focus as insurance is often higher than for less popular stuff. A few online checks needed to verify
Keeping the 17 year old smart isnt my favoured choice as older should (doesn't always) mean more likelihood of issues, and don't want her breaking down on the M25 with little hard shoulder (joys of smart motorway). Elizabeth line will defo be an option at times, but being cabin crew means she will be coming/going from Heathrow at times when trains don't operate, so it's not viable all the time.
Mid-term she is likely to move closer to the airport but not for 6-8 months minimum. ULEZ compliance is a must but seems most cars post 2012 should be ok. Auto is here preference due to getting stuck in queues and constant nudging forward, which can be a pain in a manual. Trying to avoid any automated manual type gearboxes and stick with old torque converter, due to hearing many woes about the former
As said, newer/lower mileage doesn't guarantee less mechanical issues, but would hope it could help. Reliability is definitely higher up the list than MPG in this case.
She did like the Infinity Q50 as a slightly bigger car should be more comfy. Also the Volvo and Audi A1 could work. I know she is keen to avoid the usual "young person" stuff like fiesta/focus as insurance is often higher than for less popular stuff. A few online checks needed to verify
Keeping the 17 year old smart isnt my favoured choice as older should (doesn't always) mean more likelihood of issues, and don't want her breaking down on the M25 with little hard shoulder (joys of smart motorway). Elizabeth line will defo be an option at times, but being cabin crew means she will be coming/going from Heathrow at times when trains don't operate, so it's not viable all the time.
Mid-term she is likely to move closer to the airport but not for 6-8 months minimum. ULEZ compliance is a must but seems most cars post 2012 should be ok. Auto is here preference due to getting stuck in queues and constant nudging forward, which can be a pain in a manual. Trying to avoid any automated manual type gearboxes and stick with old torque converter, due to hearing many woes about the former
As said, newer/lower mileage doesn't guarantee less mechanical issues, but would hope it could help. Reliability is definitely higher up the list than MPG in this case.
Brett748 said:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374585996694?mkcid=16&a...
Auris Hybrid would fit the bill. The values have gone crazy since 2021 and ULEZ expansion but they are a comfy, cheap way to get around.
My misses got her 17 plate with 23,000 miles for £11k in Jan 2021 and it’s worth that now with 50k on WeBuy.
ThisAuris Hybrid would fit the bill. The values have gone crazy since 2021 and ULEZ expansion but they are a comfy, cheap way to get around.
My misses got her 17 plate with 23,000 miles for £11k in Jan 2021 and it’s worth that now with 50k on WeBuy.
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