Most reliable used cars to buy?

[Kirkham]

Hi everyone,
I know absolutely NOTHING about cars and have made a few mistakes when purchasing one, such as buying a Ford Focus with a bloody ecoboost engine!
I thought I did my research!

I'm on the hunt for a used car, in the region of £6-8k.

What cars, in that region, should I be looking at in terms of reliability?

Thanks.

[Rob 131 Sport]

Based on my experience of reliability you can’t go wrong with a well maintained Alfa Mito Diesel, provided this isn’t going to be a town bound car.

[CG2020UK]

At your budget I’d suggest a Kia Ceed or Hyundai I30 or Suzuki Swift.

If they do have issues they are usually minor and cheap to resolve eg: no engine go boom.

[markymarkthree]

I asked my MOT man this question, he said "Hyundai get the least fails" from him in his many years MOTing so Mrs Marky got an i20.
Mrs Marky is a rapid (ish) response nurse on nights, hence why i wanted a reliable car. Eight years in and its been 100% perfect.
Although she has called me out twice for a "punture" (curbing), she is not the best of drivers.

[ZX10R NIN]

Kirkham said:

Hi everyone,
I know absolutely NOTHING about cars and have made a few mistakes when purchasing one, such as buying a Ford Focus with a bloody ecoboost engine!
I thought I did my research!

I'm on the hunt for a used car, in the region of £6-8k.

What cars, in that region, should I be looking at in terms of reliability?

Thanks.

What will you be using the car for?

What will be your main usage, short/long trips?

3/4/5 doors?

Economy (I say this because I can recommend you a reliable 5.0 V8 for your budget) as in mid 30's in mixed driving?

[MrGTI6]

Toyota Yaris 1.3

[Sycamore]

ZX10R NIN said:

What will you be using the car for?

What will be your main usage, short/long trips?

3/4/5 doors?

Economy (I say this because I can recommend you a reliable 5.0 V8 for your budget) as in mid 30's in mixed driving?

Reliable 5.0 V8 recommendation please

[ITP]

Lexus is250

[Kirkham]

Love the responses and I've noted them.

What are the Kia Sportages like, in terms of reliability?

[trumpton7291]

MrGTI6 said:

Toyota Yaris 1.3

^ what he said

[Kirkham]

ZX10R NIN said:

What will you be using the car for?

What will be your main usage, short/long trips?

3/4/5 doors?

Economy (I say this because I can recommend you a reliable 5.0 V8 for your budget) as in mid 30's in mixed driving?

I will be using it for commuting. I travel around 30-40 miles per week between Preston and Blackpool.
I have no problem giving the car a blast on the M55/M6 a few times a week.
My annual milage is around 10K.

I would prefer a 5 door.

I wouldn't mind an economy car, just not one with an ecoboost engine lol.
I'm no boy racer. I'm a "get from A to B" type of a guy.

[Silvanus]

Newest Dacia Sandero you can get for your budget. Simple cars with tried and tested engineering.

[Kirkham]

Cheers for the responses, everyone. I'm going to look through these when I get home.

[ZX10R NIN]

Sycamore said:

Reliable 5.0 V8 recommendation please

E500:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?advertisin...

CLK55 AMG:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401215...

[ZX10R NIN]

Kirkham said:

I will be using it for commuting. I travel around 30-40 miles per week between Preston and Blackpool.
I have no problem giving the car a blast on the M55/M6 a few times a week.
My annual milage is around 10K.

I would prefer a 5 door.

I wouldn't mind an economy car, just not one with an ecoboost engine lol.
I'm no boy racer. I'm a "get from A to B" type of a guy.

So something with a bit of go whiilst still being sensible on fuel.

1.6t Astra SRI:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304176...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401245...

Elite Nav:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312114...

I know you were bitten by the 1.0t but the 1.5t is a much better engine:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401125...

Kia Ceed GT:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312164...

Or it's i30 cousin:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202308301...

Giulietta Collezione these are a reliable good car:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202307149...

Veloce:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312094...

Clpverleaf:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312154...

Mazda3 165 Sport Nav:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401185...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305197...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311254...

If you can live with a diesel then the Q30 Sport is a good pick:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401275...

[Mad Maximus]

Kirkham said:

Hi everyone,
I know absolutely NOTHING about cars and have made a few mistakes when purchasing one, such as buying a Ford Focus with a bloody ecoboost engine!
I thought I did my research!

I'm on the hunt for a used car, in the region of £6-8k.

What cars, in that region, should I be looking at in terms of reliability?

Thanks.

A petrol Honda or a petrol Toyota. Probably better off with a Honda. Steer clear of auto box’s and any hybrid crap. Keep it simple stick to a manual n/a engine Honda and you’ll be golden.

[georgeyboy12345]

Japanese, petrol, no turbos

Honda Civic 1.8 i-VTEC
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311164...


Lexus IS 250
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310132...


Nissan Micra 1.2
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312074...

[rgbpixel]

Toyota Verso petrol automatic, had 2 for about 8 years, never had any reliability issues.
Honda Jazz CVT automatic, had 1 for about 5 years, no reliability issues.
Neither are exciting cars to drive but for A to B they were great.

[turbomoggie]

Toyota and Lexus always come out top for reliability. Their hybrid systems are very reliable but as they get old or reach high mileage the traction battery 'may' eventually need repairing or replacing.

[wyson]

Um, should state the obvious, seeing you said you know nothing about cars. A £6k to £8k car is likely to need a decent amount of maintenance. Just because its a normally aspirated petrol Honda or Toyota doesn't exempt it from consumables wearing out, bushes, exhausts, brake disks and pads, clutches, fly wheels etc.

If you want something that will just run with annual servicing and is no bother at all, you'll need something much newer and more expensive. Both age and mileage are factors, the 8yr, 60k mile mark is a very common durability standard for many components. VAG works to this for example. So you'd want a car way under this for the least headache and expect a car to require additional maintenance as it hits that age / mileage.

Sorry to say, but cars depreciate for a reason.

Edited by wyson on Sunday 4th February 10:19