Spare car run about

[lms6791]

Running 4 new leased cars through the business. All in daily use but reliability isnt what it used to be so we find on occasions we are a car down. So thinking about spending no more than £5k to have a spare car to cover us. I am specifically thinking about insurance costs so want this as reasonable as possible. 4 drivers all over 25yrs old. NCB 10 yrs +.
I want something that is reliable and will work when we need it. Only prerequisite would be an auto gearbox. Anything else open to consideration. Annual mileage around 2k maximum and something that wont rust away.

Edited by lms6791 on Friday 13th February 09:15

[Ian_SW]

How long are the journeys when the car is used?

If its only going to be used for local journeys (less than 100 miles in a day) a Nissan Leaf might be a good bet. You could get a 5-6 year old Leaf for £5k which is a lot newer car than you'd be able to get any petrol auto for.

Automatic gearboxes on older small cars attract a large price premium, I think because of the increased number of people learning in automatic cars these days.

If, when it is used, that is likely to be longer journeys, something made by Toyota or Suzuki should be fairly dependable, if rather dull.

[lms6791]

A mix really. I’d say the average would be around 60 miles a day. Not sure about a full ev though. We already have one plug in and the day I’d need the leaf it wouldnt be charged knowing my luck as the daily use plug in would be on the charger.

[Benmac]

Jazz or Yaris if it's just for knocking about fairly locally.

[Matt_T]

Suzuki Vitara would be my suggestion.

Edited by Matt_T on Friday 13th February 11:24

[POIDH]

Would hiring as and when not make more sense there?

[SuperPav]

How often are your cars breaking down?!

If they're leased new, I'd imagine they are warrantied and have breakdown cover, do you not get hire cover/mobility through that if one of them is down?

Even if for some reason you can't get mobility solutions through breakdown cover, I'll be honest unless you're super unlucky and have always got cars broken, you'd be better off just renting from Enterprise or similar when you need? £5k + insurance/servicing etc. is a lot of hire car days.


If you really want to buy one, I echo the previous poster - Nissan Leaf if local runabout, Toyota Auris or Yaris if not... Unless of course you're talking commercial vehicles in which case £5k becomes a bit more problematic.

[lms6791]

I’d rather spend £5k on a spare car that’ll last at least 5 yrs rather than spend £5k per year on hiring as thats £25k intotal and nothing to show for it.

The lease vehicles dont tend to come with a replacement policy and the dealers are not legally obliged to offer a loan vehicle. Some do, some dont.

We lost one vehicle last december for 8 weeks. The dealer was waiting for parts from abroad. Its things like that which are annoying. Even loosing one for 2-3 days is annoying and problematic as theres 4 drivers using vehicles daily, hence why a spare would make sense.

[OutInTheShed]

I think a lot of people would be keen to buy a car for £5k that will last more than 5 years, be reliable and not cost a fortune in repairs.
And automatic?

Quite a wish list.

[Matt_T]

OutInTheShed said:

I think a lot of people would be keen to buy a car for £5k that will last more than 5 years, be reliable and not cost a fortune in repairs.
And automatic?

Quite a wish list.

I would be willing to bet £100 that this would last 10 years without costing anything to run. (I know its a manual but looks like a nice example).
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/19591629

[pb8g09]

OutInTheShed said:

I think a lot of people would be keen to buy a car for £5k that will last more than 5 years, be reliable and not cost a fortune in repairs.
And automatic?

Quite a wish list.

Absolutely. I'd love one so that I can then buy a toy but I don't fancy spending £5k on a money pit and end up spending £1000s running two cars (especially when one is st!).

[A500leroy]

Aygo is the simple answer.

[OutInTheShed]

Matt_T said:

OutInTheShed said:

I think a lot of people would be keen to buy a car for £5k that will last more than 5 years, be reliable and not cost a fortune in repairs.
And automatic?

Quite a wish list.

I would be willing to bet £100 that this would last 10 years without costing anything to run. (I know its a manual but looks like a nice example).
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/19591629

I think you'd be foolish to bet that, as a friend of mine has something very similar. It cost £550 to get through the last MOT, then spent a week off the road with a duff ABS sensor or something which cost another couple of hundred.

And not being automatic makes a big difference. Cuts both ways TBH as I reckon my friend may want a new clutch within the foreseeable.
For sure it's been reliable on the whole up to recently.
But now my friend is thinking of changing it.
It's 12 years old
5 years takes you well into the range where the average car gets scrapped, let alone 10.

Realistically, there are probabilities of various things going wrong.
Some people will be luckier than others, there are no guarantees.

Auto is narrowing the field a lot? If manual gears really are out, then I'd consider hybrids. But that probably means spending a bit more for something newer, which might be better value in the long run.
If we're into ignoring significant bits of what the OP wants, there are some good mopeds about for well under £5k....:-)

[blue al]

I totally get the mentality of being self sufficient but sounds like a job for uber etc
For flat tyre and short term hire for car out for a week, 8 weeks for parts and your very unlucky or it must be Chinese

[Pica-Pica]

POIDH said:

Would hiring as and when not make more sense there?

Or taxis, or just chop the cars in for more reliable ones - save on tax, insurance and depreciation.

[Pickle_Rick]

Benmac said:

Jazz or Yaris if it's just for knocking about fairly locally.

Pretty much much the answer to any cheap question.

Get the hybrid cvt auto, not the robotised manual box strapped to the 1.0 1.33 though (same with the 1.0l aygo). It's not terrible, and is reliable, it's just slow, jerky and a bit indecisive

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say go for a rep car.

1.8 Insignia SRI:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602099...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602109...

If you don't mind a CAT N then this 1.5T could be a great buy:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202506233...

Mazda6:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202601249...

[Sheepshanks]

lms6791 said:

I d rather spend £5k on a spare car that ll last at least 5 yrs rather than spend £5k per year on hiring as thats £25k intotal and nothing to show for it.

The lease vehicles dont tend to come with a replacement policy and the dealers are not legally obliged to offer a loan vehicle. Some do, some dont.

We lost one vehicle last december for 8 weeks. The dealer was waiting for parts from abroad. Its things like that which are annoying. Even loosing one for 2-3 days is annoying and problematic as theres 4 drivers using vehicles daily, hence why a spare would make sense.

If it's business critical then for a couple of hundred quid a month (or even less if you want to) you could get another lease car. Get something from VW Group, if it breaks down you get a hire car. Other manufacturers may do the same but I've done it a couple of time with a SEAT and it works a treat.

[paul_c123]

A car (even an electric one) is a complicated machine with many moving parts. Mechanical things wear out. That's why new cars cost what they do, and why 20 year old cars cost about £2000 - a significant loss of value. Its also why 20 years old cars could be unreliable. (And in a way, its also why new cars can be unreliable, with snagging problems etc). Everyone wants a reliable car, and there's no real guarantee of getting a reliable car but the odds are in your favour by spending more money.

So with that in mind, do you want the reliability associated with a £5000 car? And also bear in mind, autos are in massive demand compared to manuals, and this skews pricing/value considerably.

Anyway, there's 10,520 results returned on Auto Trader for autos under £5k. I would suggest narrow it down to exclude anything over 15 years old or over (say) 80,000 miles, then its a case of sifting through and excluding the Ford/Volvo powershift stuff, the VW dry clutch DSG cars, automated manuals like Fiat Dualogic or Vauxhall Easytronic, coupe/convertibles, high tax/poor fuel economy stuff, etc and there's still a lot of choice.

[POIDH]

Matt_T said:

I would be willing to bet £100 that this would last 10 years without costing anything to run. (I know its a manual but looks like a nice example).
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/19591629

My son owns one nearly 10 years older! The only issue is a rusty rear sub frame, we are crawling under with rust treatment in the spring, and the fact he has the 1.8 and has a heavy right foot...