Used family car advice needed - £10k budget

[Tricky_Trev]

VW Golf would defo be on my list with your criteria. Plenty of others to consider in that class though.

As the above poster says, leasing is a great option these days and you’d get something decent for £200/month. Check out personal contract purchase if you want to buy it at the end of its lease. Or contract hire (cheaper) if you just want to hand it back.

PCP scares me a little. I imagine a scenario where I get shafted on the equity left in the car and pretty much have to start from scratch on the next one.

Also, I’m lucky in that I’m able to borrow from my dad if I need to and can therefore avoid having to pay interest. If I can own the car from day one and repay my dad under no pressure as and when I can, that’s got to be better than entering a PCP deal hasn’t it? I know I could drive a better car than I could otherwise afford through leasing, but after 3 years or whatever, I’d still not own a car. Maybe I’m looking at it wrong.

 

[Tricky_Trev]

Seat Leon, would never change from Seats now.

I was reading reviews yesterday about SEATs. They seem to be on a roll, Leon, Arona, Ateca all getting good reviews. Are they reliable?

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

I would suggest you avoid a Peugeot or Renault.

Worst car i had was a Renault, it was fit for the scrappy after 80k miles and various friends have similar stories. They are just built from cheap plasticy components that dont last and they start to literally fall apart.

I have a VW now and while it has had its fair share of issues that cost £ to get fixed the car is still solid. It has done 88k miles now and I dont see why it couldnt do another 88k.

Ford also good, had a number of fords and all ok.

 

[jimmy blue shoes]

I do like the look of the Kia Sportage. Need to check if it’s available as an automatic within my budget

Great car. We lease the Sportage but i do know you can get good deals on used models.

The Sportage 2 is probably the spec you'll be looking at Sat nav, sensors, reverse camera etc. (Does come in automatic option)

 

[jimmy blue shoes]

PCP scares me a little. I imagine a scenario where I get shafted on the equity left in the car and pretty much have to start from scratch on the next one.

Also, I’m lucky in that I’m able to borrow from my dad if I need to and can therefore avoid having to pay interest. If I can own the car from day one and repay my dad under no pressure as and when I can, that’s got to be better than entering a PCP deal hasn’t it? I know I could drive a better car than I could otherwise afford through leasing, but after 3 years or whatever, I’d still not own a car. Maybe I’m looking at it wrong.

If your are the kind of guy who'll buy a car and run it into the ground for ten years, services, MOTs, repairs etc then you should definitely buy cash if you have the option.

But, if you like a shiny new car every 3 years with little hastle then i would definitely recommend leasing. Who ever takes the buy option on PCP loans anyway?

 

[Tricky_Trev]

I would suggest you avoid a Peugeot or Renault.

Worst car i had was a Renault, it was fit for the scrappy after 80k miles and various friends have similar stories. They are just built from cheap plasticy components that dont last and they start to literally fall apart.

I have a VW now and while it has had its fair share of issues that cost £ to get fixed the car is still solid. It has done 88k miles now and I dont see why it couldnt do another 88k.

Ford also good, had a number of fords and all ok.

Cheers mate. On Ford, do you know anything about the Ford EcoSport? Online reviews from websites/magazines etc are pretty shit, about 2 out of 5, but if you look at user reviews it’s about 4.5 out of 5. Boot might not be big enough for me though.

 

[TheRemainsOfTheDave]

I usually start my search on Autotrader using the features I require. It gives an idea what's available nearby. One setting to watch though is they list Cat S/C/D/N vehicles which are insurance returns (you can opt to filter these out but it's right at the bottom).

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

For the cars you fancy, do a search on What Car for more info ... https://www.whatcar.com/used-reviews.

I then get down to a list of two or three car models and specifications that I then take for a test drive.

 

[jimmy blue shoes]

Cheers mate. On Ford, do you know anything about the Ford EcoSport? Online reviews from websites/magazines etc are pretty shit, about 2 out of 5, but if you look at user reviews it’s about 4.5 out of 5. Boot might not be big enough for me though.

The ecosport is basically a fiesta on steroids. The boot is tiny. My Dad had one but changed for the Kuga which he really likes.

 

[shevtheblue]

3 kids.

I've got a Skoda Kodiaq 4x4. ISOFIX points in the back plus 2 pop-up seats in the boot (no ISOFIX). Boot is huge, automatic, great car. Check some reviews on YouTube. I don't know if it fits budget wise but worth a look.

I've got a kodiaq scout, its a unit but i don't think it would fit OP's budget even at the lower end. Maybe a Mitsubishi Outlander would..

 

[nellyonthewing]

Toyota Corolla .