If you had to buy something reliable with an automatic gearbox to cope with a daily commute of about 5 miles on a budget of roughly £6k, what would you look at? Is it even possible?
5 miles each way or total? In either case the car is barely getting warm - avoid diesel as the DPF will clog due to lack of temperature ‘burn off’. I would just buy the cheapest thing I can find with a service history for that distance…and make sure I change the oil regularly due to likely excessive wear by regularly running it cold.
Or get an e-bike…
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For this mileage, you need an electric car… or a bike!
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I wouldn’t be against something electric, but I’d be worried about the capacity of something that was now priced as low as £6k.
It’s five miles each way, but you’re right, barely getting warm by then.
Any petrol recommendations?
Honda Jazz hybrid, Toyota Prius?
I’d rather cycle than drive either of them though!!
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A smart for two if you only need 2 seats. I would get the 451 body shape. Reliable, easy to park, in my experience. I have had a couple over the last 20 years.
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Need more route details, and don’t go EV, they are a money disaster
Martin
Out of our village along country lanes to a rural industrial setting.
Cycling has been raised as a possibility but my wife wouldn’t feel safe along the lanes, the initial part of which is quite a busy stretch.
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A possibility as she used to drive a Smart Brabus. Are they expensive to service?
If you do not need a larger car then some good options may be Nissan Micra, Honda Jazz. They can be found in Auto form.
It could be worth considering an EV like a Renault Zoe, Nissan Leaf (mk2 better) or a Vauxhall Corsa if you could charge it at home each day. It will be a cheap way to run a car.
Not true.
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I’d be a little cautious of small cars, particularly older models, with auto transmission. They’re generally CVT or robotised manuals and not traditional ‘slush boxes’. They can be troublesome although the current crop of CVT’s are much improved.
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Comparatively, not in my experience. Though sometimes parts can be a bit expensive if you have to buy a Merc part, usually you can get good quality aftermarket parts. I use a local smart expert. When I first had a Smart car, they were fairly rare, but more independent garages are specialising in Smart cars these days.
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A Mazda 3? They don’t break and are nice to drive. I have seen autos.
Another possibility - and another she used to drive (albeit a manual).
Reliable value, Honda Jazz would be my pick. I think there’s an auto or CVT. Very unlikely to have been abused, most do low miles. We had an early version 20+ years ago. It is probably still running somewhere. Great practical runabout.
For reliability at the sort of age you are looking at I would probably look at Japanese brands first.
Bruce
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interesting, they plummet in value and become unsalable > fact. Car companies are renting unused airport to store them all.
check out geoff buys cars on youtube.
Martin
Well @Martinzero I beg to differ with that ‘opinion’. The ‘fact’ is our BMW i3 retained substantial value when we sold it this Jan, after over 6 years and 42k miles.
Bruce
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And we all know how reliable YouTube influencers are for buying advice. Probably between useless and outright scam if one is being generous.
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