Our old Micra while mechanically sound is now decomposing beyond the point of no return. That coupled with the lack of mod cons such as ABS, seat belt pretensions, airbags, aircon, central locking and a working radio means it is time to find a replacement.
Requirement…
Small car with no more than 60K on the clock.
5 doors,
Petrol, manual with 90ish bhp so it’s not frustratingly slow.
Most importantly - reliable and cheap to maintain. We’ve had the Micra for 9 years and will probably keep the replacement for at least 5.
Want to spend £2.5 to £3.5K - private or trade.
A Yaris is high on my list along with a newer Micra and a massive old Volvo natch
What other solid, 10yr old small cars should we consider please?
Japanese cars might break down less, but things are going to fail on a 10 year old car and parts are often expensive. A Fiesta or Corsa might make a better banger as they are cheaper to repair.
I had a recent Micra as a courtesy car a few months ago. It was an absolute hoot. Totally underpowered, so keeping momentum was essential, but also under tyred, meaning lots of slidey trying to keep speed up.
Another vote for a Fiesta for the reasons above and you’ll still be able to sell it to a learner driver once you’ve finished with it. Second vote (practical head on) would be a Vauxall Corsa, however my experience of Vauxhall’s are they are always very basic so if you’d want a steering wheel for example, you’d have to buy a top spec model.
I accept old cars need maintaining, components ware out with age and need replacing - that is different to being unreliable. In 9 years of Mirca driving it has never failed to start and never broken down = reliable car.
We budget £500 a year for a service and MOT work which has always been more than enough. We only do 3000 miles a year so generally ware and tare is low.
Too big, needs to be small to get around town and part anywhere.
Old Fiesta ST = raced and rallied. besides I have a fast weekend car. I want cheap insurance and low tax as well. I like the DS3 other half doesn’t so is a none starter. But a basic spec Fiesta should be on the cards I guess.
My picks would be a Fiesta or Yaris would never use the Kiddlington Ford Garage thou. The Yaris I had was a nice quality car.The local Toyota dealers were always good to deal with for six years of ownership - The Ford dealer was shite .
