Cheap, reliable 4 door for up to £3k? Ideas?

[True-Blue]

Morning all, reaching out to the collective brainpower of the forum

A friend of my partners needs a reliable, cheap to run, 4 door car…. Any ideas? Maximum budget is £3k (I know)

She has a 5 year old child, hence the need for 4 doors, but I don’t think a hatch back is critical.

EDIT - a hatch is critical apparently, due to the fact she has a cocker spaniel

Also, how hard is it to scrap a non-runner? Her golf has died, been diagnosed as clutch/gearbox gone. This is after she spent too much trying to resolve other faults. It’s the 1.6 FSI, which I believe is an unreliable lump.

[hopz121]

If ULEZ isn’t an issue maybe a 1.9 TDi Golf or Skoda equivalent they are mega reliable.

Otherwise I’d go down the Ford Focus route or Honda Civic route.

I hope this helps.

[mr.tourette]

Yes Id say Honda Civic too.. super reliable and reasonable running costs, Mazda 3 and Focus are also good shouts, my missur runs 2009 corsa, thats never put a foot wrong 50+mpg and 30 a year to tax

[True-Blue]

Thanks gents,

ULEZ is potentially an issue as she lives in Bath and there’s the threat of wider restrictions being imposed there. Already focussing on commercial vehicles, vans etc.

Mazda 3’s look good in terms of price vs age/mileage… are they Ford Focus based?

Honda’s very reliable too, have they overcome their rust issues?

[Pondrew]

I bought a Mazda3 a few months ago. It is a newer one (2017) and was £11k but they are great cars. For some reason Mazda aren't as desirable as other Jap cars so they're prices are lower. The older 3 (pre 2012 ish) did have a lot of common bits with the Focus, as Mazda and Ford had a big thing together for a while. Ford Ecoboost engines are still based on a Mazda L block apparently.
The ONLY thing I would say is that parts can be quite expensive and Mazdas have a reputation for getting through brakes quickly when they get older.

£3k is not a lot for any car these days, so I would say just be careful when looking. Easy to get a shite box at that money.

[True-Blue]

I bought a Mazda3 a few months ago. It is a newer one (2017) and was £11k but they are great cars. For some reason Mazda aren't as desirable as other Jap cars so they're prices are lower. The older 3 (pre 2012 ish) did have a lot of common bits with the Focus, as Mazda and Ford had a big thing together for a while. Ford Ecoboost engines are still based on a Mazda L block apparently.
The ONLY thing I would say is that parts can be quite expensive and Mazdas have a reputation for getting through brakes quickly when they get older.

£3k is not a lot for any car these days, so I would say just be careful when looking. Easy to get a shite box at that money.

Completely agree, I think she’d be wiser budgeting a little higher with the aim of avoiding repair costs, rather than buying cheaper etc… Things like brakes not an issue, as such, as I can do them for her if necessary

Thanks.

[mr.tourette]

Thanks gents,

ULEZ is potentially an issue as she lives in Bath and there’s the threat of wider restrictions being imposed there. Already focussing on commercial vehicles, vans etc.

Mazda 3’s look good in terms of price vs age/mileage… are they Ford Focus based?

Honda’s very reliable too, have they overcome their rust issues?

Id be using Hondas as my daily driver since 2005 until i went merc a few years ago.. never seen a hint of rust mate

[True-Blue]

Thanks gents,

ULEZ is potentially an issue as she lives in Bath and there’s the threat of wider restrictions being imposed there. Already focussing on commercial vehicles, vans etc.

Mazda 3’s look good in terms of price vs age/mileage… are they Ford Focus based?

Honda’s very reliable too, have they overcome their rust issues?

Id be using Hondas as my daily driver since 2005 until i went merc a few years ago.. never seen a hint of rust mate

Good to know, thanks

Honestly, something like a Jazz or Civic probably be ideal for her.

I’ll have a bit of a look for Honda’s & Mazda’s

[mr.tourette]

Yep the Civic is decent, only real issue they suffer is squeaky clutch pedal which usually requires replacement of the master cylinder to completely cure, they can be silenced by regular greasing of the linkage under the dash but eventually even that stops working.

Not sure about flaws in the jazz but the seem to have the same solid build quality reputation

[True-Blue]

Thanks for the input on this,

Deposit placed on a two owner, 90k miles 56 plate 1.8 4 door civic. Interior immaculate, exterior no so good, but ok.

£2k, will do a job for a year or so hopefully, she seems happy so job done

[MikeyH]

Yes Honda Jazz, always high up in reliability surveys. Make sure what ever you buy you take the dog with you to measure him/her for fit. Sounds daft I know but when we bought one for our German Shepherd we took him with us to make sure he could sit in the back without his ears touching the roof. Otherwise he/she will be uncomfortable on longer journeys. We settled on a mk 2 Zaphira and this was very reliable until it got to 80,000 miles then went down hill. As for scraping the old one take it to the local car breaker, that's what we always do.