Car for me Mum.....

julian2002

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Last week my mum had a relatively minor car accident. Her foot slipped off the brake of her '99 Accord automatic and it lurched into the side of another car. She was a bit shaken up but no injuries and the guy she hit was Mr Nice by name and nice by nature. Unfortunately the angle of the hit and the age of the car mean that in all likelihood the thing will be a write off. So it's recommend a car time again.

1) Must be an automatic.

2) Must be reasonably economical, i know auto and economy are pretty much polar opposites but anything over 45 / 50 mpg would be great compared to her Accord which was bleeding her dry on petrol and tax.

3) Cheap, under 9k preferably.

4) New(isn), can be lightly used, a year old maybe, not much more than that though.

5) No the ls400 / gs430 is not something that will do the job.

She's had a look at the Kia Picanto and Rio so far. Likes the Picanto a lot, the rio put her off as she could;t see the corners too well (she's 4ft 11 so...)

Going to take a look at the suzuki alto as a friend has one and she loves it but they seem a bit 'tinny' to me and I know mum liked the solidity of the Honda and found the Kias to be similar. But they are CHEAP, £7500 for one with delivery miles only.

Looking at other stuff, micra, polo, jazz, etc. seems to be rather futile as they want 10+ grand for them and many of the 'cheap as chips' cars don;t come with an auto box which is an absolute deal breaker. So any other suggestions?

 

julian2002

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The Rio has height adjustable seats, she had it on the highest setting and wasn't doing the usual 'peek throughout the steering wheel' granny style thing. It was just the design of the bonnet, very slopey and swoopy so the extremities are hidden. She's used to the old style cars which will kill pedestrians by lightly brushing them and the aerodynamics of a brick so you can see the corners. The picanto has bobbly bits on the headlights that provide a bit of a clue which helped psychologically i think.

The yaris is a possibility as is the UP although what about the seat and skoda versions? or are they a bit shit?

 

johnniebaby

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We bought a 15 month old Kia Rio a few months back and are very pleased with it. It drives really well, feels like a quality vehicle, has air con and all the bits we require, it does high 60s MPG, zero RFL and has 5.5 years left on the warranty all for £10K.

 

meninblack

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My mum is also less than 5' and she loves her Citroen C1. I think there is an auto, and they are cheep.

 

clap

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Jazz. My 82 year old mother is on her 3rd and loves it. As do I. Great car. Much better than a Yaris.

 

julian2002

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ok so the jazz looks popular only trouble is it's just had a facelift so year old examples are pricey. If i can persuade her to drop her age expectations a bit then they may come back into the mix but as it stands the only ones in range are 2010ish models so...

the c1 is too small really. I did suggest a smart car to her but she just looked at me as if to say 'i raised you better than that...'

 

Pianoman

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Perhaps look at the Hyundai i20, good little car and the auto has a nice smooth box and 1.4 engine, decent economy and performance. Bit harder to find with auto but trader shows plenty around £8k with 5-6000 on the clock, 2010 ish so plenty of warranty

 

Caliente

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Not many around, but a Mazda 2 may fit the bill

I drive a Mazda 6 but always look forward to driving the wife's 2 - no real negatives and surprisingly comfy!

 

julian2002

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the i20 is basically the picanto afaict, price range is about the same for both.

I've persuaded her to budge on the age a little bit and go and look at a jazz at the weekend. I'm also going to get her to have a look at a micra.

The list so far...

1) Kia Picanto / Hyundai i20

2) Honda Jazz

3) Nissan Micra

There are also things like the fiesta, corsa, polo, ibiza etc.

Perhaps something I should have mentioned is that insurance cost is pretty important too. My soon to be 17 year old will be using it to learn in / drive. I confused.com'd her insurance for the picanto and with her as a named driver it came out at £650 - £800 which surprised me in a good way.

 

julian2002

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Anyone have any views on the corsa. Mum looked at one yesterday and quite liked it. I hate the things but it's not my car.

 

Jezzer

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DSCF1247-1.jpg
 

julian2002

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yeah they are a bit barry along with the smaller thugs and shitroens. But. If they are reliable, cheap to service and run and will last then I doubt my mum would be bothered by that kind of thing.

One thing that immediately puts me off is that the 'lifetime' warranty is non transferable unlike the koreans.

 

craigmclellan

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I was going to suggest a lowered, Audi S3.

Then I saw someone posted the Ferrari above (pictured) and realised someone posted the "joke" before me.

Grr.

Ford Escort estate, then.

 

julian2002

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how can I put this politely..... hmmmm.... fuck off...

The lowered s3 is out as she has a hip replacement so she'd pop something out of place getting out of the sodding thing.

The ford escort? they don;t make them any more and when they did they were shit on toast so that's out....

She's also been pointed towards a fabia - don;t they only come with VW's Diabolically Shit Gearbox as an auto? If so that can go die in a hedge as well.

 

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