looking for a reliable car for a few years with very little maintenance.

Hi Guys

Looking to get a car at the moment absolute novice on this thing.

looking for a reliable car for a few years with very little mainteance.(arent we all )

any advice on a renault sceneic ..skoda oktavia ? or wrong direction..

budget wise between 4k & 6k, 2005-2006 id imagine ...any advice on this also?

what sort of mileage would we be looking at as standard?

thanks for any help thats given

What sort of driving will you be doing?
What sort of mileage?
Do you have kids to carry?
Do you want something that's nice to drive or just something to get from A to B?

Look at the cost of parts/servicing as well., e.g. Toyota are reliable but parts for Ford are cheaper.

I would agree with Purple that Toyota's are reliable. and second choice would be a Ford

thanks guys

Will be mostly weekends and evenings as we commute - so very little driving

no kids, looking for a relaible car a-b to a certain extent .

What type of toyota/ford would be reliabile?

we seen a peugeot 207 today for around 5 and a half or so

I would have thought a volkswagon was a reliable car !

jimmy1981 said:

...
Will be mostly weekends and evenings as we commute - so very little driving ...

Click to expand...

Commute as in bus/train/tram?

If that is the case, make sure not to buy a modern diesel as they do not take kindly to short journeys.

What is your annual mileage?

For reliability has to be a Mazda, maybe 2 or 3.

Make sure to have a look at the key posts and before buying make sure to check out the cost of the insurance.

www.carzone.ie and

Generally Japanese cars such as Toyota's, Mazda's & Honda's tend to be the most reliable.

German cars such as Volkwagan, Audi, Merc's & BMW's generally tend to have average reliablity.

French & Italian cars such as Fiat, Renault, Citreon tend to be the most unrealiable cars.

Have a look at the reliability Index for UK cars below ;

[broken link removed]

Rgds
Billo

alexandra123 said:

I would have thought a volkswagon was a reliable car !

Click to expand...

We've had a good few through the family, and I would say they've not been a patch on Jap cars we've had for reliability. Lots of unexpected things going wrong. Anyone I know with one has had similar experience. ABS, head gaskets, turbo's locks. Fuel pumps. TBH on even in the 80' and 90's they weren't as good as Jap cars for reliability. Despite the marketing.

Also take a look at HonestJohn for a review and details of common problems with any potentials you identify.
Leo

Toyota has gone back in recent years, with head gasket problems on their deisels and oil burning problems on their pre 2006 petrols. My Avensis has the first signs of piston slap at 60,000 mile, full service history.

jimmy1981 said:

Hi Guys

...looking for a reliable car for a few years with very little mainteance.(arent we all )

any advice on a renault sceneic ..skoda oktavia ? or wrong direction..

budget wise between 4k & 6k, 2005-2006 id imagine ...any advice on this also?

Click to expand...

A quick search on Carzone.ie throws up a lot of Nissans and Toyotas which would be my recommendation.
Search criteria;
<LI id=itemYear class=200290-200299 jQuery1326879390215="5389" name="year">Year: 2006 to 2007<LI id=itemPrice class=290-325 jQuery1326879390215="5387" name="price">Price: €4,000 to €7,999 (Take the asking price on Carzone with a lot of salt!<LI id=itemMileage class=351-200474 jQuery1326879390215="5385" name="mileage">Mileage: to 49,999<LI id=itemBody class=102554 jQuery1326879390215="5383" name="102554">Body Type: Saloon<LI id=itemFuel class=102455 jQuery1326879390215="5381" name="102455">Fuel Type: Petrol
I have had a few Fords lately (diesel mondeos/galaxies) and not impressed with flywheel/injectors failing. Avoid Renault/Fiat etc. German cars a bit expensive but VW/Skoda good.

Overall, Nissan/Toyota/Mazda will run forever with a little TLC. Bargain hard especially if you are a cash buyer.

jimmy1981 said:

looking for a reliable car for a few years with very little mainteance.(arent we all )
any advice on a renault sceneic ..skoda oktavia ? or wrong direction..

Click to expand...

Stay away from Renault unless it's a company car and someone else is footing the repair bills. I have owned 2 and they caused me nothing but pain. I ended up going for a 2 year old Toyota Avensis - 5 years and 125,000 kms later and it has had nothing of note wrong. I will drive it till it falls apart. Renault make great comfy cars with all the bells and whistles, it's just a pity they don't work!!!

It is a tough one as it is easy to generalise while in fact, no matter what brand, cars will always give some kind of trouble. But in saying that, some cars seem to "stand" out a bit more when it comes to reliability.

Renault had recently (last year if I remember well) massive problems with some cars which had troublesome windows (among other problems) , and apparently their customer care is appalling.
From personal experience and I have posted on this previously, I would go with a Japanese car! All the way. Up until a few months ago, I had an 05 Landrover that I had bought in 06. One of the worst cars in history!!! Problem after problem, after problem. I got fed up and decided to trade it in (again, worst deal ever money wise but the best decision I have ever made) and got a old Toyota Yaris, year 2000. Nearly 6 months later: not a bother on that car!
This is my second Yaris and my 3rd Toyota car: you can not go wrong with Japanese. It is not a garantuee but you will have better chances than, let's say a Renault.

You can't go wrong with the Japs, or if you do you've been extremely unlucky - Nissan / Toyota / Mazda / Honda.

My personal preference is Honda. I've had a Civic, and now an Accord, had very little hassle (relative to the mileage I do) and I can honestly say I've no intention of ever buying any other marque again.