More car talk :)

twain

Retrobike Rider
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an inevitable car purchase means i am on the hunt.
looking to go bigger (from a micra, so i guess this opens things up somewhat).

budget is around 4K
have one child already, due another very very soon.

we live in brighton and dont have a driveway, so cant have anything massive, else parking would be fecking impossible (mainly for the mrs, but brighton is getting worse daily for spaces around our area).
car will be used mostly for short journeys (in to town, with the ocaasional trip out to the grandparents along the motorways).

so far ive been looking at the younger models of:

Honda Civic - 00-06
Honda Jazz - 01-08
Ford C-Max - 07-11

not given much thought to any others other than Hyundai's i20/i30.
i'm not a snob of any sort, but i really dont like the look or feel of any modern Peugeots, so forget them (i loved my '99 306)

the Jazz appeals due to its size, but servicing comes up pricey. although i'm unsure what this means....(are basic services like oild and filter changes difficult to carry out by your average DIYer?)
the Ford appeals because its a little larger without being enormous, plus they are reasonably cheap to fix and quite reliable as far as ive read....

what say anyone else?
 
The civic is not that big inside in my opinion, and the C-max (i think, others will disagree) is awful to drive/be in. Out of those 3 it would have to be the Jazz for me. What about something like a Rav 4?
 
I am a lifelong Honda fan, the Jazz would be my choice out of the 3. Interior space good for the size of the car and funky with it. They are good on fuel, pretty nippy and reliable and should hold their value. Servicing ie normal such as oil filter etc could be done by a competant(ish) person, or find a local independant garage you can trust - i have found Honda main dealers to be expensive on certain parts and not others. There are a few online Honda parts suppliers which are much cheaper than Main dealers.

The only thing i found when i testdrove a Jazz was the car felt a litte cheap eg the rear seat foam thickness, difficult to put into words.

:D
 
The Civic is far from being the best hatch in the Golf-Fous sized market.

Ditto the Jazz. Nothing actually wrong with it, but its expensive new and this and relatively low sales makes it expensive used too.

TBH of those 3 I'd err towards the C Max, but for a small budget like that I'd keep it simple. Focus or Astra, but enough for an expanding family, you'll have some proper choice in your budget, parts supply for vertically every component is off the shelf, cheap to keep on the road. It doesn't pay to e too clever or too picky when your budget is tight, so the more conventional alternatives get my vote.

BTW, an odd assortment of vehicles, 3 very different cars that full 3 very different needs. Maybe decide what features are essential what are desirable, and then reassess your short list.
 
There's a motability dealer in Lancing, lots of bargaintastic cars that you may not have considered

We briefly considered a C Max but it's so dull!!! The standard Focus is far more exciting and as a previous owner, the space is plenty big enough. What about Astra/Golf/C4/Verso etc?
 
c max but a big diesel engine, gutless and poor fuel economy if you buy a 1.6 petrol
 
.......two kids in a car lol

I bought a cheap as chips Picasso petrol and drove it until it was worth even less.......... McDonalds, trips to the seaside, Ice cream, chocolate, football, mud, crud, even more crud, plus more children's crud.

Like a cheap Timex watch to tell the time and then move on.

Shaun
 
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