I am getting a new CAR!!!

[Mondo]

I have a budget of £5,000 to get a car with insurance and tax.

I thought about the Ford Focus and even the Honda Civic but I keep coming back go the Yaris. Being in insurance group 3, good reliability and has loads of mods as standard it is hard to beat. Plus Pheebs and I get to be Yaris buddies ;D

I found that for £4,000 I am stuck with an old shape Civic model where the gear stick is on the dash. Also a lot of them I have seen on Autotrader they have been modded and looks like it has been in the hands of some boy racer. I am struggling to find one that looks tidy with a modest miles count on the clock.

Where as with the Yaris, for £4,000 I have found a few new facelift model, low miles with all the mods I want.

3dr
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201118386325918/sort/priceasc/usedcars/maximum-age/up_to_7_years_old/price-to/5000/maximum-mileage/up_to_40000_miles/transmission/manual/body-type/hatchback/fuel-type/petrol/engine-size-cars/1l_to_1-3l/model/yaris/make/toyota/page/7/postcode/hr11hb/radius/1501?logcode=p

5dr
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201118386326701/sort/priceasc/usedcars/maximum-age/up_to_7_years_old/price-to/5000/maximum-mileage/up_to_40000_miles/transmission/manual/body-type/hatchback/fuel-type/petrol/engine-size-cars/1l_to_1-3l/model/yaris/make/toyota/radius/1501/postcode/hr11hb/page/9?logcode=p

Ideally I like the 5 door one, it has 5 doors, 2007, lower miles, and even closer to home to pick up. Only down side is that it is slightly over budget (but i can afford it)

or this one which really blows my budget by £500

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201116385381392/sort/priceasc/usedcars/maximum-age/up_to_7_years_old/price-to/5000/maximum-mileage/up_to_40000_miles/transmission/manual/body-type/hatchback/fuel-type/petrol/engine-size-cars/1l_to_1-3l/model/yaris/make/toyota/radius/1501/postcode/hr11hb/page/10?logcode=p

[Pheebs]

Ooo La la! WHen I have time I will look at this proper! As you know I'm a big Yaris fan :) They're awesome runners! My advice straight away though - go for 5 door!! x

[Knipples]

I was gonna say, 5 door everytime. So much easier. :)

Not sure im mad on the colour, but thats just a girl thing :o

[Mondo]

Bah, I just hope a car like that is still available in a month when I have the funds!

[Psymonkee]

You clearly need a mondeo! So very close to your name ;)

[Jingo]

Even if those particular ones aren't about then there will almost certainly be others around :) It's a market that never seems to fluctuate.

If you're ever over in the South West there is an abundance of micro-traders who stock between 6-12 cars, less than 10 years old, £2-5k. When a family member was buying last month they found they were really spoilt for choice on the small car front: 207/corsa/fiesta/c3 and others.

I'm sure they're probably nationwide but I've certainly never had to venture far in any of my car buying history :)

p.s. "Mondodeo" :p

[Zirax]

Just a thought, but how many miles do you do per year? If its not many then you'll get more toys from a bigger engined petrol.

[Mondo]

About 5,000 I expect, and I don't want a bigger engine...as that means higher insurance, and I want a hatch back...not confident with a bigger car.

[Psymonkee]

Bigger car means you can bully smaller cars into doing your bidding.

Also more space for more lenses! :D

[Kitten]

Bigger car means you can bully smaller cars into doing your bidding.

I can do this in ANY car. However smiling and blinking/winking works better. ;)

[TinkerBell]

Have you looked into Skoda Fabia's. I bought one a few months ago, it is a Skoda Fabia 1.2 Sport. Has all the mod cons, FSH, Mot, 15,000 on the clock for £3990. It has a fair amount of umph under the bonnet but it was actually one of the cheaper cars insurance wise out of the cars I was looking at.

Edit:- Something like this one

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201117385833198/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-to/5000/model/fabia/make/skoda/postcode/hr11hb/page/1/keywords/sport/radius/100?logcode=p

[Will]

Skoda's a good call, however the Yaris I think will be cheaper motoring/maintenance in the long run. For 5,000 miles a year I'd agree you don't need anything too big or powerful.

Fiesta/Yaris/Fabia type of car will do you well. A civic would be good, but again, probably a bit expensive for your needs. In terms of cost of ownership, a jap-car is hard to argue with.

[Jonny69]

The 2008/2009 Yaris looks to be identical. We've been looking at them and at the 2-3 year old point they appear to be depreciation monsters at £8-9K. By 5 years old they have dropped in price considerably by the look of it. At your price point, this means bargain motoring for you because someone else has taken the hit on the depreciation.

The Yaris seems to be screwed together a lot better than the Aygo, which is very thin and plasticy inside. All of those micro hatches seem to be like it though. We've also looked at the Renault Clio, which is a horribly cheap feeling car inside compared to the Yaris. Other options are the Golf or A3, but you'll have to take a car with a lot more miles on it. Then there's the Pug 207, which is a bit bigger on the outside but a lot bigger inside..