Car Suggestions for my retired Parents

W123-80's

Hello all,

My parents, both late 60's are considering changing their car.

They currently drive an '05 Toyota Avensis 2.0 D4D. Hatchback.

My Mum is not too keen on the car, never has been since they bought it in '08. She finds it big, akward and cumbersome.

The criteria for the new purchase would be long the lines of;

Budget; €4k + whatever the Avensis sells for privately/Trades in for
Size; Has to be at least Family 4 door. Four Grand kids living close buy that spend a lot of time with Nanny & Grandad..!!
Engine; Max 2.0L
Fuel; Diesel
Age; No older then '07 if possible

So far considerations have been given to both the Mondeo & Focus, The Skoda Octavia and more recently a lovely curve ball... the old man was talking to a mate of his who has a 2010 Nissan Tida 1.5 Diesel..!!
He was impressed with the fact it was only €156 per annum to tax.

To be honest, the tida sounds like a sensible option. It has 4 doors, will fit the grand kids, is cheap to tax and I assume is pretty reliable.

Anyone have any experience of this car.?

Any othe suggestions really appreciated.

Cheers.

ronaneire

Im sure the Nissan would suit, not the nicest looking of cars but quite practical and as you said cheap to tax. If your Mother doesn't like the Avensis maybe she won't like the Mondeo (new shape) It's quite a big car also.

Tea 1000

If the Avensis is too big, then don't go for the Mondeo either. The Tida is horrible, do the rest of us a favour and don't let them put another one on the roads.
So I suggest a Mazda 3. Reliable, spacious, nice to drive, more compact than an Avensis, and the new shape one looks good. Also Cheap to tax like the Tida!

Henry Ford III

Cashcow, CMax or similar. Easy to get in and out of which is good for older folk.

sentient_6

1.6 Diesel Hyundai i30?

Marcusm

I thought the Honda Jazz was invented for this segment?

tom traubert

I'd suggest a CMax also if the extra bit of height would be appreciated. However, when my Dad (78yrs) was changing last year he chose a Nissan Note. I was surprised at how versatile the seating is and how roomy it is relative to it's tidiness from the outside.

Worth a look?

mickdw

cmax is a good suggestion. bit of height and enough space while still beng pretty compact

Beggared

God be with the days when everybody's retired parents drove one of these, it's got 4 doors, cheap tax, low insurance, well inside budget, what more could you ask for?

Link.

TestTransmission

My dad has downsized to a Auris since he retired,I hate the bloody thing but it suits his needs well (also in his late 60's)

cnocbui

Opel Astra 5dr hatch. a bit shorter, a bit wider, slightly lower.

colm_mcm

VW golf plus

Octavia Mazda3 etc only marginally smaller than what they have.

scholar007

Am I going to have to drive a (God forbid) small car when I'm old? - Please say its not true.

Inbox

Juke

TestTransmission

scholar007 wrote: »

Am I going to have to drive a (God forbid) small car when I'm old? - Please say its not true.

well,that depends ..what age are you now and what do you drive?

W123-80's

Thanks a million guys,

Really appreciate the input.

Some great suggestions that we hadn't considered previously.

The CMax is very interesting, as is the i30.

So far the shortlist looks like this;

Ford Focus
Ford CMax
Hyundai i30
Mazda 3
Nissan Juke
Skoda Fabia

I think they are going to be priced out of a diesel Corolla.

They are still very active and will cover at least 13/15k miles per annum, so I assume that merits the diesel??
Any thoughts on that one welcome.

W123-80's

Beggared wrote: »

God be with the days when everybody's retired parents drove one of these, it's got 4 doors, cheap tax, low insurance, well inside budget, what more could you ask for?

Link.

If only..!

Nice little 2nd car for the old man if he had the shillings.!

W123-80's

Tea 1000 wrote: »

If the Avensis is too big, then don't go for the Mondeo either. The Tida is horrible, do the rest of us a favour and don't let them put another one on the roads.
So I suggest a Mazda 3. Reliable, spacious, nice to drive, more compact than an Avensis, and the new shape one looks good. Also Cheap to tax like the Tida!

Ya, I've suggested the Mazda 3 to them. They look nice.

I've read a couple of times on here that the Mazda 6 Diesel is to be avoided at all costs.
Are there similiar issues with the Mazda 3??

tom traubert

W123-80's wrote: »

Thanks a million guys,

.......... and will cover at least 13/15k miles per annum, so I assume that merits the diesel??
Any thoughts on that one welcome.

I believe your assumption to be wrong. Doctors differ and patients die but 20k + miles p.a. is usually the beginning of value for money diesel driving. But, there's a whole range of variables to be factored in as well.

bijapos

From experience I'd go with the Golf Plus or the Nissan Note. My parents have the Golf, my aunt the Note.

Both cars are easy to get in and out of, big doors mean easy access and the seat is at arse height which means no climbing up or down when getting in and out, both things they should consider. The Golf Plus is the same size as the standard car, is well finished, has big seats, is very comfortable on long trips and comfortable on rough bouncy country roads. This last point is probably the only place where the Note is not equal to the Golf.
The Golf will also be easier to sell on when they are finished with it.

You said the Tiida, I would think because of its looks its residuals might not be the best.

The easiest thing is to get them to go to a dealer and have a look at a couple of these cars second hand, have a look at access and comfort, probably the two most important things for older people, and see what they think.

W123-80's

tom traubert wrote: »

I believe your assumption to be wrong. Doctors differ and patients die but 20k + miles p.a. is usually the beginning of value for money diesel driving. But, there's a whole range of variables to be factored in as well.

Ya, fair point.

The old man is pretty diesel biased. I might need to do up a few sums to convince him petrol is also a viable option.

W123-80's

bijapos wrote: »

From experience I'd go with the Golf Plus or the Nissan Note. My parents have the Golf, my aunt the Note.

Both cars are easy to get in and out of, big doors mean easy access and the seat is at arse height which means no climbing up or down when getting in and out, both things they should consider. The Golf Plus is the same size as the standard car, is well finished, has big seats, is very comfortable on long trips and comfortable on rough bouncy country roads. This last point is probably the only place where the Note is not equal to the Golf.
The Golf will also be easier to sell on when they are finished with it.

You said the Tiida, I would think because of its looks its residuals might not be the best.

The easiest thing is to get them to go to a dealer and have a look at a couple of these cars second hand, have a look at access and comfort, probably the two most important things for older people, and see what they think.

Cheers, thats the plan at this stage.

Access, comfort and ease of driving are big considerations.

Gophur

W123-80's wrote: »

Hello all,

My parents, both late 60's are considering changing their car.

They currently drive an '05 Toyota Avensis 2.0 D4D. Hatchback.

My Mum is not too keen on the car, never has been since they bought it in '08. She finds it big, akward and cumbersome.

The criteria for the new purchase would be long the lines of;

Budget; €4k + whatever the Avensis sells for privately/Trades in for
Size; Has to be at least Family 4 door. Four Grand kids living close buy that spend a lot of time with Nanny & Grandad..!!
Engine; Max 2.0L
Fuel; Diesel
Age; No older then '07 if possible

So far considerations have been given to both the Mondeo & Focus, The Skoda Octavia and more recently a lovely curve ball... the old man was talking to a mate of his who has a 2010 Nissan Tida 1.5 Diesel..!!
He was impressed with the fact it was only €156 per annum to tax.

To be honest, the tida sounds like a sensible option. It has 4 doors, will fit the grand kids, is cheap to tax and I assume is pretty reliable.

Anyone have any experience of this car.?

Any othe suggestions really appreciated.

Cheers.

Nissan Qashqai?

Practical, comfortable, reliable and very sell-able in time.

V Eight

PLEASE no to the Nissan Tida 1.5 Diesel.......horrible!
Why do people buy these things?

The short list has good options - I'd add a SEAT Altea.
Solid, light steering, nice to drive with easy access or a Golf Plus which is the same thing.

VE

colm_mcm

We'll need to be realistic on the value of the trade in here...

bazz26

Ford Fusion is worth a look at, basically a tall Fiesta which is easy to get in and out of. 1.4 is slow but speed is probably not a priority for them. 2008 models are only €302 to tax per year too.
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201126203154216

Suzuki SX4 might be worth looking at too, similar in nature to the Fusion.
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201113201856635

Or Nissan Note:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=131323202986294

W123-80's

colm_mcm wrote: »

We'll need to be realistic on the value of the trade in here...

Avensis Stats;

Year;2005
Engine; 2.0L D4D
Milage; 80,000 miles approx
Colour; Black
Model;Hatchback

Not sure of the actual model, but it has alloys as standard & aircon.
I was thinking of advertising it private for €5,500 and seeing if there are any takers. Hoping to get €5k or very close.

Obviously, I don't have a clue what it will be worth on a trade in. It all depends on the car being bougt I assume. Maybe €4kish.???

On a side note, I spotted an '08 Seat Leon yesterday. Nice looking car. Gonna add that to the shortlist.

Have penciled in Sat morning for testing a few of these cars.!

Tabnabs

I don't think it will fall within budget, but I'd say have a look at the Skoda Yeti. I've heard very favourable reviews from owners and I'd say it would tick most/all of your requirements.

Tea 1000

W123-80's wrote: »

Ya, I've suggested the Mazda 3 to them. They look nice.

I've read a couple of times on here that the Mazda 6 Diesel is to be avoided at all costs.
Are there similiar issues with the Mazda 3??

There is an issue with the Mazda 6 diesel that can affect one of the big end bearings, but it's blown out of proportion on here because it affected one of the members. If it were that bad there'd be no diesel Mazda 6's left on the road, yet somehow there are plenty!!
Anyway, it's a different engine in the 3, a 1.6 unit from Peugeot. Same one as is in the Focus.
I think they should go for a 1.6 petrol Mazda 3. Modern diesels are too troublesome and expensive to justify for anything short of around 20k miles per year.
Don't go for the Auris, poor effort from Toyota. I'd knock the Fabia from your shortlist too, it's probably too small for them.

Tea 1000

bazz26 wrote: »

Ford Fusion is worth a look at, basically a tall Fiesta which is easy to get in and out of. 1.4 is slow but speed is probably not a priority for them. 2008 models are only €302 to tax per year too.
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201126203154216

NNOOOOO!!! It's as bad as a Tida! Horrible, manky, disgusting yoke. Pointless too, the old Fiesta was just as high in the seating, this just has a taller roof. So unless they like wearing Top Hats, then it's not worth a crap. A Focus or a new model Fiesta cover all grounds. A Fusion shouldn't exist, and thankfully Ford copped on to this.

EPM

The Leon is quite low and consequently hard to get in and out of. The curve on the C pillar in particular means bumped heads if you're not careful. Also, they aren't the smoothest on the bumps. The Altea is a better choice.

W123-80's

Guys,

Thanks a mill for all the suggestions. Loads of stuff I hadn't considered previously.

Revised list will look more like;

Ford Focus
Ford CMax
Seat Altea
Hyundai i30
Mazda 3
Nissan Qashqai - Possibly outside budget
Skoda Yeti
Corolla

I've included the Corolla & The Qashqai as I am going to try to convince them that petrol is a viable option.! I'm thinking diesel in these will be outside the budget range.

EPM

If you're looking at the Hyundai i30 add a KIA Ceed to the list too. It's the same car.