How Should I Choose a Car

evadingnun

I own an 11 yo Yaris (998ml engine), and I'm thinking it's time to upgrade. It's a great car for short trips, but I'm making the journey between Dundalk and Dublin about twice a week, and I don't think it's really built for that, and would like to upgrade before it starts struggling (also, it's not very fuel efficient for what I'm using it for; great for tax though). I'm trying to find some good resources on choosing a suitable car, most I can find offer very good general advice, but not much specifics.

So first question is diesel or petrol? Work is about 15-20 minutes away from my house, with traffic (normal office hours in Dublin, so traffic is usually pretty heavy), 5 days a week. Then, as mentioned, I go to Dundalk and back almost every week. Otherwise, it's short trips to shops/partners house. Would this warrant a diesel? Or perhaps I should look at a hybrid? On a related note, how do I choose engine size?

I usually drive alone, very rarely with more than one passenger, so a big car is definitely not called for, unless it saves money somehow.

I know I'll be asked for a budget, but that's something I need to figure out too. I'll certainly be taking out a loan for the entirety of the cost (minus trade-in for the Yaris, or whatever I can sell it for). Money is a big factor here, I'd obviously like to minimize the initial cost, but would consider spending a bit more if it saves on the running costs. I'm pretty sure second hand is the way to go.

Other than all that, I'm a blank canvas. I'd like something that's reliable, cost efficient, doesn't lose too much value, drives itself and massages my back while doing so. Not asking too much. Power and style and speed and gadgeets are all nice, but maybe we'll worry about all that for my next car, when I (hopefully) have some proper money.

Thanks for any and all advice, I really appreciate any help. I'm not looking to rush into this, rather do it right, but I've a lot to learn.

colm_mcm

You'll almost certainly not save any money in reality by changing car.

evadingnun

Really? Is a Yaris that good, or is the market that bad? Honestly, it's not doing great on the longer drives, the noise out of the thing when doing 70 is what used to come out of it doing 110. I realize that's probably just a bearing that needs replacing, and alone is certainly no reason for buying another car, but over the past couple of days it's occasionally added a loud rattling sound from the engine on short trips (though never when I was with anyone who could look at the engine while the noise was going - I brought it into a garage yesterday about this noise, but it was running fine by then, and they said they could do nothing while it was ok; then the noise came back later yesterday evening, after the garage had closed). These are things I'm going to get a garage to look at, and will probably not cost a whole lot to fix, but I'm worried that this is brought on by the longer trips, and things like this will become more frequent/severe as I continue, as the people in my life with more car-knowledge than me have been telling me the small Yaris isn't built for regular drives on the motorway.
I'll see what a mechanic has to say, but if it's going to go tits-up on me sometime in the future, I'd rather get ahead of it. Do you think it might even be worth looking at trading it in for a slightly newer Yaris?

colm_mcm

You may save money on fuel on the motorway, but when you take into account the money you spend upgrading, then you're down again.

My point is, don't be ashamed of wanting something nicer. There's nothing wrong with spending money on something you use every day.
The real question is, how much money do you want to spend on getting a nicer car?

evadingnun

Ok, that's fair. I was thinking I could afford 3 or 4 grand, and trading in the old one. A quick look on carzone and done deal says an 04 Yaris will go for between 2 and 3 grand, aforementioned noises might mean a trade-in with a dealer is the way to go, so maybe we'll say something up to a total value of 5k? As you can probably see, these figures are far from concrete. If a bit more means the difference between a banger and a Lexus, then I'll consider it (or something less extreme than that, but you get what I'm saying). If I can find something decent for a good bit less, better still.

colm_mcm

The logical choice would be something like a 1.4 Corolla.
It won't save you money as such, but will be better suited to your drive.
04 Yariss are hot stuff second hand. you'd easily get 3k. sell privately

evadingnun

I was actually thinking of something along the lines of a Corolla. Definitely have no quarrels with sticking to Toyota. Whatever make/model I go with, you think a 1.4L is roughly the engine size I should be looking at? How about petrol v diesel?

acronym Chilli

evadingnun wrote: »

I was actually thinking of something along the lines of a Corolla. Definitely have no quarrels with sticking to Toyota. Whatever make/model I go with, you think a 1.4L is roughly the engine size I should be looking at? How about petrol v diesel?

I'm going to go out on a limb and just say petrol.
The runs you're doing don't seem to be very long, even your motorway run is really not a big stretch for the car. To get more car for your money, and dodge problems with things like diesel particulate filters (foul up by short run driving), a petrol engine is probably the right choice.