Budget motoring, the good and the bad. Advice needed.

Chippy01

My partners daughter (who lives in deepest darkest Cornwall) had her car die on her over the weekend while on the motorway outside of Plymouth.
Somehow the serpentine belt shredded, which in turn got entangled with the timing belt and snapped it, causing the usual catastrophic damage.
Her car was a '04 Renault Scenic 1.9 diesel, and apparently this is a common problem.

Anyway, the search is now on for a replacement, and my partner wants to help her daughter to track down a suitable replacement.
Money is very tight so she is looking at cars with a max price of £3,000, as her daughter doesn't have the means.

Now for the advice section.
Is there a site anywhere that shows a list of cars and their weak spots?

For example, I know that Astras have a habit of doing their heads some damage, but don't know if it's all Astras or just certain engines/models.
She spotted a nice looking 05 Rover 25, but those K series engines are known for expensive head gasket problems.
What about a Nissan Note? What are their problems?
Honda Jazz, maybe?
Skoda Fabia?
Peugeot 308?
Toyota Yaris?
Mazda 3?
Fiat Grand Punto?

Pre-armed with info will help her search.
What makes/models in this (cheap) segment would be the best bet?
And are there any that makes/models should be avoided at all costs?

newmember2

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/

colm_mcm

What size of a car does she need? Did she have a reason to have a diesel scenic for example?

Chippy01

colm_mcm wrote: »

What size of a car does she need? Did she have a reason to have a diesel scenic for example?

I believe that the Scenic was 'available at the right price when she needed it'. She had an old diesel Rover 200 at the time which had failed it's MOT, and was gonna cost a bomb to fix.
Luckily, those old diesels didn't have modern emissions gubbins fitted.

She only travels 10 miles to work.
It's only herself and her 12 yr old daughter, though she is heavily involved with The Guides, which means carting some gear around.
Sometimes fits kiddy seats in the back for her young nieces so 4/5 door is kind of a must.

I got a message from her today saying Jazz, Corolla, Auris, Focus sized motor would do.

I just want to point her in the right direction to something with the least hassles with regards to problems, especially expensive ones.

colm_mcm

For 3 grand, maybe look at a 1.6 petrol Kia Ceed, you’d get a 2010 in budget.

Kia Soul would be in budget too, if she wants a bit more height and character. Again 1.6 petrol.

Chippy01

Thanks for your replies Colm.
To be honest, I never thought of Kia. Saw a couple of nice looking Jazz's, but then found out that they take 8 special spark plugs @ around £20 each!!!
Is it just me, or is everything around that price bracket a supermini or town car? I must try to expand my search criteria.

colm_mcm

No, £3k buys you cars from any given segment. Some older than others.

kermitpwee

Based On the UK market. I would buy a ford c max petrol. Starting at 1k to 3k. Some nice examples around. Cheap for parts.

Idbatterim

in the uk, Id be getting a proper nice, "luxury motor" the motor tax on them is nothing over there...

kermitpwee

Idbatterim wrote: »

in the uk, Id be getting a proper nice, "luxury motor" the motor tax on them is nothing over there...

Money is tight for this Lady

Chippy01

I was talking to her last night. She really has no idea what she wants or needs.

Told her to look in any car sellers yards she passes while out and about, as she has a loan of a car for the time being, to see if there is anything that grabs her fancy.
If there is, take a sit inside (not necessarily go for a drive) to see if it's comfortable for her, and if she can live with what she's looking at (some interiors are hideous).
Then make a shortlist of as many that she likes as she can, and we will go from there.