Suzuki Swift is a much better bet over the Fiesta and fun to drive. VW engines are not the most reliable either , Your channel and others have criticised VW reliability many times too. Stick with a well serviced petrol Suzuki, Toyota, Honda or Mazda and you won't go far wrong.
Yep, heard plenty about issues with TSi engines and DSG boxes. VW seem to have their electrical issues too. The current Golf has had lots of issues which they've tried to correct with the new facelift model.
We have a new Suzuki SCross. It's essentially a big wobblier Swift with the Swifts 1.4 engine & mild hybrid system. It's a giggle to drive and tbh, the best car we've ever owned.
Swifts are great, as are civic's, jazz's and a host of other other Japanese small cars. It just so happens that none popped up on Autotrader! Yes, I have criticised VW just the same that I've criticised say, Honda when it's been necessary. This particular VW engine, the 1.2 TDI isn't to be avoided however, I've seen many with over 150k miles with just basic maintenance.
@@ScottishCarClanI would still be a lot more confident buying a petrol Suzuki, Toyota, Honda or Mazda over a Volkswagen petrol or diesel. Plus diesel engines can be more expensive to maintain and service whereas a Swift petrol engine for example is a doddle to service. Agree with you about EV's though!
I just will not buy any car with a tiny engine and a turbo, produced purely to meet Euro regs. It's asking for trouble. My rule of thumb is go for Honda, Toyota or Mazda - unless you want diesel.
i had a mk8 fiesta 1.0, and tbf it was a good fun little car, and made pretty decent power after being remapped (around 155bhp from 100bhp). never had an issue with it, but sold it on 52k miles. would have done a cambelt at around 70k miles, do not trust them to go longer than that and was doing an oil change every 5k miles. it sipped petrol, could comfortably see 60mpg on the motorway and got 500 miles out of a tank at one point before the fuel light came on. i'd trust the new chain driven ones a bit more, and they definitely drive a lot better than the na engine cars, but probably wouldn't go back, instead opting for a 1.5 diesel. currently have a bmw 220d now, and its a great car. the b47 from being is probably about the best 2.0 diesel for cars in the late 2010s, a lot better and more reliable than the vw offerings in the 2.0 range. their 1.6 is a good enigne though. bmw is my top pick for a diesel car, b47 or especially the b457 in the newer cars, or the m47/57 in the older ones (n 47/57 is the one known for chain issues). For smaller ones the french diesels are actually really good, often see things like berlingos and partners on 200k+ miles, so a 1.4 or 1.6hdi car is a good shout, and so is the 1.5dci from renault, which you can also get in a lot of mercedes. JLR ingenium engines are not it, neither is the mazda 2.2 skyactiv engine. ford doesn't really make anything anymore, vw pd engines are all getting on a bit now and it's hard to find a lower mileage or not rotten car with one. the vauxhall 2.0 cdti is not the best either, as they have an o ring that fails, causing low oil pressure and killing the engine.
Why wouldn't you choose a Japanese diesel out of interest? I've owned a civic 1.6 dtec for the last year and it's been pretty spot on apart from an issue with the wiring to the O2 sensor.
@@adamstratford5701 don’t get me wrong there are some that I’d buy, especially in the likes of a hilux. But I think the main one is Mazda. Their 2.2 diesel is almost as bad as the inginium engine from JLR, with injector and timing issues being very common. Meanwhile the German brands have been making solid diesels for the last 50+ years. Plus, if you want a diesel with a bit more punch, you’re pretty limited to what’s offered in the uk, with only really bmw, Audi and Mercedes producing them. In a lot of other countries where Japanese cars can run to 500,000+ it tends to be the petrol offerings that do it too, like in Dubai where pretty much every Camry taxi maxes out the clock, they’re petrol, and same with Toyota in the us. I wouldn’t ignore the Japanese offerings, just some of the brands don’t have the best diesels on the market
@@adamstratford5701 I have a theory that the Japanese car manufacturers have never really committed to diesel research. Honda for example know everything there is to know about naturally aspirated petrol engines, but I don't think the same can be said about diesel. Just a prejudice I guess, but I also had a Mazda 6 diesel that failed catastrophically and put me off. I think Toyota's experience with big diesels for the Land Cruiser and Hilux is an exception to my rule though.
I’m surprised that no one has manufactured a kit yet with chains and sprockets for the Ford.I take my daughters Ford Ka when I can. I love it. 61 plate, 23,000 miles full history.
Every car brand has a weak point, just keep them regularly serviced and you won't go far wrong, had a ford focus mark1 for 19 years and only rusting/ corrosion underneath aided it's scrap, it was still on its original clutch, gearbox, starter motor too.
I have a 19 year old Focus ST with it's 2.5 5 pot Volvo engine. I can work on it myself so it will be the most reliable car for me ever. It was bought as something to tinker with, and that is what I have been doing for the last 7 years! EV's are a waste of time and apart from the fact people have been robbed, which I am not happy about, I am happy they are failing miserably.
I did 375k in my old 1.9D non Turbo and it still had the original clutch. Apart from services and normal consumables, I had to replace the oil pump and clutch cable in that time. It was eventually written off when someone crashed into it.
Other week Autotrader tested the battery.on whats the highest mileage Tesla model 3 in the UK. The car has near enough 440,000 miles can't remember what reg it was something like an 18 plate but in going on over 400000 miles it's battery was still at 78% it was tested by a battery expert & what the car stated both within 1% . They have definitely gone up.in my estimation. The car was gone through & even with all the miles hardly any part or thing was worn. Infact its been a taxi all its life & was still in use.
Daihatsu Sirion, for an unusual, but super reliable car. Often owned by older,low mileage drivers.I drive a Copen 1.3,Toyota engine. Great fun, super cheap to run,as long as not rusted.
Comparing a focus to a polo doesnt really work. You wouldnt get a pram/ dog and a baby seat comfortably in an aygo or a polo. Yet comfortably in the focus. Just get a 1.6 16v focus
Had an St180 1.6 Ecboost for a while no problems at all, had to sell due to needing a cheaper car and got a 1.0 Ecoboost titanium and that thing cost me thousands in repairs!
Diesel Mazdas are shocking but a 2ltr Petrol Mazda 3 with a Manual box is a solid buy. Easily get to 150,000miles even if thrashed, only real issue is rust but they seem to cope well with that too considering.
The diesels definitely have their issues. I can vouch for petrol Mazda's though. Owned various models including 323, 3, 6 and today got a 2 Skyactiv-g. They've all been brilliantly reliable.
@@ChrisPatrick-q6k Not sure where you're based but here in Scotland most cars will show underside surface rust well before 20 years old. Winters are notoriously wet and road salt is used from November to March constantly. Even into April. A friend of mine who lives near Inverness habitually buys used cars at around 10 years old, always buys in England because cars up there show rust at that age. Winter road conditions up there, harsher than here in the Central belt which are bad enough.
Cheap affordable but very reliable cars id say inc suzuki swift, skoda fabias, the ford fiestas from 2002 upto 2008 and by far the best focus is the mk1 the original, built like tanks and last forever!
I have a 65 plate fiesta 1.0 ecoboost that i bought 6 years ago with 50000 miles on it now, serviced religiously every 5 thousand miles with the correct spec oil and it has never let me down. i paid £7,500.00 for this car 6 years ago when it was only three years old, i would not consider buying another car at the moment as prices are ridiculous. Even if the engine let go now it owes me nothing as a car to me is worth £1,500.00 a year so ive had my moneys worth.
Nissan Qashqai petrol drinks fuel ,VW polo 1litre none turbo my wife's 2015 ex driving instructors car is amazing 130k miles full service still going strong probably better than diesel cuz no DPF to go wrong
I will stick to my most reliable car Ive ever owned had it 12 years been every where in up until the pandemic Dorset to Inverness twice a year never Missed a Beat. It’s a 2 L petrol Ford focus ghia 2008 love the car
The Citroen C1 and the Piglet 107 were made in the same factory. You can't get all combinations of doors, trim and automatic on all makes Stick to the 1 litre ones on later cars.
I have ran a 1.5tdci Focus ( 17 plate) for the last 3 years... Really good engine. so yes, earlier ecoboost engines are to be avoided but there are lots of other good engine options for the Fiesta and Focus
Had a 12 plate 1.25 zetec Fiesta and had zero issues for the 5 years I had it. Only reason I got rid was because it was a three door and I need a bigger car due to becoming a parent. Got a 17 plate 1.5 zetec ecosport had it for 3 and half years and zero issues
I think that there are very few cars around that if you don’t maintain them will survive long. Easy to check Peugeot cars wet belt as you said just take the oil cap off and look down. Nothing easier than that.
Any of the Fiestas with the older Zetec/Duratec engine is actually s sound bet as opposed to the Ecoboost - its a perky enough engine but far too risky. Honestly as far as small cars with a miniscule turbo engines go, a Fiat 500 Twin-Air will better fit the bill plus its chain driven. Just don't expect fantastic MPG though because it makes a fantastic noise when you boot it 🥾🏁 Shifts surprisingly well too
A mate bought a LD Discovery 19 plate a year ago. Unfortunately it was a 2 litre Ingenium diesel, why he didn't go for the 3 litre I don't know. Anyway, was going on holiday 2 weeks ago and the engine lunched itself. Main dealer quoted 17k for a new engine, LD specialist quoted 8k😮
There is one car which you did mention briefly and that is the Ford Focus. Seeing what's out there in the pre ecoboost era, there are plenty of good Ford Focus's around, even some of the very first one's, 1999 - 2000 that are well looked after. My choice for me out of this video would be a Focus. I would look around for a really good 2010 era Focus with aim of getting ten good years out of it. Perhaps a video on buying a good 2010 era Focus would be a very good idea as they make a hell of lot of sense
any petrol Toyota is a good bet, also Skoda's and Seat are reliable because they share all parts with Audi. I never had BMW but heard that 5th series are good for 2nd hand because are usually used and maintained by more mature folks - anyone has opinion for this brand?
Good lad. I think it's shocking that manufacturers just basically use customers as guinea pigs, then don't do anything about it for ages, even once there's loads of known issues. I know all cars can have issues, but anyway!! I don't trust VAG TSI engines also
Why not buy an eco boost for cheap, pay the money to get the wet belt changed? Or if it’s lower mileage pay the money to get the pickup cleaned which won’t be that bad
I have a fiesta 14 plate but with the 1.25 engine not the eco boost. Had it since it was 2&1/2 years old and it has never gone wrong even once and never had an advisory on mot other than brake pads and tyres. Also had a 52 plate fiesta before that for years and that was a solid car that never went wrong either. My wife’s two ford c-max’s are and were both solid reliable cars as well. Never owned an ecoboost but i dont get where this reputation of unreliability comes from. My mk2 focus ST is also great and reliable too. Ive owned 5 fords now and never, ever had a single thing go wrong on any of them.
I think it's more to do with the cam belt running through oil and disintegrating and the bits finding their way into the engine, after so long plus the expense of changing it.
I've also had tons of Fords and fiestas, have an 140ps ecoboom engine at the moment, gets serviced every 4000miles with 5-20w oil, 6 years old hasn't cost me a penny apart from tyres and servicing.
DS is good nothing wrong with it being French ---- but 1.6 THP engine in pre-2014 Citroën DS3 hatchbacks can have issues with excessive oil consumption and stretched timing chains.
The dpfs on the 1.2 tdi is horrendous for blocking my mam has a 2013 and its needed a new tailgate for rust, new egr valve, turbo failed, injectors failed and the exhaust snapped. The door straps let go due to the weight of the doors as well
As for electric cars...Stated range of 250 miles say, will be loads less in winter, so say 180, then you're also meant to charge 20-80% mostly, as 0-20 and 80-100% take longer. So especially with fast charging on a journey, you might only get roughly 60% of your 180miles on a top up, if you're in a rush, which is 108 miles. They're just not feasible currently, too expensive, depreciate and are only really ok if you have a home charger and mostly drive around town, in which case I guess buying one would save loads on fuel, but who's to say what a 100k mile Model 3, will be worth in 2 years..10k, 8k.....I think most people would rather buy something cheaper and pay more on fuel. Obviously Net zero policy is ridiculous, as car companies will go under, when no-one buy's their new evs.
There are plenty of Teslas with 250-500,000 miles on the original battery pack....MG have just announced they will be offering an unlimited lifetime battery warranty.
I agree and disagree with some things you say. Firstly the wet cam belt is worth a mention. Worth noting that some Citroën’s and DSs also come with that engine. Though the DS you featured was a Diesel, and this is a good engine. Surprisingly the latest Honda Civic 1-litre also has a wet-belt engine. The Mazda and Toyota diesels certainly deserve a mention as cars not to buy. As for electric cars, I would not say avoid, but do be mindful of depreciation. The particular Tesla you featured had covered nearly 100,000 miles. We now have some Nissan Leafs over 10 years old, and they often have 70-80% of their original range. I recently bought an 18-month-old MG5 for half its new price. Somebody else got the bulk of the depreciation. Rest of 7 year warranty - quite happy with that!
I'm absolutely gutted when the battery dies a death and will no longer take a charge on my cordless drill, I could never handle this happening on a car and costing me thousands.
A neighbour has an XC40 & hates it because the stuff that should be on buttons is on that concentration-sapping touch screen; he prefers his VW van. Why would anyone risk buying a 2nd hand EV at ANY price? - the previous driver may have rapid charged it every time & not kept the charge between 20-80%, thus ruining the life of the battery. Why would anyone buy a new EV, given the cliff face depreciation (& the poor charging infrastructure)?
I've got a peuget 208 gt line. I've had the timing belt fail. £1500 later it's fixed. But it's now always on my mind how long it's going to be before it happens again.
Not sure picking a model 3 with 100k on clock is fair example of a used EV. 3yr old MG5 standard range, 20k on clock, 4yrs manu warranty left incl battery, for under £12k... Seems hard to beat, particularly if factoring in £0 tax and cheap charging at home?
I thought the Volvo XC40s diesel was also ingenium. My V90 was although was leased so no problems. Got rid before trouble. I would say it was a fantastic car
Volvo use their own VEA engines. They did use a Ford/Mazda etc engine in some models for a while. The 1.6 and 2.0 diesels known as the HDi but not the ingenium
Stay away from Astra 1.6CDTi i was close to buying one noce spec great condition plenty out there but the timing chain is an engine out job over 2 days and most garages wont even touch them cost from what i seen is £1400 to £2000 .
@@simonh870 I’m on my third no problems with them. I make sure they have been serviced correctly, so yes they are no bigger risk than say a VW tfsi engine that have issues with stretched timing chains . All cars are a risk if they aren’t serviced correctly.
the 1.0 ecoboost I used to sell loads of these early engines from 13plate to 17plates But the new ones like 18plates onward don't seem too bad I've only sold 1 engine for one yet as I work in ford parts! But the alternative for the 1.0 engine is the the very reliable 1.25 or the 1.4 fiesta how come you didn't think of this as they have been out since the 90s and yes they don't have the power and are abit slow but I'd rather have reliability than power Least I know I could go anywhere in the country with these 2 engines and it would get me there
@@derekfleming3095tbf your right I’ve had mine for 4 years currently it’s fine but for the power u get 125 brake is good for such a small car it does pull in the low gear range
You could have been abit more specific @ 3:15 about the Mazda 3. Yes their Diesels are not good. The 1.6D PSA engined Maz 3 is worse then the 2.2D. But their petrols are the best on the market.
Any thoughts on a 2016/2017 Vauxhall Astra with a 1.4i Turbo petrol engine? It's a 4 cylinder, chain driven engine. Im looking at one thats done 40,000 miles for under £9k. But @carukchannel said to stay away from them as lots can go wrong on them. Trying to stay away from wet belt engines but they are everywhere. I dont want something thats gutless. Test drove a 2017 Peugeot 308 automatic that had a 1.2 Puretech but decided not to buy because it had a wet belt and got too worried about having issues. Also looking at a 2020 Vauxhall Corsa e (EV) that you can now buy for about £11k thats done under 20,000 miles. Still has 4 years left on battery warranty. Are the batteries that unreliable?
Do you rate the Volvo c30? Or do you have a video on it? I really like the look of it, issue is I’m on sort of average wages, and I’ve heard Volvo are astronomical in repairs and maintenance.
There is far too much of those MG ZS and HS on the roads these days, they have become the new Qashqai. I’m not saying they are bad cars but you’ll find a lot of people getting stuck in snow thinking they have a SUV
Sons got a 308 that 1.2 turbo needed a belt soon after purchase to avoid a calamity £500 it had the sump off before purchase as part of a recall why didnt they recommend the cam belt change? I bought that £10 guage it had swelled and did notbfit and it looked cracked. Stellantis should have paid for all cam belt changes they msndated before the original 112k specified at time of purchase. Itsvavreputation ruining moment. Wouldnt do hhe volvo very expensive when they go west.
I would never buy a mazda3 1.6 diesel again. Too many problems. Also had a 1.0 corsa that the head gasket went three times at 40K, 60K and 75K. Also had timing chain issues as all corsas I had were noisy.
The 1.6 diesel in the Mazda is a Ford/Peugeot engine, and is also found in Peugeot, Citroen, Ford and Volvo. Pre-2011 they are best avoided as they are prone to DPF issues, and injectors and turbos are likely to fail from 150k miles onwards. Post 2011 they changed the DPF to a more reliable set up and beefed up the injectors.
Mate I'd avoid those small diesel engine polos like the plague! Had a 2011 just like that and it was an absolute dog! Engine is noisy and sluggish, spongey breaks, cheap interior....
@@marcuswall3857 I know a fair bit about cars, but it is depressing how little £3000 buys you, especially if you are after something a bit faster than average.
the real "load of junk" is spending 40k in a Tesla just to pay 20k more for features that is already installed in the car but software locked.. and once the battery has defects good luck 👍 won't even last 2 years
