Cost of running a car

As you have no back up its worthwhile your considering full AA/RACetc cover- make sure it includes getting you and your vehicle home should your car breakdown and the mechanic is unable to sort the problem under the basic cover of roadside assistance or your car not starting at home. I get my cover by saving my supermarket points each year, so feel it's not costing me anything. I also recommend getting a sat nav. I hope you find a super little car and have fun driving - good luck.

Agree with the above comments but would add if possible go for a dealership near where you live as much easier to take it for a service etc if you can get home without it and then collect it again later.

Green Flag Insurance are excellent.

I agree re buying a car from a dealership. I bought a bargain with my Skoda- it had 2,000 miles on the clock because the person, like me, was elderly and had decided to give up driving.

If you buy a brand new car, the minute you drive it home it loses a load of money so a low mileage second hand car is good.

Once you decide what type of car you want, read up online about it so that they think you are fairly knowledgable. Do not tell them you know nowt!

You do not need all of the bells and whistles which come with modern cars so work out what you do need in advance.

Monthly costs will be fuel, insurance if you don't buy it up front.
Other costs (usually annual) will be road tax and servicing, breakdown cover. MOT if car is over 2 years old.
Other costs will be tyres, depending on mileage.
You may may need an exhaust or windscreen at some time and the odd bulb replacing.
Before I retired I had a Mini Cooper, cheap to run and service and a great deal of fun. Easy to park too.
When I retired I bought a convertible Volvo - safe, good looking, good performance and even more fun with the roof down. Eyewatering tax and tyres but same insurance as the Mini; worth every penny for me.
Good luck with your search, just go and test drive everything that is in your budget and enjoy whatever you decide on.

I have a Toyoto Yaris Hybrid so don't pay any road tax at all.

I’m in the market for a small car now I don’t need to tow a caravan. I’m considering Skoda Citigo and Fiat 500

Honda Jazz, very reliable and last for years . Lots of space inside and lovely to drive.

ineedamum certainly have a course of refreshers, if you haven't driven for years it will help your confidence.

As for what car, have a look at Honest John, he writes for the Telegrapy (www.honestjohn.co.uk) and does reviews of cars. He often recommends the Honda Jazz.

Good luck and happy driving

Most cars are of very good quality these days so my advice to you is test drive as many as you can. If I was going to pick one off the top of my head the little Skoda or it’s smart little cousin, the VW Up would be my choice.
I appreciate choosing a car can be very daunting, but do your own research so you can give the salesman a good run for his money! Also, please be very careful you don’t get caught out with your finance deal. A lot of people have been badly stung with the final payment at the end of the lease period.

grannyticktock I don't think that's been true about most automatic cars being larger ones for ages. I've had, over the last 10 years, an automatic Mini Cooper and a couple of VW Polos. A friend as an automatic Smart car too & you can't get much smaller than that! I'm currently driving an automatic Golf. Went to Lancaster and back over the last weekend and it averaged 64 mpg, which I thought pretty good. Road tax is £140. Like others on here I only get cars on 3 year deals so only really own about a wing of them. All servicing is included and so is roadside assistance etc for the first year so if you're an AA member you can suspect that for a year.

Suspend - not suspect! Ye gods!

I have a Toyota Yaris, smallish but not too small.
I always bubuy a used car from a dealership with warranty.
This Yaris was 3 years old and cost me £6,500.
I save up and always pay cash so no interest on finance.
Road tax is £30.
My insurance includes Green Flag cover for an extra £17 which is much less than AA or RAC that I used to be with.

A tank of fuel is about £50 and does me about 6 weeks. However that's because going out as a couple we use dh's car. He also always buys a car at about 2 - 3 years old from a dealership. Ours both, at 3 years old, were in showroom condition, absolutely like new. Not a scratch to be found.

I usually keep a car until it is about 10 years old.

Another thought on the car front, consider how easy it is to put ‘stuff’ in the back that is two doors or four. Most important of all how easy is the car for you to get in! Trying to get into my daughters car means I hit my head.......every time

Ist thing is to have a couple of refresher driving lessons. Traffic is so different nowadays and Highway code has changed and been added to over the years.
I stopped driving for about 10 years and was very grateful to have a couple of lessons to boost my confidence and acquaint me with new road lay outs.

This thread made me think. I had never actually worked out how much my car cost to run per year. So I now have.
It's about £1200. This includes everything I can think of. It changes a little from year to year depending on what repairs are needed.
I drive a Honda Jazz which is one of the best cars I have had.

I know that there is a tipping point where owning one becomes uneconomic. If you can use taxis, rental or public transport with ease it can be a better financial solution. FIL did not own one for last 10 years of his life as other transport was available and even using taxis from time to time was less expensive than owning a car.

The Telegraph driving column often says that manual cengines re-whatever as automatic don't work well (a blow for me as I was going to replace my Fiat Panda one day with a Fiat 500, which has this engine type). Better, apparently, to have a purpose made automatic e.g. I believe Fiat Picanto.

Sorry not Fiat, Kia.

Honda Jazz for me too. Mine is a 2nd hand Hybrid, very quiet & more nippy. Tax is £10 p.a. Extremely versatile seating arrangements.

I have a Mazda 3, bought nearly new, now 8 years old, never any problems.
Insurance is about £230, tax around £110 from memory, I have breakdown cover from my bank, never needed it. servicing around £270, except when I needed new tyres.
Costs me next to nothing really. I use it for journeys to my family, impossible by public transport, and evenings for rehearsals, again impossible by public transport.

Holidays are in DH’s car, and locally I use the bus a lot.

Thank you everybody for taking the time to write and I have lots of things to consider.

It's quite daunting buying a car , being a single parent as I'm guarantor to my children, mortgage etc but I can see the freedom it brings.

I wish we were more like Europe were car sharing/bikes/public transport is incredible so the need for a car is greatly reduced.

I'm grateful for the specific cars- I only look at colours- without your support I'd be clueless.

I tested a car- using the MOT from a car website- and it's coming out more expensive than some of your replies - but I have no garage.

I'm going to mull this over. If I won the lottery I'd definitely buy a car, so it is the financial side holding me back.

Thank you x

I'd suggest getting a small car and joining something like the RAC or AA.

Possibly try leasing a car like Craftycat. I've never done this but my friend does it and thinks it's a wonderful idea.

Perhaps a different way to approach your question is to ask yourself what your minimum requirements are. For example, I have leg problems so need an automatic, I like sensors but could manage without, I don't need satnav but it would be useful. You probably want low running costs but do you need room for passengers (baby seat?) or a dog? Would you mainly drive in the city or countryside? When you've thought about what you need then look at reviews of suitable cars to find what testers and owners say. Which ones are the most reliable, new or secondhand? Then are these within your budget? This will take time, a bit of thought and work and test drives, but doesn't cost anything. Research finance plans. Take a friend to dealerships and don't be afraid to say that you're not committing to or signing anything on the first visit. Ask for a better deal. Make the salesman work for your custom. If you don't find anything to match your budget or your minimum requirements, walk away.