To the chit chat car advice dept.

Honda Civics have great engines and will give your mum hassle-free motoring for many years.

Electric cars are ridiculous!

Useless for anyone doing even average mileage, and will never justify the extra cost for low mileage users.

Civics are brilliant (I still have my 2009 Type R GT, with less than 20k miles on it).

May well be too big for the OP's mum so I would suggest a VW Polo "Blue Motion" which benefits from Zero Road Tax....
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http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/vw-polo-bluemotion

Bluemotion ? .....eat less blue skittles ! .....hth

current car's engine computer won't play ball with her low use

Has this diagnosis been confirmed by the manufacturer? I'm no Henry Ford but it sounds a tad unlikely.

Anyway, got a lift in a Fiesta the other day and could not believe how smooth the ride was. Admittedly this may be partly due to the driver rather than the car. But if your mum is getting on a bit then probably so are her friends so she should check how easy it is to get in and out of the back.

A more fundamental question is whether she needs a car at all. For less than 2,000 miles a year, she might be better off opening an account with a local cab company.

Some cars are large, while others are small.

Some cars are expensive and cost a lot of money, while others are quite cheap.

Then you have hatchbacks, saloons, small city cars, family cars, estates etc.


Would it be too much to ask, which of these alternatives appeals most to the mother of the OP?

If neither of you have much idea it's worth shelling out a fiver or so for a magazine called "What Car".

Every model is listed, and with categories and sub categories.

Also you will find prices for new and used, and it's invaluable for your situation.

Thanks all. 

Civic a possibility.

Ramruma - the mot bods and the bmw dealer says the exhaust can't hack the low mileage, some sensor on it cost her 500 notes! It seems crazy to me, and they said it would keep happening.

Dr C - Not sure - but are smaller engined cars better for low mileage? Golf? Polo? I dunno, I'm completely confused.  Some bloke say diesel no good for low mileage?

Sorry Aunty, did not see blue motion post - that looks the one, maybe.

What car does not say about low mileage tho does it? Or does it, I only read what bike.

Mr Makybe Senior has a Honda Civic. He bought it nearly new quite a few years ago. He has done very few miles in it. It has never let him down.
He loves it.

Cheers MD, it's starting to look like a straight fight between a civic and polo.

Ramruma - she has a taxi account, but does not use it, it's the old independence thing

I have driven a variety of Honda Civics for over 25 years.
Never had the slightest trouble with any of them.
Must be the most reliable cars on the road and i would'nt
dream of driving anything else.

Rub, whatever car she gets there will always be the issue of the low mileage. If she buys another it will benefit her greatly by getting her children (you + others?) to take her off to the coast or at least a good distance once every 6 weeks/couple of months (in her car of course, not yours). Any car needs a good blowout every now & again

Don't say that, Lee, my whole dastardly plan is to pursuade her to give me her 'old' car, in order that she goes for the (by chit chat concensus) Civic that I suggest will suit her needs better

You haven't said (unless I missed it) what is her current car?

That might give a clue as to her needs!

So she gives you her old car & in return you give her new car a good run every couple of months to redress the low mileage issues

That, Mr Fooks, is it in a nutshell - and should she need to borrow a car whilst I am giving hers a good run, she can borrow mine with which she will be totally familiar.

It's a 3 series Aunty, but it doesn't suit her current needs.

Ok, we're getting closer, but still can't make recommendations without knowing her needs, e.g. size, number of doors/seats etc....

Let me guess - her current car is a diesel?

In which case the garage have just had her eyes out doing a 'forced re-gen' - which costs them nothing.

Diesel not a good choice for just pottering about

I think we're nearly there - 4/5 door, petrol, good visibility out the back, small-ish, reliable, silver, comfortable, ease of in/egress - one of those Volvos with the big rear window?

good visibility out the back

This is a major fault with many modern cars.
I was looking at new cars in a certain manufacturer's showroom with the missus, and every one she dismissed because of the restricted view out of the rear windows.

I had to agree.

No idea what engine computer ECU and low mileage have got to do with each other. Not even worth owning a car to do 2000 a year unless it's some old classic as a hobby.

Check out the Kia "Sorento" and this one the "Sportage".....
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http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201603232252047?search-target=usedcars&make=kia&model=sportage&price-from=6000&price-to=12000&sort=default&page=1&radius=1500&postcode=yo89ns&searchcontext=default&onesearchad=new%2Cnearlynew%2Cused&logcode=p&adPos=8

Loads of room and high driving position, and big glass area, for good visibility.

Lots of them available in different spec levels. Balance of seven year warranty transferable.

There seems to be many more diesel than petrol, but wouldn't rule out diesel despite one poster's comments!

"Not even worth owning a car to do 2000 a year unless it's some old classic as a hobby".

That's a crazy statement!

I only do around 3k miles these days (used to do circa 40k miles).

There's such a thing as convenience. Some folks, such as I, are a long way from the nearest bus stop, and perhaps not steady on their feet.
Buses few and far between, and take forever getting any where, as they divert through all nearby villages.

Some folk like to set off when they want, and return when they want, with provisions in the boot.

Don't talk to me about taxis, as I had to suffer this inconvenience four times recently.
First time when one of mine was in for bodywork repairs, and second time when I was having my wheels refurbished.

Total miles circa 40 and fares paid £46.00.
Add to that the hanging around, waiting for the taxis, and it just doesn't stack up!

Toyota Yaris is good.

Have to agree with Aunty Post.
The convenience and freedom that having a car brings is priceless.

Just having a car to do the shopping in would be enough justification in owning one for me.

Hell to the cost. You're a long time dead.

I can remember an old bloke saying to me that one of the main problem with old people driving is that they can't turn their necks 90 degrees to look at junctions etc.

Also, many people driving have no idea how to drive using only wing mirrors.

Can't turn their heads 90 degrees?

Stroll on, what age was he talking about 90 -100 years.

I can understand really fat people having difficulty in twisting in their seats to see to reverse though.

Kia a good shout by AP, they've come a long way.

I like the design of the one in the link.

Not so much the new KIA Sportage.

They're going backwards with modern designs to my liking.

That applies to most of the modern design of cars.

I wonder how much cars are designed for the obese and disabled.

They will talk about high driving positions and driver and passenger safety, but you rarely see a fat ferker owning a traditional hatchback/saloon/estate, because they can't get in and out due to the low seating position.

The bodywork of many of the later designs go up at the back reducing the rear side windows to wide slits.
Which then reduces the size of the rear window. That with having headrests on the back seats means your vision out of the back window to reverse is very restricted.

I'm surprised this hasn't been made an issue by the safety brigade.
I was sitting in a Hyundai I30 in the showroom, and turned to look out the rear window and thought straight away ''I wouldn't feel safe reversing in this.''
If a toddler stepped behind you when you were reversing you wouldn't see them.

I don't know how the car companies get away with it. 
I think all new cars with limited vision for reversing, should come fitted with a reversing camera.

nervous of electric   

does your mam cook with gas ?

I think, if we admit it, we're all slightly nervous of electric, in the same way we're slightly nervous of reversing unsighted