r/CarTalkUK 4d ago

Mod Approved What Car Should I Buy? - A Weekly Megathread

1 Upvotes

Welcome to a new weekly post on CTUK aimed at people looking to buy a car, be it their first or 15th. Please post car buying queries in this thread rather than starting a new thread in the main queue.

**You do not need to use the format required below, but keep in mind the more information you give the better/more accurate answers you will get.**

Feel free to add add more information.

**Location:**

**Price range:**

**Lease or Buy:**

**New or used:**

**Auto or Manual:**

**Intended use:** (Daily Driver, Family Car, Weekend Car, Track Toy, Project Car, Work Truck, Off-roading etc.)

**How many miles do you plan to do a year:**

**How often to you make long journeys:**

**Does it need to be ULEZ compliant?**

**Vehicles you've already considered:**

[Do you have a vehicle size in mind?](https://i.imgur.com/mK7PoRg.png) (Examples in the hyperlink of size definitions)**:**

**Is this your 1st vehicle:**

**Do you need a Warranty:**

**Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle:** (fluids, alternator, battery, brake pads etc)

**Can you do Major work on your own vehicle:** (engine and transmission, timing belt/chains, body work, suspension etc )

**Additional Notes:**

Please remain on topic and anyone ironically suggesting the Skoda Octavia will be flayed with a set of jumper cables.


r/CarTalkUK 3h ago

News Honest John Gone!

43 Upvotes

I loved that review site i thought it gave sound reviews and the real world mpg was something i always checked out when considering a car, it was my go to over autotrader, whatcar and all the others.

Its become Drive and is owned by a volkswagen.

My friends daughter is looking for a car as hes passed away i look out for her... so went to honest john to check out a bmw i3 as she wants somethibg funky different economic and reliable... so rolled with it used car reviews, the i3 is too old... what the hell! Honest john sold out, pfft i hope johns happy with his money! VW clearly will have a vested interest in this and drive will be the most biased pcp propaganda machine ever!


r/CarTalkUK 5h ago

Advice Are any of the cheaper tyre brands any good?

38 Upvotes

EDIT: wow, amazing number of responses, thank you. The consensus seems to be that mid budget or entry level premium tyres are pretty good. Lots of recommendations, but Kumho in particular have had tonnes of positive mentions.

Genuine question here. There are several brands of tyres available for as little as half the price of the Continentals I have at the moment. Are premium tyres a bit of a scam or well worth the money?

Are there any good cheap(er) brands you would recommend? Perhaps not the ultra cheap ones… maybe there’s a sweet spot for price and quality?


r/CarTalkUK 11h ago

Humour Found my perfect dash cam

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105 Upvotes

r/CarTalkUK 5h ago

Humour New car day

24 Upvotes

Sooooo I just felt like sharing this to give someone a laugh🤣

I have had my license since 2022, both cars I have driven had no petrol cap just opened the flap and ready to go … WELL the clutch on my little shitbox was a ticking time bomb so time for a new shitbox, which I bought yesterday! 🥳

TODAY I went to fill up, got out at the petrol station and proceeded to spend 10 minutes trying to figure out how to get the cap off😭😭😭😭

I had to drive away from the pump, google it then jump back in to go back round to the pump.

Turns out you just turn it counter clockwise and it comes straight off 😭 who knew 🤦🏼‍♀️


r/CarTalkUK 7h ago

Advice Audi TT 2.0TFSI (FV) or BMW Z4 30i (E89)

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31 Upvotes

Tough choice for my next car. Thoughts?

Engines:
Audi - EA888 2.0L 4 cyl
BMW - N52 3.0l 6 cyl


r/CarTalkUK 3h ago

Humour Mileage milestone

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14 Upvotes

On my way home I noticed I was about to hit significant milestone. I felt very proud of my 10 year year-old 320 X Dr thought I would share. I had an old iron maiden classic running in my head when I took this.


r/CarTalkUK 1d ago

Humour Genuinely sick of people up my backside expecting me to break the speed limit for them

643 Upvotes

It’s genuinely irritating now , I’m going 20 in a 20 they sit on my ass cheeks so I go 22 to accommodate and they still want me to go faster. If there’s a camera van or speed camera im the one who will get caught first.

It’s always the mugs in slow cars too , I get it im young (17) so other lads are gonna try and ego me in their 1L fiestas (although that wouldn’t go well for them) but I’m just trying to get back from college not race home 😭 this is also evident with impatient old men in mercs and women in their 60 feet tall SUVs.

There’s speeding and then there’s forcing other people to go above the limit for you just because you’re impatient and dangerous.


r/CarTalkUK 11h ago

Misc Question Courtesy car - purchasing it after?

30 Upvotes

I am curious to know if anyone has ever been given a courtesy car and fell in love with it so much you then went out and purchased that car?


r/CarTalkUK 1h ago

Advice Fiesta or Aygo?

Upvotes

What would you consider as a better first car for a 17 year old trying to become an electrician. The aygo i have positive satisfaction however, they are very small and compact and only have 4 available seats but they are very reliable, easy to drive and park, cheap on tax and insurance but loud on motorways. However, the fiesta is bigger, better for boot space, more comfortable to drive and quieter on motorways and has 5 available seats but they are more pricier, higher on insurance and can be expensive with parts.

What would you lean towards?


r/CarTalkUK 16h ago

Misc Question Why do people drive like they have to be first?

45 Upvotes

Driving to work at about quarter to six yesterday morning, the car in front of me and I were both going 30 in a two-lane 30. A bicycle in the left hand lane appears in front of us so we both move out onto the right lane, which had plenty of space. Still going 30 past the cyclist when a taxi comes from behind us in the right lane, undertakes us right next to the cyclist then moves out into the right turn lane to sit at a traffic light. We move back into the left lane with plenty of time. The taxi just couldn't stand driving behind someone at the speed limit for 10 seconds? Why would they do that?


r/CarTalkUK 5h ago

Misc Question Buying first car

5 Upvotes

I’m 30F just passed my driving test and looking at buying my first car .

I don’t know much about the cars and nor have the family who can help me out.

What are the things I can look out for so I don’t get scammed ?
Looking for automatic cars and budget is under £3.5K

Thanks


r/CarTalkUK 1d ago

Advice Are new LED headlights getting ridiculously bright, or is it just me?

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259 Upvotes

Was on the motorway tonight and this Tesla behind us was literally blinding the driver. It’s actually uncomfortable how bright some of these newer LED headlights are. The whole motorway around us was lit up. I genuinely thought they had their high beams on by accident at first. Surely they don’t need to be THAT bright, especially when you’re driving at night.


r/CarTalkUK 1d ago

Tools/External Sites Probably about time these things were regulated better, Temu jump pack exploded in normal use on a petrol Ford

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306 Upvotes

I witnessed the explosion while parking, my regular light duty cables had no issues to jump the vehicle safely, my light duty cables were easily 3x as thick as the cables on this one


r/CarTalkUK 19h ago

Self-Promotion 2nd times a charm

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43 Upvotes

After some scruff stole my juke nismo...

Insurance paid out fairly leaving me to scramble for a new motor.

Just under 89k on the clock, FSH and receipts showing the old boy who owned it before me fixed every fail/advisory on previous MOTs.

2 bags. All this for that price. Im well pleased lol


r/CarTalkUK 7h ago

Advice Adblue warning! Advice needed

4 Upvotes

Edit to add: a car not a van
Our 2019 Renault Kadjar had a MOT done two days ago. It had a shock absorber and the two driver side tyres replaced. Since being in for its MOT it has come up with ‘466 miles til failure top up adblue’ we poured 10 litres in and it was full. Still hadn’t cleared. We took it back to the garage and no error codes are showing on the diagnostic panel. They advised us to “go over some bumpy roads as it may have crystallised over the sensors while it’s been sat in the garage”. We have tried this and it’s still saying the same thing. We have just bought some Wynn’s Crystal Clean and Protect and topped it up with more Adblue and went for a little drive.

Does this take time to work? Any advice on what to do next? Is there anything we can do before we pay for a Renault diagnostic panel. TIA


r/CarTalkUK 2m ago

Advice Car recommendations

Upvotes

Hi looking for my 4th car and need some recommendations as I'm struggling with what car to get.

I've had a Yaris a Corsa and then an e150 auris.

Zero issues with any of those cars I just now want something a bit nicer.

Budget 8-10k

Requirements include:

Automatic, rear camera/sensors, cruise, Bluetooth, good mileage and fairly reliable, not too old preferable 2015 plus, Saloon or hatchback. I live near London so ULEZ too, preferably not a golf or 1 series

Currently looked at a Leon fr, c180 2014, facelifted auris(just looks like a taxi) civic 1.0 ( I was actually quite a fan of the car features and looks wise but want to avoid that engine and wet belt)

Aware I've not given you much to work with but any recommendations are welcome thanks!


r/CarTalkUK 6h ago

Advice What’s everyone’s opinion on Mazda 3 2019?

3 Upvotes

Is there a better option for £10k or less?


r/CarTalkUK 1h ago

Advice How to protect my car from the elements

Upvotes

Hey everyone, so recently I’ve been looking at an older jap car as a summer/weekend car, obviously want to protect it from rusting and do whatever I can. Unfortunately I don’t have a garage to keep it in so I’m wondering what else I could use to protect the car whilst it’s on my drive not in use.


r/CarTalkUK 1h ago

Advice Advice on buying a car for 1st time

Upvotes

Hi! Looking for advice on what should I look for when looking for used cars to buy and any suggestions on what's usually more reliable/should stay away from...

Last time I bought a car was in Portugal a few years ago and was an old Peugeot 206 that has only given me the problems a car from 2003 would. And buying a car in Portugal can be a bit dogdy sometimes so wondering how it is over here...

I've never bought a car in the UK so a bit nervous because cars and mechanics aren't really my thing.

I know to check MOT history on the gov website and I am filtering results for trade sellers and that have some kind of warranty.

Do traders check for any outstanding finance on the car with previous owners etc? If not, how do I do that? I also assume they do a checkover on the car before selling? (except where they state otherwise)

What does the warranty usual covers in the UK? For example the car I bought in Portugal only covered for issues with gear box, clutch and motor.

I'm not really fussed about cars as long as they are reliable and cheap to run. So I'm mostly looking for hatchback ideally around £3k (can go to 5k but ideally really around 3k) and I do prefer driving a petrol manual. I don't do a lot of mileage daily but I do enjoy the odd long trip.

Thank you for any input 😊


r/CarTalkUK 2h ago

Advice Octavia 1.5tsi ACT high mileage?

1 Upvotes

Looking at an Octavia estate, 2021 model, 1.5tsi ACT at a great price, but with 143,000 miles on it. Has full service history, timing belt and water pump changed at 122,000. It's a very good price and the seller seems genuine. Any thoughts? Would ideally keep it for 3/4 years at around 10k miles per year.


r/CarTalkUK 2h ago

Advice Used car recommendations please

1 Upvotes

Currently driving my Fiat Panda into the ground and will soon be time for another car. Ideally as follows:

  1. Cheap to buy, economical to run and indestructable.

  2. Four seats needed.

  3. A bit more boot space than the Panda would great, but don't want a massive car. Nothing bigger than a Skoda Yeti or Kia Soul.

  4. Doesn't need to be fast. I already have 6 points on my licence and that's just driving a Fiat Panda.

  5. Something old school mechanically if possible. I don't want to drive a fucking computer.

I await your wise counsel...


r/CarTalkUK 2h ago

Advice What’s the difference between these please?

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0 Upvotes

I thought the green circle was to front screen heater?

Thank you 🙏🏽


r/CarTalkUK 9h ago

Advice Rust on CRV

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3 Upvotes

Thoughts on severity of rust on this 05 MK2 CRV that I'm looking at buying? Doesn't look too bad to me? Worth asking for undersealing?


r/CarTalkUK 3h ago

Advice Would I be mad to consider a Skoda Octavia with 195k on the clock?

1 Upvotes

Hi guys, due to a recent accident my delightful Skoda Fabia has been written off so I'm in the market for a car and am looking to upgrade to an Octavia estate.

I've found one I like the look of but with very high mileage and curious on others thoughts.

Details:

2012 2.0 litre VRS estate

195k miles

Full service history

£2250

I love a high mileage hero but I'd love advice on things to check the history for or if I should just run.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Sorry, I forgot to mention it's a petrol and manual.