Can anyone help me out with this one....I am in the market for a newish 2nd hand car 06 plate onwards, what can u suggest ? I know little or nothing about motors, makes etc so i thought id put it up here to try and get some feedback off you guys.

I need an estate style vehicle with a small engine, low tax and low insurance group preferably.

Im not overly fussed what it looks like as modern cars all look pretty samey to me.

Reliabilty and fuel economy is important to me.

For quality and reliability you can't beat Japanese, Toyota, Nissan etc. The parts prices are slightly higher but this is offset by the fact they do not breakdown as often. Try the AA or RAC websites, I am sure I saw some general indicators of the reliability of various makes somewhere on the internet but cannot recall where.

Mate, reliability is the key by the sounds of it. Honda civic or similar sounds about right. U never said a budget so though about 5k.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...ode/ch458pu/page/1/radius/1500?logcode=p

i have just bought an xtype jag estate .cheaper to insure than my picasso and a lovely car .tax is 175 a year though but seems ok on diesel iy runs n the same 2l engine as the mondeo .have to admit though i got this at a bargain price but you can pick up an 06 plate for around 4k

Kia Rio - Massive MPG, Like an estate (Or a focus) in size and reasonably cheap. I know someone who loves it and hasnt had any issues but its the new shape.

Quality and reliability is all down to the care and attention of the previous owner, not the marque.

The same tired old chiches come out - buy Japanese, avoid French. My experience of French cars has been positive, because I've always bought cars which have been well maintained.

Its funny that most of the recent car recalls have been on Honda, Toyota and Nissans!

Even yesterday Honda recalled 20,000 Jazz's in South Africa:

http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/2013/07/04/honda-recalls-jazz-models-to-fix-switch

Nissan recall 841,000 vehicles in May of this year due to a faulty steering wheel:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22635439

And 2 days ago Toyota recalls 5000 UK cars due to a power steering fault:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/toyota/yaris/64802/toyota-recall-5000-uk-cars-affected



Your best bet is to pop down to a car supermarket, see what kind of car takes your fancy (its all very well buying a car then finding you hate the interior or there's no legroom) then browse the forums for that make and see what people recommend, then look privately for that model.

If you want any advice on Peugeots, let me know.

What about Citroen C4 1.6 diesel? Not sure about reliability but they save a lot of money on fuel compared to some cars and one years tax is only £30 and their quite cheap, you can pick up an 08 reg for under £5k

What kind of driving do you do - short town trips, or longer motorway journeys?