Any suggestions for a new (second-hand) car?

[falcon]

Ended up with a 4 year old Skoda Fabia. Got a massive £100 trade in for my battered 19 year old 306!

One thing that struck me having tried a few cars is that visibility in modern cars seems a lot poorer than what I was used to. Not being able to see the bonnet at all in some models was very perplexing and the view out the rear window seems more constrained- seem to be more reliant on vehicle sensors now.

Is the Fabia you got bad on visibility?

 

[falcon]

Fiat Panda? seems to have a good rep.

 

[HLE]

Fiat Panda? seems to have a good rep.

Apart from the NCAP rating...of 0.

 

[deltic]

Is the Fabia you got bad on visibility?

Rear visibility is not what i’m used to and there is a danger you become to dependent on rear sensors when parking rather than looking

 

[cactustwirly]

Fiat Panda? seems to have a good rep.

It depends if you like driving tractors or not!

 

[Giugiaro]

Fiat Panda. Had my 1.2 for three years, averaged 50mpg, and it hasn't missed a beat.

Which one? The mk.II or mk.III?
I bought one mk.II 1.1 Petrol and it has been an amazing car. It was the car that I most wanted to buy, and got one for 5.200€ out of a dealership with just 20.000km!
It's nimble, fun to drive, fits in a lot of narrow streets and can get you further into rough roads than other city cars, even though it's a FWD. Generally maintenance and parts are very cheap to get.

Last week I had an unfortunate accident when crossing a submerged street. Broke the charriot and bent both the transmission and rim. It was fixed in two days and up and running for much less than I anticipated!