Why not Toyota?

One rare "minor" issue that is easily fixed doesn't make everything they do suddenly become unreliable.

Actually, the whole media thing with Toyota must be great for used buyers as they are now somewhat cheaper but still as reliable/good as they always were.

 

I think you might be disappointed by the driving experience

I went through some of your musings

Looked at lots of small cars - attracted by the cheap as chips running costs, minimal downsides in terms of major depreciation, etc

I ruled out Hyundais because they are still a bit cheapo and 'asiatic' to drive

VWs and Audis too expensive - ditto the 1 series, although that is the best to drive imo

Nissans, Toyotas all dull or too small (IQ)

Settled on the MINI as a short termer to be passed on to my partner by year end

(I have other stuff too, but not daily drivers)

£180 one off payment on purchase pays for the servicing for five years/50.000 miles and just look at MINI residuals

I don't think you would do too badly with a nice s/h 1-series - say £13K for a 120D M sport

Even if you piled the miles on it would take it and ve easy to shift in three years

Would the depreciation really be any worse than on a new i30?

And you would have enjoyed driving it for three years...

The one thing I would add is this concept of a dull car for days and excitement for weekends

It can be a royal pain driving a slow car on today's roads. You have had the same things as me in a car that arseholes cannot obstruct. That's about to chane, so you need to change your mind set quite dramatically when getting from A to B or it can be torture. It can come down to something like giving yourself 50% longer to make the journey, so there is absolutely no pressure

I can't really advise on the performance car to complement the daily car because I don't know your preferred type of car. I'm building the Ultima because I enjoy p*ssing people off (speed, noise, looks, environment - it ticks all the boxes). From what you post I'd have thought you'd enjoy something like a VX220 - I much prefer them to Loti and they are rare too

 

I thought the M3 engine's are good for at least 20k?

 

Engine isn't the problem. It's the suspension. And power steering. And rear diff.

There's some big bills coming.

Good point on the VX220.

Didn't bother trying the i30.