We have 2 children 5 and 2 years old. We need a car basically for the weekend trips to surrounding areas in 1-2 hours driving. I assume we need to drive only about 5, 000 to 8,000 kilometers a year. Clearly we are not heavy users. As we do not want to invest too much on the car, ideally 10-12 thousands chf, I am thinking about used cars from VW Golf, Skoda Octavia, Ford Focus or any other suitable cars (please suggest). My questions are: are these car models reliable after 5 years and mileage beyond 100,000 kilometres? Car expertise please provide your valuable insight on choosing a budget yet safe samll family car? Could anyone also suggest the cost of maintaining a used car in Bern, e. g. Insurance, tyres, annual check, spontaneous garage visiting? Should I purchase from big car dealers or small local garage, what are the pros and cons? Thank you very much for your valuable information which would definitely help me to decide which car to buy and meanwhile not to empty family budget. Looking forward to seeing many replies.
Check out some of the reviews by carwow on youtube, they usually spend some time fitting child seats in and out of the car. Check that the models you're looking at have isofix for an easier car child life.
As for reliability, none of these cars have major issues and are all massive sellers, 100000 shouldn't be the end of the world for any car nowadays. There are a ton of models in that budget around that segment, seeing as it is one of the most common segments. Opposite the ford I'd put the Opel Astra, and alongside the Skoda and VW there's the Seat Leon. Then there's the Asian models from Kia, Hyundai, Honda and all those, honestly there's more models in this segment than I can think of.
Big dealer vs small vs private is a price and comfort thing. The warranty is out on the car and they could try sell you an extended warranty or include one. But your relationship will mean very little when it comes to aftersales care.
Insurance - Check Comparis.
Servicing 300-800 depending on where you're getting it done (off the top of my head)
Make sure the cambelt has been changed recently on any car with 100,000 km, it can be expensive to do in CH as they will change lots of extra parts & not just the 20 chf belt & 100chf water pump
Yes if it has a belt. I have seen quotes for 2k in CH, probably 500 euro in Germany or 150 + 2-4 hours if you DIY. I did in on a Ford Sierra in 15 minutes & 18CHF for the belt in 1995! Loads of space so very easy to do, sadly it's a pig with most cars today hence the price.
Some cars have a cam chain, that in most cases will last 'forever' however some Peugeot ones don't along with BMW 2.00 Diesel.
It depends on the type of engine. If the car has an "interference engine" i.e. the piston and the valves occupy the same space at different times, then a good cam-belt is essential; if it blows, the engine will most likely be toast.
If it is an non-interference engine, i.e. the piston and valves never occupy the same space, then it is not so bad; if the cam-belt goes, the engine stops working and can be easily fixed.
If it has a chain instead of a belt, then it might not even need to be changed at all.
A bit of research will go a long way.
I'd look for a Toyota. Most of them are pretty bullet-proof, yet boring.
For insurance check comparis.ch Since it depends on a lot of factors (age, citizenshop, parking at home or on the street, coverage). The price can vary a lot. If you don't care about the car that much you could get only the minimum (3rd party damage) and save a lot.
The diesel version of cars of this kind has a 1-2K francs premium over gasoline versions . If you don't drive that much you can get the gasoline engine version for much less than the 10-12K budget and save the money for any repair.
As other commenters mentioned, 100K km is not remotely the end of life for cars these days. If the recommended maintenance schedule was followed (oils, filters, brakes), if you have a major problem is just bad luck with an specific car.
Sounds like nonsense Japanese & German cars go on forever. Safety based on year of manufacture. A 2009 Fiat 500 was the highest safety quality 5 star yet many AUDI's & BMW's from 2000 were 2/3 only star.
Volvo's were the first company to sell cars on safety in the late 1960's & 70's, then everybody else joined in.
Certainly there are differences in safety standards around the world. A car model sold in an emerging market may offer less crass protection (airbags, high-strength steel cabin, bars in doors, electronic stability control, etc) to the same car model sold here. For example, if the VW Golf or Toyota Yaris are sold without airbags somewhere around the world, it doesn't make less safe the models here sold with airbags.
Albeit, there is some truth to the idea. The smallest cars from Japan (kei cars) such as toyota iq and several daihatsu models offer less protection. But, it's due to their size, not enough metal and plastic to absorb the energy from a crash.
I would stick with reliable cars that have a proven track record. I would look for Honda or Toyota (may be Kia after some research into reliability). As someone already mentioned they are bulletproof. Toyota Corolla or Avensis have timing chains, so no replacement needed just tension checked. Make sure they are not underpowered for your application as fully loaded 4 passengers plus suitcases these cars might be underwhelming especially if you take them to the mountains.
Stay away from hybrids unless you want higher running cost and repairs from authorized dealers as independent garages would not know how to fix them.
Remember that diesel is the most expensive fuel in CH, so diesel cars might be not so economical to run.
P.S. Avoid cars with moped engines. The tax in CH on engine size is nothing like in Central EU, it is laughably small. Get a proper engine size for your cargo and family (at least 1,8cc). Else merging on highways and climbing mountain road will be not just painfully slow but dangerous.
I am on my second (second hand) Toyota Yaris - just perfect for what you want and very reasonable. Got a very trusted garage/Toyota dealer here, which is great.
I saw so many with 1.2 and 1.4 engine, those cannot work well properly in Alps? Um.. I mean not off road, still on the paved asphalt road. Powerful engine costs more. Not willing to spend more than 10k.
I got the points, but quite often I saw similar prices for small Fabia and big Octavia. In this case, better to go bigger cars? Or there are some hidden tricks I cannot see?
Avoid anything in the VW family. My gf has a Skoda on which at least once a year something mayor breaks (last year it was the alternator belt)
Have you looked at Suzuki ? A Baleno sounds about right. I have a Citroen C3, mostly because it is cheap, very good comfort level and very roomy seats in the front. Dont kjow about reliability, so far I had no problems.