1. The ever faithful Japanese
If you’ve been following the Junk Mail Blog you would have realised by now my infatuation with Japanese car maker’s borders on the insane. So far, such is their brilliance, they have yet to not make an appearance on a list of mine. For retirees, there are two cars in particular, these being: the Honda Jazz and the Nissan Juke. They appear at the top of the list because they are both fairly small, yet not invisible, they are both reliable, light on petrol, have brilliant service plans, cheap to maintain and are nigh on indestructible. Pretty much everything you could ever want or need and to top it all off, they go down the road brilliantly.
2. The trusty old wagon of folks
Volkswagen has made it on to the list because they are German and therefore, bulletproof. They also make an appearance because they are among the cheaper German cars, especially when compared to the likes of Audi, BMW and Mercedes Benz. The car I think suits retirees the best is the small, but not so little Polo. It can be bought with the smaller engine or diesel which will make it economical and it has one of the best safety ratings in the world. The German engineering dictates the reliability and the quality so you know that, should you buy one, you won’t need to buy another car ever again. They handle brilliantly, are extremely comfortable and will never restrict your movements in any way.
3. The Dark Horse – The Nissan LEAF
Traditionally, I wouldn’t dream about putting an electric car on this list. Largely due to the fact that the technology is fairly new and therefore has not been perfected yet. That being said, I have become familiar with the new Nissan LEAF over the past few weeks and would, with only the slightest hesitation, recommend that you buy one. The Nissan LEAF is one of the new generation electric cars but it has to be the best one out at the moment. Granted the range you can go is minimal to say the least, Nissan reckon about 200 km per charge, but considering you’ll only be driving a few km’s every other day, I don’t think it’ll matter. It means you will never have to visit a petrol station again and as long as you remember to plug it in when you get home, you should be alright. Nissan also offers some of the best add-ons with a 3 year/90 000 km service plan and free roadside assistance which will always come in handy should anything go wrong.
4. What cars not to buy
Now seeing as you’re probably not going to want to tinker with the car in any way and want something that’s extremely reliable, don’t buy anything Chinese. Also, the newer Italian cars are a lot better than their predecessors, but at the end of the day, they’re still Italian and don’t really worry about your feelings when deciding whether to work or not, so they should be avoided as well. The same goes for French cars, they’re ridiculously safe, but mostly because they refuse to work properly and don’t allow you to drive anywhere.
Good Luck
Hopefully, this post has been of some assistance and I hope you have many enjoyable years with the car you choose to buy. It would be such a shame to spend your twilight years struggling with an impractical car you hate or one that gives you endless grief. If you are wondering where to shop for cars for sale in Johannesburg, should you be on the hunt for a new car, have a look at Junk Mail where you will find the best retirees cars for sale.