Used SEAT Mii review and buying guide (2011 to 2019): which one to buy and what to check

Which used SEAT Mii should you buy?

Get a manual. There's only one Mii, sold from 2011 to 2019, so the gearbox is the choice that matters, and the automated manual is where the trouble's been reported. Two owners of the VW Up, which their reports describe as the same car, had one that was slow to change and sometimes wouldn't move off.

Don't pay extra for a later car expecting it to be tougher. The Mii's record is thin, and there's nothing in it that marks early cars out as worse than late ones or the other way round. The one year that needs paperwork is 2013, because some Miis built then were recalled to reprogramme the airbag control unit.

Which Mii engines and gearboxes are the safe choices?

The manual's the safer pick. Between them, the two automated manual complaints describe changes that took a second or two, a lever that sometimes wouldn't select a gear, and stalling when setting off uphill at the lights. One car improved somewhat after a dealer software update; the other sometimes wouldn't go forwards from a standstill until reverse had been selected first.

If you're set on an automated manual, don't buy one without driving it on a hill and in stop-start traffic. The manual isn't spotless either: one owner of a new Mii struggled to get it into first, and a noisy gearbox was reported on the Up. Those are single reports, so treat them as things to check rather than reasons to avoid it.

What should you check when viewing a used Mii?

On a 2013 car, ask for proof the airbag recall was done. Some had the self-check on the side crash sensors switched off by a programming error, so a sensor fault wouldn't light the airbag warning. That means a dark warning lamp doesn't prove anything on a car that hasn't had the control unit reprogrammed.

On the drive, pull away in first several times and listen for rattles or whine from the gearbox. On an automated manual, set off on a slope more than once and watch for a long pause between gears, a lever that won't select anything, or a stall. Then run the heater fan through every speed, as one owner's blower motor failed.

In the paperwork, look for any software update done to an automated manual, and if the car went back to a dealer with gearbox complaints, find out what was actually done. A dealer advised one owner of a 2016 manual to have the gearbox oil changed at its third annual service, so see whether that's been done.

Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.

What does a used SEAT Mii cost to run?