Which car - £4-5k.

ClaireLR

I am currently on the lookout for a new car and was after some advice about the best make/model to get. We have about £5k to spend, our old car doesn't qualify for scrappage (not that that would matter with the amount we're spending). We're looking for something mid-sized with 5 doors. Can't seem to find anything that we like the look of (and those we can cost more than we're willing to spend).

A lot of the cars I've seen have quite high mileage (70k plus). Ours has 90k on the clock and I thought that was a lot for a Y reg but it doesn't appear so - should I be concerned about buying a car with high mileage? Are there any makes where high mileage wouldn't matter so much?

Thanks

Zanzibar

Hi, well loads of choice in the market.

Look at Which? for their second hand reports - all the Japanese do well always - Honda Accord etc. Also the run of the mile Fords and Vauxhalls are good value and well made now.

As an example you can get a ~50K miles 1.9 diesel or 2.2 petrol 2004/5 Vectra for about your £5k.

If you arent sure go to a car supermarket to see them in the metal - some cars will grow on you and you will see others you may not have considered - theres lots of choice.

jimbo_the_jetset

My tip is always try to get the best spec of the range. i.e. for a Ford try to get a Ghia, which has lots of nice fancy extras over say a Zetec or Lx.

I wouldn't be worried about a mileage of 90k on a Y. I think it is more important to try and find out what kind of journeys the car has been doing? Lots of short runs around town put more strain on components. So a higher mileage might actually mean the car has done alot of easy motorway miles at 2,000 revs rather than reving and stopping around town.

Have a look on the Honest John website. Lots of reviews of cars. However - don't get too scared by the list of faults - all cars have faults, you just have to choose as best you can