Best value car for £2500-£3000?

annie-c

I need a reliable secondhand car and have £2500-£3000 cash to spend. I don't have a car to trade in and I don't want to take credit.

I don't know anyone who is selling and so am thinking I'll use the car salesrooms locally. I have a friend who will drive me around.

I mainly use the car for just myself and drive around 300 miles a week. Previously I had a little metro and though unglamorous, it was fine. Reliability is the most important thing to me. I don't need speed or flashy extras.

Can anyone make any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

Annie

Silent_Bob_3

Go Japanese to start with as they are in my experience the most reliable makes. Decide on what you like / don't like - maybe buy a copy of Autotrader and spend time going though that making notes of prices etc.

When you fiind something you like it might be worth trying to see if there's any owners clubs out there where you may well get a better deal and know the car has been looked after.

Whatever you decide test drive it and if possible take a knowledgeable car friend with you to check it out.

I'd suggest the Nissan Almera as a decent and reliable car, the wife has one and she's a community nurse and it hasn't let her down yet - you should be able to get a decent example within your price range too.

ArsenalFC

I would seconded what bob said above, go japanese for reliability. Nissan Almera, Mazda 323, toyota yaris etc, out of these I mentioned i like the yaris best. You should buy privately to get the best price as buying from a showroom will cost £500 or more than privately at your budget. Your friend could help to look out for things when looking at private buy.

www.autotrader.co.uk

annie-c

Thanks for your help.

to clarify;
what makes are Japanese apart from Nissan? and what is a 'car club'?

tr3mor

annie-c wrote:

Thanks for your help.

to clarify;
what makes are Japanese apart from Nissan? and what is a 'car club'?

Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Mazda. All of them are pretty bulletproof.

I'd go for a Micra, Almera or a Yaris in your budget.

saintjanet

If you were happy with the metro,i would think about a nissan micra,they are small and good on petrol and there are loads about,easy to service too with cheap parts.Another to look at is the corsa,not a jap but good honest car.more modern than the metro too.

There are car clubs for most models,they have forums where you can talk to fellow owners, you can find out about potential faults and seek specific advise.Do a search on google.

piggeh

If you're doing 300 miles a week it's probably cheaper to go for a diesel.

http://www.reliabilityindex.co.uk for a useful resource on cars' reliability. Honda and Mazda are 2nd and 3rd in the table (Skoda 1st when I last looked). Cant go wrong with japanese makes tbh.

idler_2

I would go for the Nissan Micra, we had one for 7 trouble free years. It does45 mpg, tax and insurance are low, and I think it has a timing chain not a belt, so that would also cut down on repair bills. One of the plusher models is probably worth getting, less likely to have been a driving school hack, and it might have better seats for that sort of mileage

Garf

Nissan Almera, Nissan Primera
Toyota Avensis, Toyota Corolla

Ford Mondeo, Ford Fiesta

Peugeot 306, Peugeot 206