Car advice needed - buying second hand on a budget

laurathree

Hi all, 
After ten years of living in London, we're moving out to a smaller city as my job allows that and husband is a home worker. I have never bought a car before, and only owned one (a 21st birthday gift - a crumbly KA which I loved but which was not the best investment!). Alas, I lost my Dad a few years ago, and this was one of his real areas of expertise - I'm a bit stuck for advice elsewhere. Budget is the driving factor here so I thought I'd ask fellow MSE's. 

The car needs to be a town/ city runaround, with 2 round trips on the M4 (Cardiff-Swindon) a week. Occasional weekend drives to the midlands. I want it to be cheap to run, and as low emission as possible (electric is sadly out of our budget), cheap to fix if anything goes wrong, and reliable. I am absolutely not fussed about looks or performance beyond the reliability. 

Where do I begin, and what would be a suitable budget? I would ideally like not to go above £3k, and I'm keen to purchase outright rather than have finance. 

Thank you all, 

Laura 

LandyAndy

Something small, far eastern, and petrol is what you want.
Toyota Yaris, Mazda Mazda2, Honda Jazz, Kia Picanto, etc etc

Scot22

Agree with all LA  suggestions and add Hyundai I10 or 20.  Look for good service record.

jimbo6977

Any of the above, or a Suzuki. 

Edited to add - avoid automated manual gearboxes like the plague. If you are unsure whether a car sold as "automatic" falls into this category, then simply avoid all automatics. 

foxy-stoat

Buy based on previous service history, look at the MOT's online as well, if there has been no advisories ever then you know its been looked after.  Don't think you are protected by paying £3000 for a £2000 car being sold by a trader.  Buy a £3000 car from a private seller that has owned and serviced it (with proof) for a good few years.

8th gen Honda Civic's are pretty good all rounder.  If your after something newer though, look at MG3 or larger MG6.

AdrianC

foxy-stoat said:

Buy based on previous service history, look at the MOT's online as well, if there has been no advisories ever then you know its been looked after.

Equally, don't rule out a car based on past advisories - or even fails.

If it had an advisory a while back because a tyre was getting low - or failed because it was bald - who cares? What are the tyres on it NOW like?

Sure, there's some things that don't go away - mostly rust... But £3k is going to be getting something maybe the thick end of a decade old.
Of course it's going to have had tyres and brakes and wipers and bulbs and suspension work and maybe a windscreen or whatever in the past... Who really cares if it was tested before or after that work was done...?

Grumpy_chap

Agree with LA, also add Fiesta petrol to the list.
Try to find a higher-spec car as the extra comfort and equipment will be useful on the twice-a-week trips along the M4 plus the run to the Midlands every so often.

GunJack

just to throw a curveball in there.... £1500-£2k would get you a good pre-DPF Peugot 207 1.4 or 1.6, £30 a year tax and 60+ mpg. Easy for the longer journeys, and you'll find the torque of the diesel will make the in-town commuting easier too. Big enough to cope well with the motorway but small enough in town...

caprikid1

What about Petrol Focus ? Got to be lots in that budget ?

venomx

I'm in the same boat. Not driven for a few years and looking for something cheap, small and reliable.. here is my list
Ford fiesta
Fiat punto
VW polo
Honda jazz
Honda civic
Toyota yaris
Vauxhall corsa
Mitsubishi colt
Seat Ibiza / seat leon
Suzuki swift 5 door hatchback
Citroen c2
Mazda 3
Renault clio
Skoda fabia 

laurathree

Thank you all - some great recommendations here!