What car for £3-5k?

DD265

We're soon to be in the market for a second car and have been browsing to see what's out there - could do with a bit of help narrowing it down please.

Currently have a 2015 Tiguan 4x4 so we've got the workhorse and can go smaller albeit decent boot space is welcome. Preferably automatic, must have 5 doors, inbuilt bluetooth (I had a Parrot kit in previous car and it was a £200 piece of junk) and air conditioning, and nothing with low ground clearance; drive has a hump but our old Golf MK5 was fine if you lined it up right. Not fussed on fuel type. Husband (this is supposed to be his car) isn't a hatchback fan, likes a saloon (BMW if he had his way...), but estates and SUVs are fine too. This will not stop me trying to talk him in to another Golf. He'll (33yo) have had his license 2 years in December with no no claims discount (named driver only), so please nothing too pricey on insurance.

Budget is up to £5k cash. We can go a little higher but spending less would be great. Car will almost certainly be flogged in 3 years due to car allowance terms as we are very unlikely to choose to ditch the Tiguan at that point; it's in superb condition and younger/lower mileage than anything we're looking to buy now.

I know the old VW 1.9 TDI engine is virtually indestructible but the 2.0 was bad. The newer Golfs (2011/12) seem to have a 1.6 TDI. I know nothing about BMW engines or Volvos really except that Volvos have a rep for lasting well. I'm not too concerned about high mileage and am more focused on maintenance - so something with not too much red on the MOT history and few advisories carried over preferably.

My current Autotrader Saved page has:
Volvo v50 estate 2008 2.0 diesel
BMW 3 Series 2.0 320d (2010 M Sport Business, and a 2007 SE Touring)
BMW X3 2.0d 2008
VW Golf - 2008 1.9 TDI, 2011 & 2012 1.6 TDIs, 2012 2.0 TDI GT (not sure about this last one)

Insurance wise on the Volvo and BMWs I think we were talking around £550 to give an indication.

TIA!

[Deleted User]

I'd steer clear of BMWs of that age. The diesels will be pretty dirty by modern emission standards.

DD265

[Deleted User] said:

I'd steer clear of BMWs of that age. The diesels will be pretty dirty by modern emission standards.

Thank you.

Clive_Woody

Skoda Octavia - based on Golf chassis but big boot, cheap to run, decent selection of toys and reliable.

forgotmyname

Octavia always a good choice or a Golf Plus.  Seen a few recently and they can be a bargain but you need to

be fussy on condition.

I was quite surprised when looking at them, expected VW to have cut costs but they seem to be built quite well.

Heavy panels and a nice thud when closing the doors etc.

Downsides its based on the older Golf but they can be found with plenty of toys.

[Deleted User]

With only 2 years driving license and 5 grand budget I’d be looking at Hyundai i20. You’ll get something newish for the budget and should be cheap to insure. Definitely not a BMW!

L9XSS

BMWs of that era (2009 to 2013) can have issues with the timing chains snapping. The MK6 Golf 1.6TDI (I have a 2012) is pretty reliable and 50+ mpg. It can have issues with the injectors but mine has been bulletproof and drives like new with 108,000 miles but full VW service history. + for the Skoda Octavia or Superb they are highly rated. We run 2 Mercedes estates, again they are excellent but you have to know which engine to go for......again due to timing chain issues........

sheslookinhot

A Honda Civic is worth a look. Very reliable and reasonably cheap.

JJ_Egan

OP be aware that used car prices are rising rapidly for some models .

DD265

JJ_Egan said:

OP be aware that used car prices are rising rapidly for some models .

The timing is indeed unfortunate. I believe our Tiguan is currently worth what I paid for it January 2020, if not more.

Husband starts his new job on the 1st November, and hopefully we'll find out straight away which days he'll be on site and what hours, vs any home working. The shift work doesn't start until March/April, so we might manage with one car until then and just suck up any inconvenience in the mean time. Of course prices may just continue to go up, but it does mean we can find the best car we can for our money, and not rush into the first half-decent one we see because we need it ASAP.

As we have the luxury of time, my plan is to create a shortlist of makes/models based on the great advice here, then set up some alerts on Autotrader, eBay and Facebook Marketplace to keep an eye out for a good example. I was also going to ask at my garage if they knew of anything. Any other sites worth checking?

Grumpy_chap

DD265 said:

Husband starts his new job on the 1st November, and hopefully we'll find out straight away which days he'll be on site and what hours, vs any home working. The shift work doesn't start until March/April, so we might manage with one car until then and just suck up any inconvenience in the mean time. 

Does the company have any policies that require a maximum age or anything similar?

DD265 said:

we've got the workhorse and can go smaller albeit decent boot space is welcome. Preferably automatic, must have 5 doors,

The fact there is a preference for an automatic will make this all more difficult as good, older, smaller automatics are always in short supply.  I know how much one of my friends struggled when she wanted a car to that brief recently.

DD265 said:

 I was also going to ask at my garage if they knew of anything. Any other sites worth checking?

I think, if you have a local garage that you trust, that is the best route at the moment.
I know we have a garage down the road and I'd trust their older cars (it's all they really retail "bang it on the credit card buys that do the job").