THOSE of us with more than a passing acquaintance with reality will know that times are tough.
Endless economic woes and rising prices are putting real pressure on family finances and therefore big decisions, such as choosing a new motor, have taken on rather a new dimension.
Budgets are tight but even so, you don’t have to settle for a knackered old motor that’s been to the moon and back bought from some dodgy bloke on a street corner.
If you give yourself an average budget of £2,000 to £5,000 it’s amazing the depth and breadth of excellent machinery you can find. From city cars to MPVs it’s all there.
A quick perusal by the UsedCarExpert team throws up some top quality metal, with hassle-free warranty, low ownership and low miles thrown in.
Here are our three best picks, choices that show there is plenty on offer for the canny clued up buyer…
Hyundai i10
We love the i10. If you live in town and need a little family car, you can’t really do any better. Don’t bother with the tax-free Blue model, it’s way overpriced and the 1.2 car feels much better on the road. Although small cars tend to be dear, the 1.2 cars are plentiful and cheap.
UsedCarExpert.co.uk Cars for sale: A tidy three year old 1.2 petrol car with 7,000 miles on the clock can be picked up for £4,700. That will have a huge three years of warranty left.
Kia cee’d
Top Gear’s reasonably priced car. And it really is reasonably priced. It’s also a very good car in it’s own right, easily competitive with the best Europe can offer. Smart and rather timeless too. If you need a decent family hatch, a petrol powered cee’d is a very good punt.
UsedCarExpert.co.uk Cars for sale: A four year old 1.6 petrol car with an automatic gearbox and less than 50,000 miles on the clock can be bought for £4,000. That car came with a seven-year warranty when new so you still have four years of that left.
Vauxhall Zafira
If your car is less than ten years old and has less than 80,000 miles on it, you should be able to pick up a decent warranty from a quality provider. Then equip yourself with a low miles, petrol powered version of a mass-market MPV for one of the most rational motoring experience on offer. No car meets this brief better than the Zafira
UsedCarExpert.co.uk Cars for sale: A seven year old, 1.6 petrol powered Zafira can be had for £2,999 with only 58,000 miles on the clock and a full service history. Get a warranty and have three years of painless driving.
Motors.co.uk value verdict:
