Suggest me a decent small 2nd hand car for £4000?

gizmo1990

gizmo1990

gizmo1990

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I'm going to to be needing a car soon for my travel into work. The main issue however is that I'll probably only need it tops about a year. After then I'll be looking to sell. So I'm looking for something that should hold its value well. Given that I don't put too much on the clock of course.
My constraints are pretty much budget led so I have £4000 to play with. The only other consideration is that I prefer small cars so hatchbacks are the order of the day. One other point is that I'd rather go through a dealer or car superstore type affair as I haven't got the time (nor knowledge) to wade through private sales.

I've been thinking of Fiesta's and Clio's. Can anyone suggest any other makes and models that I should be looking at? How good a car will I be able to get for my £4000 too?

Any advice greatly appreciated.
 
Go for a nice focus :) woud drive so much better than fiesta/clio ! I'd say it isn't that big a car either :p
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

Oj2k4, would I really be able to get a decent Focus for 4 grand?

DevilsAdvocate, I'm liking your proposal from a financial point of view. ;) But would a £1500 car do about 180 odd miles a week?

Lets say I consider a £1500 car. What would I be looking at? What would the essientials be that I should be aware of? What makes and models are good in this price range? How many miles? What year? FSH essiential or not?
 
Skoda Fabia the TDi would be the best buy as it will hold its value better. I know it looks bland though..

Don't buy from a car supermarket what ever you do.
 
gizmo1990 said:
Thanks for the replies guys.

Oj2k4, would I really be able to get a decent Focus for 4 grand?

DevilsAdvocate, I'm liking your proposal from a financial point of view. ;) But would a £1500 car do about 180 odd miles a week?

Lets say I consider a £1500 car. What would I be looking at? What would the essientials be that I should be aware of? What makes and models are good in this price range? How many miles? What year? FSH essiential or not?
Click to expand...

05 plate focus 1.6 Zetecs with normal mileage can be had for £4300 so if you're going to spend £4k then there is plenty of choice.
 
gizmo1990 said:
Thanks for the replies guys.

Oj2k4, would I really be able to get a decent Focus for 4 grand?

DevilsAdvocate, I'm liking your proposal from a financial point of view. ;) But would a £1500 car do about 180 odd miles a week?

Lets say I consider a £1500 car. What would I be looking at? What would the essientials be that I should be aware of? What makes and models are good in this price range? How many miles? What year? FSH essiential or not?
Click to expand...

My 9 years old £900 car often does 1000 miles in one week so if you buy a decent example of something I really don't think it will struggle with your light use.
 
Most small hatchbacks for £4K will do the trick. My view of these threads (and please don't take this the wrong way as its not a dig) is if you need to ask advice then the subjective differences on most of the cars will be missed by you. Virtually all cars on sale for the last 10 years are OK, will do the job and will keep most people happy. Sure some are much nicer to drive, be in or look at, but to most people that is a subjective decision. If you are spending 4K on a car and it is well maintained with a good history then you should be OK.

Focus
Astra
Something Jap
Clio
Seat
etc etc etc

They will all have their foibles of course and my choice would probably be a Focus as its a nice drive and solid all rounder but none of them if bought correctly will be a bad decision. Head off to a car warehouse and sit in a few, though I would suggest buying private at this level if best value is your criteria. Plenty of good little cars around for £4K and if you don't know what to look for (you may well do and just be looking for ideas) then take someone with you who knows what to look for.

This can be applied to most 'spec me a car for' threads.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys.

Housey, could I apply the same logic to cars in the £1500 range? If as mattpc says, good examples can take a fair amount of use, what kind of things should I be looking at?

Given the current financial situation and the fact that I'll probably only have the car a year, I'm all for saving money if I can get a car that will be reliable.

So for instance if I'm looking at Clio's what should I be looking for in a £1500 version currently? Varient, miles etc?
 
The logic applies to any car. Buy on history and condition and get it checked over by someone who knows what to look out for on said cars. At £1500 your risk of something going wrong will of course typically increase as such cars will be older and higher in mileage but if you are running it for only 12 months then there should be plenty of safe cars out there. If you put the fact that some cars are not as nice to drive, to be in or to look at to the back of your mind and simply base your decision on a car that will get you from A to B reliably and without pain your options will grown hugely and at £1500 budgets I think this is the best way to buy such cars.

Asking a group of car enthusiasts about which is best will not always guarantee you are directed towards the best car for you if you are not one as they will tend to put driving experience, looks and image above simply doing the job you need it to do. As I have said the differences can be small in real terms between cars at this level, often subjective and in real terms mean less than simply buying a good un that has been well maintained, looked after and reliable.
 
Great thanks Housey.

A friend of a friend has a 1999 Clio for sale with 100000 miles on the clock but a fsh. Does anyone know if that amount of miles is ok for this model and year?
 
Many variables...

1) Has it been well serviced?
2) Has it been well driven from cold and day to day?
3) Have any problems been fixed as soon as they have shown themselves?
4) Have all recalls been done?
5) Is it crash damage free?
6) Has it been stored in a garage for most of its life?
7) Does it have any corrosion?
8) Are there any known problems with this age/model of car?

These are the key questions and very few of them will you be able to answer unless it's a single owner car and you know the owner. Some will be logged and in the history but it is always a risk when buying a cheap, old, high mileage car which is why getting it on a ramp, driving it and letting the current owner drive it from cold with you in it (to see how they drive it) will help.
 
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