Looking for a cheap to run, reliable type of car for £3-4k

[nw28840]

Hi,

My sisters car was written off last week, so topping up her budget and looking for a replacement around the £3.5 - 4k mark.

Spent many hours already across various sites, desperately in need of inspiration…….

Looking for something with 4 doors and a bit of space, will mostly be used for short commuter journeys into town , +- 15 miles per day
So petrol and manual ? It needs to be reliable and reasonably cheap to run.

Prices are strong….Originally was looking to avoid Trade Sales and buy Private to get a little more value for money. No luck so far……

A few years ago I made a drunken Sunday night purchase on the online auction for an 11 year old Alfa 147 2.0T-Spark, cost me £560 and ran perfectly for a few years…..days of picking up something like that again so cheap are long gone.

Thoughts on any other models of vehicles to look out for ?

Looking for a vehicle in Kent/Surrey/Sussex/Hampshire area…….

[snotrag]

Deceased spec Toyota.


When you just need 'transport' - why go anywhere else?



36k miles. Unburstable 1.8 Petrol. Three and a half grand.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211131...

Plenty of others available Manuals or autos, or Corollas, thats just the first one that came up.

Edited by snotrag on Wednesday 16th November 13:23

[Supercell]

I would go with a mark 8 Honda Civic, 1.8 petrol, manual gearbox. Solid reliability, and should be able to pick a 2010 or 2011 with your budget. Hondas "magic" folding rear seats gives a massive load space too.

[Carguy44]

Vauxhall Astras are very cheap for what you get.

[carboy2017]

Ford Focus is another good car in the budget and so are VW Golf mk iv's

[ZX10R NIN]

nw28840 said:

Hi,

My sisters car was written off last week, so topping up her budget and looking for a replacement around the £3.5 - 4k mark.

Spent many hours already across various sites, desperately in need of inspiration…….

Looking for something with 4 doors and a bit of space, will mostly be used for short commuter journeys into town , +- 15 miles per day
So petrol and manual ? It needs to be reliable and reasonably cheap to run.

Prices are strong….Originally was looking to avoid Trade Sales and buy Private to get a little more value for money. No luck so far……

A few years ago I made a drunken Sunday night purchase on the online auction for an 11 year old Alfa 147 2.0T-Spark, cost me £560 and ran perfectly for a few years…..days of picking up something like that again so cheap are long gone.

Thoughts on any other models of vehicles to look out for ?

Looking for a vehicle in Kent/Surrey/Sussex/Hampshire area…….

You'll get a nice 1.6 N/A Astra in Elite spec for your budget, they're good cars simple to maintain with no major bork issues:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211041...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210291...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211031...

Not wanting to travel does limit your options.

Now going for the next trim spec down does mean that you can get the 1.4T engine which has a bit more go all through the rev range:

SRI 140:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210281...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210190...

1.6 Mazda3 Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208018...

1.6 Takuya:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207117...

If you want real bang for your budget then the MG6 is a hard one to beat.

GT SE:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207238...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211121...

This one maybe in the mould of your 147 do a Vcheck to see how bad the original damage was & you may well bag yourself a decent set of wheels on the cheap.

SE:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211041...

Giulietta Veloce 170, as above do your checks M.O.T history VCheck etc & you could get a cracking buy:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210291...

Out of the above the Astra would be my picks but the two Cat N's are worth further investigation as both could be good buys.

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Wednesday 16th November 20:01

[nw28840]

Many thanks for the replies , Plenty to think about

[CrippsCorner]

The only way to get a bargain these days in my experience is eBay auctions... don't be too fussy on what kind of car and just have a bid of your limit on whatever pops up!

I recently got a car that goes for between £5.5k-£7k for £3.5k

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155258706952?hash=item2...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225254822230?hash=item3...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134328004795?hash=item1...

[Acuity30]

Only thing with an Elite astra is the drivers heated seat is going to be broken. Common problem with them, every one I've gone to view had a busted heated seat.
£500 to repair at a dealer. Aftermarket heated seat using aftermarket switches £200

[nw28840]

Job done, she bought a lovely 2013 VW Polo today.
She’s very happy

Thanks for all the replies.