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Buying a family car for less than £3000

We have just sold our beloved old Land Cruiser after three years of trouble free driving as it was just too juicy but I am terrified at re-entering the world of car buying. We have £3000 to spend and after trawling through reviews I have been put off buying anything!

They all seem to have so many issues. We did fancy a Mazda 6 but the reviews are terrible. Then thought about a Focus diesel but they don't seem to fare much better.

C-Max, Mondeo, Accord, Volvo, Scenic, Avensis....too many to name. We would like a decent sized car which is relatively economical but above all safe and reliable. After reading your reviews I am now terrified of diesels with a DPF!

We have to travel 7 miles just to get to school so there isn't much poodling around - most of our driving is on A-Roads. What would you recommend?

Asked on 18 March 2012 by evilmoo

Answered by Honest John
£3,000 probably doesn't buy a diesel with a DPF unless it's a Peugeot or Citroen.

Look at station taxi ranks. Buy what the taxi drivers buy. Probably a pre-2006 Avensis 2.0 D-4D.
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