Thanks very much - not kowing anything about cars or having much money to spend on one makes the process a stressful experience.

The car is £3k which is a few hundred under the book valuation (if they are to be believed) - previous owners have only had it since Oct which gives me some concern, though they say they need a bigger one due to new baby.

I have an Audi A3 which of the same age (2007) which I have had for about 5 years with no trouble - so maybe I am better of buying from a garage and PXing? I was planning on selling my A3 privatley to part fund the BMW.

we do very low mialege in the "family car" about 5k a year maximum.

Don't touch a £3k BMW, never mind a diesel! Book value is meaningless on cars at this age, there's too much variation in condition and history to put a realistic book value on it. If they've had it less than 2yrs then it's not been a good car, less than 1yr and it's been a nightmare. If the A3 has been no trouble then why change it? If you can't afford to upgrade then stick with what you know is reliable, don't swap it for another old car you don't know.

The only reason is room - I have 2 kids in car seats and the A3 is small, with only 2 doors, it's tough getting them in and out.

As fara s the car goes, I like driving it. It's 2.0 and plenty good enough for my needs aisde from size.

"The only reason is room - I have 2 kids in car seats and the A3 is small, with only 2 doors, it's tough getting them in and out. As far as the car goes, I like driving it. It's 2.0 and plenty good enough for my needs aisde from size." Buy a decent Ford Focus 1.8 (Mazda petrol engine), a Mazda 3 1.6 or 2.0 petrol or a Honda Civic 1.8 petrol. It's possible to find good examples of these for £3-£3.5k and there's far less risk of problems than with an old BMW. I can't stress this enough. Do not buy an old diesel of any sort at this money, especially one with a premium badge such as BMW. It will go wrong, it will let you down and it'll cripple you to fix it. Live within your means and either make do with what you've got (though if it's a diesel you're better getting shot of it l) or buy a normal Japanese engined petrol family hatch. If you're on a tight budget reliability comes before prestige or performance and even a basic 1.6 Focus can sit all day at 100mph if you need.

"The only reason is room - I have 2 kids in car seats and the A3 is small, with only 2 doors, it's tough getting them in and out. As far as the car goes, I like driving it. It's 2.0 and plenty good enough for my needs aisde from size." Buy a decent Ford Focus 1.8 (Mazda petrol engine), a Mazda 3 1.6 or 2.0 petrol or a Honda Civic 1.8 petrol. It's possible to find good examples of these for £3-£3.5k and there's far less risk of problems than with an old BMW. I can't stress this enough. Do not buy an old diesel of any sort at this money, especially one with a premium badge such as BMW. It will go wrong, it will let you down and it'll cripple you to fix it. Live within your means and either make do with what you've got (though if it's a diesel you're better getting shot of it l) or buy a normal Japanese engined petrol family hatch. If you're on a tight budget reliability comes before prestige or performance and even a basic 1.6 Focus can sit all day at 100mph if you need.

Thank you so much for the tips. My car before was a RAV4 Diesel and we had a lot of trouble with the flywheel etc...

Would a Petrol Honda CRV be suitable? I've seen one locally at 150k miles for £1.5k or a private one on 80k miles for £2k...

Edited by zipe on 23/06/2017 at 12:48

Thanks so much, I certainly do not want to be without ISO fix!