My mate never pays anything like a grand, he seems to be lucky as he does little to them except the MOT and they seem to last. I remember his Meriva, an old 320 E class estate, a Jag estate, and now he has perhaps his biggest gamble, a whole £700 for a Freelander. Who would ever choose an 04 Freelander? it looks good and runs well, 'saw it for sale outside a house, knocked on the door and said I'll have it'.

Do you like to gamble?, because any 'up to £1k' car is going to be just that. No guarantees at this price point, you may get lucky, but you may not.

No guarantees at any price point, unless the price includes a guarantee.

Given that its always a gamble, there is a lot to be said for lowering the stakes.

I've never paid anything like a grand either. First car was a rustbucket, because I didn't realise how much almost nothing could buy you, but the rest have been OK apart from two that became undrivable. These probably would have been OK if I'd known about vacuum leaks then.

Just moving house so can't afford a new car at the moment but once I've moved I'll be buying one. I'd usually have a new car with all the bells, whistles and most importantly manufacturers warranty.

Just to be perfectly clear, I'd be quite happy with a £1k (or less) car myself, and have done many times in the past.

The problem is the OP asking us to recommend a reliable car to last a year. It is an impossible question to answer as even the most reliable steed can be rendered unreliable through many years of neglectful owners. And on the other hand, as Barney points out via his mate, a car typically regarded as unreliable, can fulfil the role required by the OP. But would anyone here recommend a Freelander?.

Ultimately, as I said, it is a gamble, but if you know what you are looking for, or have a friend ho does, there are gems out there for the picking. But you (the OP) will most likely have to fit through a lot of dross to find it.

Best of luck though!

Edited by badbusdriver on 29/07/2021 at 16:48

Postcode is ct17 don't mind travelling around 70/80 miles

Give me a rough area to search and I’ll look up a few worthy of looking at.

Moss Side? Lots of 'nice cars' there at very reasonable prices. :-)

There are plenty of good cars around for sale at £1,000 or less. People now don't want old cars and they are often replaced by their owner just because they are getting old. But they are still perfectly good and reliable cars with very little or even nothing wrong with them. You might possibly be better off buying privately for that sort of price but do make sure it really is a private sale and not a trader pretending to be a private seller. Look for the sellers name and address on the V5/C and if it isn't there just walk away.

Edited by Galaxy on 29/07/2021 at 23:25

Why spend as much as a grand? Less risk spending £300 or so.