Engines are rarely the cause of cars going to heaven. It's all the bits, whether rust, or bearings or gears etc.

Generally, petrol cars made in Asia will be your best bet - get the newest one you can afford even if annual mileage has been high. There's a 2008 Nissan Micra for £1995 on Autotrader with 130,000miles. That's the sort of thing I'd suggest you search for.

Welcome to the forum. No problem with another 'what car....?' thread - it's probably one of the most useful things a forum like this can offer.

Obviously the more you pay the newer car you get: £1k really is in banger territory and you may be lucky, you may not. I think I'd spend a bit more on something Japanese and petrol-powered: my favourites would be a Toyota Yaris if you want a small car (go for the 5-door 1.3) or for something bigger a Honda Jazz or old-shape (pre-2007) Honda Civic.

Avoid diesels unless you're going to do a very high mileage, and it sounds as if you aren't. Old diesels can be horribly expensive if they go wrong.

Here's a little update in my search to work out what we need.

I popped down to our local Toyota guy (local specialist garage, not main dealer) yesterday and had a proper look at a 55 T3 Yaris. I reckon we could just about get a pushchair and all the stuff for a week in with the seats all the way forward. I like the driving position and visibility, didn't test drive it because it seemed a bit cheeky when it was almost 4k and out of price and negotiation range. The guy also reassured me that modern small cars are not going to struggle to go above 60 with 4 adults and luggage in, let alone 2 adults and 2 children.

Perhaps most importantly, it felt like the type of car I would be comfortable driving again, not the type of car I would have to learn to drive.

Still not sure if it might be a bit small though and roof boxes are more expensive than I realised so it would probably be more economical to go a bit bigger now if we're going to outgrow it in less than 3 years.

My husband thinks he might be uncomfortable sitting in the front of it, so I guess I have to take him to try sitting in it. I think he'll be pleasantly surprised at the height and how much room there is with the seats forward (and the kids don't need that much legroom - yet!).

Haven't completely ruled out the Note just yet, but I'm leaning towards the Yaris for a few years then after the other half passes his test and I'm used to driving again then we can get something bigger. Think I'm leaning towards a Note instead of a Focus/2006 Civic (Although I was tempted to look at an i30 that had all sorts of toys on it and was just in price range) because I like the visibility in a higher car and find the length easier to judge but I might have to give the latter two a look if I decide that we do need something bigger.

Thanks again guys, feel free to keep suggesting cars I've overlooked but this has been really helpful.

Edited by LagoonNaiad on 31/05/2014 at 11:13