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Wed 21 Jul 2010 13:25

Sub £3000 used car - Best Sub £3000 Used Car - natbow

Hi my partner and i are looking to purchase a ecomonical second car that is below £3000.

We want to car to be as cheap as possible to run, with low repair costs etc

Any suggestions?

many thanks

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Wed 21 Jul 2010 22:37

Sub £3000 used car - Best Sub £3000 Used Car - Avant

The lower your budget, the more it's true to say that condition matters more than make and model.

But if you want a more specific suggestion (I assume that as it's a second car it needs to be small), you could look at Ford Fiesta and VW Polo (as there are lots around), but personally for under £3,000 I'd look at a Toyota Yaris or Corolla. Nissan Micra or Almera are just as reliable, but the Toyotas are a little better to drive if you go for the larger engine option (1.3 Yaris, 1.6 Corolla).

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Wed 21 Jul 2010 22:38

Sub £3000 used car - Best Sub £3000 Used Car - sandy56

ford mondeo or focus but you have to try a few and pick the best one, other alternative vauxhall astra, we have had two and they have been faultless.

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Thu 22 Jul 2010 10:05

Sub £3000 used car - Best Sub £3000 Used Car - b308

I suspect everyone can give their own prefernces, just like the person who likes Fords...

However, as the second poster says the most reliable sub £3k car is likely to be the one in the best condition and with the best (proven) mechanical history... Regardless of make.

If you still want names, then all the reliability survey results point to Japanese makes, not the Vauxhalls, Fords or VWs...

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Thu 22 Jul 2010 10:43

Sub £3000 used car - Best Sub £3000 Used Car - madf

If you want economical you want small: fuel, tax and insurance are cheaper. Mondeos are BIG. And tyres for big cars are bigger and cost more.. Simple really...

If you want reliability, Korean or Japanese..

As I run a Toyta Yaris I am biased..But for under £3k you can get a car with under 60k miles and a full Toyota Service History... Alist of £2-£3k cars with under 60k miles shows 170 odd nationally...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/cars/toyota/yaris/postcode/st87dr/radius/1500/price-to/3000/sort/priceasc/price-from/2000/maximum-mileage/up_to_60000_miles

Edit: You should look for a popular model... lots of choice.

Edited by madf on 22/07/2010 at 10:45

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Thu 22 Jul 2010 21:03

Sub £3000 used car - Best Sub £3000 Used Car - Marc

"Hi my partner and i are looking to purchase a ecomonical second car that is below £3000. We want to car to be as cheap as possible to run, with low repair costs etc"

Then it's going to be a dogfight as that is what everyone wants. Why not think outside the box (I do hate management speak) and go for something larger and unpopular seeing as it is to be a second car. I know of a very nice Volvo S60 in budget on AT right now...

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Sat 24 Jul 2010 23:08

Sub £3000 used car - Best Sub £3000 Used Car - MrTG

You say you want lower repair costs. How about fewer repair costs? Nissan's Almera 1.4 will give 40 mpg, is chain driven (no cambelt) and all in all is an economical quality package with reasonably good crash test ratings too (some have multi airbags). Many have been used by elderly people and have low mileages too, but they don't have that Micra plastic rain hat image. Get one in a bright metallic colour for about £2,500 with a full service history.

I use a P12 Primera, so I know the reliability of these early/mid 2000s decade Nissans, before production ceased on them.

PS: I do also thoroughly agree over Toyotas - although they come dearer than Nissans, and also Vauxhall Astra Mk 4s are excellent too.

Edited by MrTG on 24/07/2010 at 23:17

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Sun 25 Jul 2010 12:21

Sub £3000 used car - Best Sub £3000 Used Car - barney100

3k is for me at the gamble stage. In the same position I took a real gamble and paid out £350 for a French car and I ran it for a couple of years then exchanged it and got more than I paid. There are thousands of sub 1k cars out there and with a bit of luck and instinct you could pick up a bargain and have 2k over just in case.

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Sun 25 Jul 2010 12:31

Sub £3000 used car - Best Sub £3000 Used Car - captain chaos

As has been mentioned before, anything Korean or Japanese. Reliability more important than cheap replacement parts as they don't work out so cheap when you're fixing the thing every five minutes. Go for something that's been owned by an elderly owner as it will have full main dealer service history and probably lots of new parts that never needed replacing in the first place ;)

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Mon 26 Jul 2010 12:12

Sub £3000 used car - Best Sub £3000 Used Car - pyruse

If it's a second car doing relatively low mileage, it may be cheaper to get a older high mileage car with a large engine. Petrol costs won't be that much greater, big engines take high mileages better than small ones and it will be cheap to buy.

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Mon 26 Jul 2010 18:27

Sub £3000 used car - Best Sub £3000 Used Car - primeradriver

"As has been mentioned before, anything Korean or Japanese. Reliability more important than cheap replacement parts as they don't work out so cheap when you're fixing the thing every five minutes."

Absolutely true, and something I've been trying, and failing to point out to people for years.

70% of most repairs are labour costs anyway. The way to get these bills down is to (a) buy a car that doesn't break as much, and (b) buy a car with a simple, conventional design so that when it does go wrong it's straightforward, and therefore quick, to fix.

So yes, Japanese and Korean are usually good bets at this end of the market, especially when you see the prices some Korean cars sell for.

Add in the aforementioned "big car syndrome" of larger-engined vehicles being dirt-cheap due to the petrol consumption which isn't an issue for a runaround, and it's possible to get some real bargains if you look around.

The only other thing I'd say is that Fords and Vauxhalls can be decent options if you get a good one (more dogs about than the Japanese and Korean cars due to lesser build quality and the kind of people who buy the latter), not because of the parts prices but more that any backstreet will understand them. Some of the more obscure Korean cars can occasionally be a problem -- all cars do certain things a bit oddly, but if it's the first Kia Mentor (say) your guy has ever seen and (for example) the brake calipers work in a weird way he is more likely to take a while working the problem out.

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Mon 26 Jul 2010 22:28

Sub £3000 used car - Best Sub £3000 Used Car - SteveLee

If cost is everything I'm assuming you want a small, reliable car, You can buy a mint Daihatsu Sirion for £3K, being extremely light they sip fuel and tyres last well. they're practically bomb-proof in terms of reliability. Cheap to insure toboot.

This is what small cars should be, simple, light and efficient.

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Mon 26 Jul 2010 23:41

Sub £3000 used car - Best Sub £3000 Used Car - Glenn 42

My sister bought a 52 plate Rover 45 2.0 turbodiesel with a more or less full history and a cam belt change. As this isn't the K series, the head gasket doesn't go on them and it will return over 50 mpg with ease. Also add in the quality of the interior fittings and the nice drive and this is a decent car for £ 2000. The parts are still easy to get and it does make a more interesting alternative to the Ford and Vauxhall rivals.

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