Agree with previous poster. You might also find a Honda Jazz/ Civic for this money. Go on condition and service history. Take a decent test drive on a variety of roads and if there is the slightest concern walk away. Remember dealers are on it to make money and many are not that concerned about repeat business.

Edited by RaineMan on 15/02/2017 at 06:46

If reliability is key go for something boring and probably petrol.

If you do lots of motorway work you need something fairly comfortable. Something like an Avensis 1.8 would do the job fine.

You should be able to find a newer (2007 on) shape one with about 60k miles in your £5k budget. They're decent cars and do 40mpg driven sensibly.

+1 on the "heavily valeted" comment above.

When I was looking to get back into private car ownership 20 odd years ago, I was amazed at how many overtly very shiny ex-rep mobiles had totally knackered steering wheels and gear lever gaitors.

I think their drivers must have driven with their hands constantly covered in a layer of McDonalds / Burger King grease which attacked the plastic?

Edited by SLO76 on 15/02/2017 at 10:38

I'll be just as open about suggesting those not in the know avoid the engine that is in my Landcruiser, mainly the 3.0d4d versions made between 04 and 08, unless they are mechanically minded and know what needs to be done to ensure a long engine life.

Similarly i wouldn't suggest those not in the know buy a higher mileage 2.5 4 pot Subaru without doing their research either.

Lots of engines have weaknesses, and the d4d weakness for those few which slipped through the recall/refit campaign can suffer serious problems right up to full seizure, similarly the 2.5 in the Scoobies can have CHG problems.

But explaining all would run ito pages for just one post and you still wouldn't cover half of it.

No, like your 207 there are thousands of cars with the 1.6 PSA Diesel running absolutely fine, but when they do give trouble (usually the result of neglect, and arguably the official service intervals are neglectful) its like an opening of Pandoras box, hence as there are hundreds of alternatives out there it seems pertinent, to me at least, to suggest someone who by their posting is asking for advice, to suggest that they would be best to avoid certain known problems completely.

If anyone wants the link providing again that shows in great detail and dozens of pics what was found inside such a neglected 1.6PSA lump following multiple turbo failures, and what needs to be done to prevent further failures, i'll galdly provide it.

Similarly we're not likely to advise the purchase of an out of warranty DSG or other weird and wonderful box either, and despite being a Toyota fan myself i'd suggest never to buy an MMT automated manual of theirs either, and to take great care with the 2.2 Diesel (Avensis/Lexus) which can have CHG problems too, the whole used car game is a minefield ready to blow up the unwary.

Its all opinion of course, if the OP wants a 1.6PSA lump he'll go out and buy one, but hopefully he'll maybe think about doing some research and realise that this engine, as with many others it must be said, needs careful maintenance or it can be a monay pit, so a proper service history or faith in the private seller (maybe an ex mechanic type who'se been servicing it every 3k miles, yes they do exist) at the very least we should bring it to the OP's notice seeing as he's asked politely for advice here.

In some ways this is why i tend to advise, especially here where our OP is saving for a gaff, to only spend as little as possible on as well cared for as possible unfashionable car used and looked after by mature previous one or two owners, if he spends £800 on a Corolla and gets two years out of it he can only lose £800 plus running costs.

If he spends £5k on the wrong car and in 6 months time some too clever by half gearbox goes pop and needs £4k spending on it he's lost big time and has to start from scratch again.

Sorry if i've waffled on too long again, but i believe if you offer some advice then it should be to point the person where their bets are best hedged, but thats only my humble opinion and everyone else's is just as valid.

Hi KP.

''Bedfordshire is quite a way away from me. Would it be worth travelling 125 miles to take a look at the car. (Would it be worth comitting to buy without looking at it first?) How do you know it's MOT history?''

For your average run of the mill car then no, 125 miles isn't necessarily worth it, but for the more unsual cars, and in my ebay search only about 10 1.8SR Yaris came up nationally, so you have little choice, my cars tend to be fairly rare or rather i'm after certain combinations of things so travelling distance to buy is quite normal for me, and sometimes cars that look 'right', with promising ownership service history and MOT history stand out as being worth a look, this one did to me, but it might turn out to be a no go.

Generally if i'm travelling distance i try to pencil in several alternatives so i can make a round trip up and visit several if only to eliminate them.

I travelled 150 miles late last year as i'd pencilled in a 'superb' Landcrusier Amazon, got there at 10am, bloke truned up at 10.05 and by 10.10 i was on my way home again, never even looked inside, got underneath and stuck me hairy mitt straight through a rear box section, tthis was a 04 Amazon that should have been as solid as a rock, car buying is anything but straightforward.

Couple of months ago an LC5 Landcruiser came online for sale, it stood out like a sore thumb from the rest and been traded in for a new motorcamper, which pricked my 'well heeled previous owner' antenna, within 3 hours i'd driven up and bought it, and its as good an example for its year, 05 as i've seen for a long time, that was 75 miles from home.

As i buy older cars usually the last place i want them to come from is Scotland, mainly due to the excess use of road salt, hence in your boots i'd rather travel 125 miles south for a local car (assuming this one is localish) than 125 miles north where salt use will be higher, though life's never quite that simple as cars get punted around, and the person who lives in Beds might neglect their cars where the Scottish driver looks after it and keeps the underside salt free.

No i wouldn't suggest you buy over the phone, far from it, though i bought our Subaru Outback sight unseen via an ebay auction, and travelled 150 miles couple of days later to pick it up, that was three years ago, we paid the princely sum of £1070 for it and it hasn't missed a beat since, though i have been round cars a long time so knew what i was probably getting into.

The MOT check site is www.gov.uk/check-mot-status

its all official and simple to use, any car you are interested in you can check its MOT's for several years back, including advisories.

Similarly you can check if a vehicle is still taxed on www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-tax

That Yaris in the link was only a suggestion, you would probably be just as well off with a decent Civic of similar age.

The autotrader HPI checks do have time limit, or did when i last looked, 6 or 8 weeks rings a bell, but don't quote me.

Good luck in your search, let us know what you decide on, if you spt something you can always link it here, SLO76 knows his onions on car buying.

Edited by gordonbennet on 15/02/2017 at 21:11

Edited by SLO76 on 17/02/2017 at 19:46

Accords are very reliable, in the same camp as the Avensis, and a nicer drive. 2.0 and 2.4 vtec both good engines. As usual be careful of diesel. If you look at HJ Good and Bad, most of the problems involve these.

Auto and manual both good gearboxes.

They can suffer from sticking rear calipers.

If looking for one seriously try to get 16 inch wheels. The 17inch wheels can tramline.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2006-Honda-Accord-2-0-i-VTEC-SE...i

That looks a good one, with an almost perfect MOT history, definately worth a look.

Sounds alright KP, does the service history correspond to that really rather good MOT history.

That model Accord was, to my eyes, the last what i would call reservedly handsome version they made.

The clutch take up sounds like both my daughters type S Civics, near enough the same car underneath as the Accord i suspect, considering she drove them both ridiculously hard with merciless thrashing they seemed to thrive on it.

Is this the one or are you still looking?

Congrats, if its half as good as the daughters 2 x 2 litre Civics of similar model years have been, then you'll probably become a confirmed Honda enthusiast too.

Thanks for updating the thread, do let us know from time to time how its going if you would please, and best of luck with the forthcoming house purchase.

Coincidentally I have just been to a dismantler's in Doncaster for a plug to fit the temperature sensor on my stepson's 2006 Civic.

The pins had corroded to the point where they'd broken inside the plug, impossible to remove so couldn't connect to a new sensor. Honda helpfully don't supply plugs, can only offer a wiring loom at vast expense. Owners would be well advised to waterproof-wrap the connection to avoid this problem.

By the way, avoid Wakefield on a Friday afternoon after 2 pm, unless you like sitting in gridlock for 15 minutes, road layout is worse than my hometown, which is saying something!

Edited by galileo on 24/02/2017 at 17:32