Its impossible for anybody to give a proper answer to this because no two used cars are the same. Its not possible for us to sit here and go 'get a Golf as its a solid used buy' because it always depends on so many things. What i would say is any car which has sold in great numbers for many years will have a catalogue of 'possible problem points' on the internet and in buyers guides.

Link us to some adverts of specific cars you're looking at and we might be able to judge better between them.

That's the rub, they hold their price better than most and are quite expensive to start with so £5k gets you an older model. The paradox is that becuase they are well built in the first place the older model may be a better bet than some newer alternatives....

For all the VAG bashing (and thanks to Skoda's wretched performance I won't buy VAG products, whether than lasts we'll see) they seem to sell a lot of cars and the VW and Audi variants seem to hold their price really well - indicating they are products that are in demand.

I do agree with Avant here, something like a Honda Civic would be worth considering as long as you can handle the looks and the rear vision doesn't bother you (it didn't me). The 1.8 litre petrol is an astonishingly smooth motor and will probably be really reliable.

You either love or loathe the new (2006 on) shape: I was thinking of the old shape (2001-2006) whose looks are less interesting but less controversial, and rear visibility isn't a problem. It also has a huge amount of legroom in the back.

It was designed for a 1.6 engine and the 2.0 Type S goes very well. £5k would get you a late (2005) model.

Can't stand the post 2006 model I'm afraid. I'm really disappointed that the Japanese manufacturers seem to be hell bent on jazzing up their cars. What could be more boring than not being able to see properly?

I have looked into a Warranty, WD comes in around £500 for the year.

Looking at warranties is a sure sign that you're looking at a car that you can't afford to run. Always better to get a cheap car and spend the money driving and maintaining it than vice versa. Most purchasing mistakes arise from greed ie trying to get the 'best deal' and ending up with a lemon.

Edited by unthrottled on 14/01/2012 at 19:24

Rashid

Take your £5000 to your nearest Kia dealer. For that money you should be avble to get a 57 plate Ceed 1.6 petrol, maybe even a newer one if you are lucky. Diesels cost a bit more but 1.6 ones don't have a DPF thus are suitable for town use.

They come with a manufacturers 7 year or 100,000 mile warranty thus will have at least 2 years left, possibly 3 but you need to make sure they have been serviced according to Kia's schedule, better still at a Kia dealer. better still the one that's selling the car.

You will get a car that drives virtually as well as the competion, are well put together and reliable and are probably a little more spacious.

OK you won't have an Audi/VW badge on it but if it makes you feel better buy an Audi/VW key ring, no one will know since the key is exactly the same.

I reckon those Hyundai i30s have the look of a 1-series BMW about them.

Better car than the 1-series. No transmission tunnel and diff to soak up the interior space, no spine breaking runflat tyres, and the correct wheels are driven.

We've zero regrets in buying our i30. As for the Mondeo, it's a dose, and will be replaced with another i30 sometime this year...