I would recomend Japanese something with little to no street credibility that has been looked after all its life probably by a elderly person. Cars like the Toyota starlet and the suzuki wagon are know for reliability and generally owned by older people who tend to look after there cars.

I might be tempted to go for a unpopular but solid BIGGER car!

Something like a Mazda 626 petrol...........solid reliable....heavier on petrol, Ins & RFL

but with such a low budget condition, condition, condition.

As Dan86 above says, something Japanese (genuine) or Korean, preferably unfashionable and usually associated with the older driver.

As well as the good suggestions already made, i'd look for previous model Hyundai/Kia/Proton/Daewoo, my daughters fella picked himself up an excellent Proton Wira or whatever its called for 250 spondoolies and it was taxed and it runs like clockwork.

I'd steer clear of Fiesta, Corsa, 206 etc. because they are cool and in demand by yoof and therefore command a premium. Something larger will be cheaper to buy and broaden the options. A well cared for 1.6 petrol Focus or Astra perhaps. Fuel costs are not an issue at 6 miles a day and petrol will warm up quicker on those winter mornings.

If you are running on a budget, secondhand spares supply is worth considering, so mass market appeal rather than Proton etc. in my view. How many Protons do you see at your local scrappy? Whilst it may be true that they a simple reliable cars, headlights, body panels, radiators etc. can get damaged on any car.

Thanks for all your replies guys.

I'll look for something Japanese (which is what I like :-) ). I'll look at bigger as well as smaller cars and hopefully I'll be able to find one that fits my requirements and my pocket.