Don’t think that because your budget is small your choice is limited. You really can get almost anything for £1,000 or less if you look carefully.
We don’t mean literally any car (sadly), but we do mean pretty much any type of car. From MPVs to V8 sports cars, the world’s your oyster if you have the patience and determination.
1. Supermini – Ford Fiesta
Of course there’s stacks of choice at this end of the market as smaller cars tend to be cheaper than larger ones – although not always. You’ll find all of the most popular models; Vauxhall Corsa, Renault Clio and plenty of Ford Fiestas. We found a nice 2002 example of the affectionately-named Fez with air conditioning and a modest 92,000 miles for our £1,000 target.
2. Family hatch – Honda Civic
Move up a size and you still should have no trouble finding what you’re after. As well as the usual suspects from Ford and Vauxhall consider something like the Honda Civic. They have an excellent reputation for reliability and are practical, too. For £999 we found a 2003 Civic 1.6i SE Executive with plenty of toys, 11 months MOT and 100,000 miles. For a Honda Civic that’s only just run-in!
3. MPV – Seat Alhambra
Now we’re getting to the larger cars they will inevitably have a higher mileage, but condition is arguably more important; a well-maintained car with fewer owners and higher miles is better than a thrashed low-mileage example. Ford and Volkswagen collaborated on the Galaxy/Sharan MPV in the 1990s but there was a often-overlooked Seat version too. We found a 2000 Alhambra with the ideal 1.9 TDi engine, air conditioning, 179,000 miles and 10 months MOT for £995.
4. Convertible – Audi Cabriolet
If you’re looking for style on a budget it’s important to choose something that’s aged well, which is where the Audi Convertible comes in. Even though the earliest examples are now over 20 years old it stayed on sale until 2000 and still looks the part. Even Princess Di had one. You’ll need to search hard, and this 1.8-litre example we found is no fireball, but it has the essential alloy wheels, part-leather seats and 133,000 miles for a magic £995.
5. Luxury saloon – Lexus LS
It might seem a nonsense that you can get a big luxury saloon for £1,000 but the truth is that cars like these depreciate more than any other, which is why at 15 years old or more they’re remarkably cheap. We found a couple of Mercedes-Benz S-Classes and half a dozen BMW 7 Series but we’d plump for the impossibly comfortable Lexus LS. We found a 1999 example with an admittedly-high 200,000 miles on it, but your £995 gets you a smooth V8 engine, sat-nav, electric seats, climate control and an interior that looks like new.
6. Sports car – Porsche 928
Okay, so this really is a stretch but if you’re prepared to be patient, haggle and get your hands dirty then you could have a fast car on your drive for less than One Large. When it was launched in 1978 the Porsche 928 had a 4.5-litre V8 engine and could crack 140mph, while later models got even more power and were good for 170mph. The oldest examples will need work but there are plenty of specialists out there and even today it’s striking. We found two examples in the classifieds for a smidgen over £1,500. With determined haggling you could have a performance bargain.