Ten thousand pounds is a genuinely good budget for a used car. It puts you comfortably into cars that are five to eight years old with reasonable mileage — the point where the steepest depreciation has already been absorbed by someone else, but there’s still plenty of life left.
At this level you’re choosing between a smaller car that’s newer and a larger one that’s older. A three-year-old supermini and an eight-year-old executive saloon can cost the same money, and which is the better buy depends entirely on what you need it for and how much running cost you can absorb.
The thing that catches people out at this price is service history. Cars in this bracket have usually had two or three owners and the paperwork gets patchy. Run the free vehicle check on anything you’re seriously considering — it’ll show you the MOT record, including advisories, and flag any mileage discrepancies before you hand money over.
Every car listing shows an estimated monthly cost so you can see what the budget actually means in practice.
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Typically 40,000 to 80,000 miles depending on age and make. High mileage with full service history often beats low mileage with none.
Depends on your running costs. A larger older car usually means higher fuel, tax and insurance. Use the monthly cost figure on each listing to compare properly.
Most dealers offer finance options. The monthly figure shown is an illustration — speak to the dealer for an actual quote.
