Money feels pretty tight for most people at the moment, so if you’ve wondered whether you could live with driving an old banger for a while, instead of forking out costly monthly payments for a much newer car, well, you wouldn’t be alone.
The fact is that older cars have never been more durable or reliable than the ones made in the last couple of decades. Which means there’s really never been a better time to buy a cheap car – and in fact, at the bottom end of the market, there are far more reliable buys floating around than you might expect.
The downside to this trend is that prices for usable bangers have gone up in recent months. But then, so has everything – and while the days of a usable car with several months’ MOT left on it for less than £500 have sadly gone, there are still bargains to be had.
Before we get into those, a quick crash-course in what to look out for. Buying a banger isn’t the same as buying something new; forget worrying about cosmetic imperfections. At this price, you can’t be picky about such things.
What you do need to worry about, however, is how much MOT the car has left. MOT is everything at this price point: how much does the car have left? If it’s only a couple of months, the car is worth far less than one with a full year remaining, simply because it’s a better guarantee that the items that are checked for the test are still in good condition.
What about service history? Well, it’s nice to have, but not essential. It’s rare to find a car with a fully stamped up service book or a folder full of invoices at this price – but the more service records you can get, the better.
Even if the car doesn’t come with any history, there are certain clues as to a car’s maintenance (or lack of it) that you can look out for.
For example, tyre brands should at least match across each axle to ensure safe handling in slippery conditions; a car with four different types of tyre on it will likely have had the minimum possible money spent on it, especially if they’re all budget brands.
Check how well the interior’s held up, too. Someone that hasn’t looked after the place where they spend their time while driving probably hasn’t looked after the rest of the car, either.
And at this price, be sure to test-drive whatever you’re buying first. There are a few dead giveaways to old knackers: blue, white or black smoke from the exhaust; knocking, rattling or thumping sounds from the engine, and jerky or slurring automatic gearboxes are all signs you should run a mile.
Knocks from the suspension, defunct electrical items and oil leaks are all worth noting, too, though these can be cheaper to fix – so if you’re confident about the cause, make sure you’ve priced in the cost of the repair, and haggle hard.
But which models to aim for? Generally, at this price point, reliability is all; image and style have to take a back seat. Cheap examples of more desirable models are usually cheap for a reason – so don’t be wooed by that posh badge or a sleek look.
Aiming for a Japanese or Korean marque is usually a good way to ensure you get one of the most reliable cars you can, and so it goes in this price range.
A Toyota Auris is, therefore, an enormously sensible buy. The Auris is a family hatchback about the size of a Golf, which means it packs in enough room for two adults, two kids, and luggage.
When I looked on CarGurus, £2,700 would have bought me a tidy-looking 2011 example with 100,000 miles on the clock and 10 months’ MOT. If it turns out to be in good nick in the flesh, it’s a car that should last you an eternity.
Or if you don’t need a car the size of the Auris, how about a Hyundai i20? These little hatchbacks were surprisingly good to drive, and comfortable too – and they come with a reputation for sturdy, simple mechanicals that rarely go wrong and are easy to fix when they do.
Less than £3,000 gets you a tidy 2013 1.2 Classic with 75,000 miles, one owner from new, a partial service history, and almost a year’s MOT. That’s a car that should provide deeply affordable transport for years to come.
Finally there’s the Ford Fiesta. The great thing about these is that there’s one on every street corner, so finding a good one for sale is about as easy as can be. What’s more, while Fiestas aren’t as durable as the other cars here, they are cheap to service and repair.
The Fiesta is great to drive, too, with a comfortable ride and involving handling, so it’s a cheap car in which you might even find you’re having a surprising amount of fun.
Choose an earlier example with the 1.25, 1.4 or 1.6-litre engines; the later 1.0-litres are susceptible to potentially costly engine problems and need expensive maintenance work when they’re 10 years old. A 2010 1.25 Zetec with 99,000 miles on the clock, a full service history and a full year’s MOT, like the one I found on CarGurus for £2,895, sounds like a great little car.
