Top used cars for less than £10,000

Cars are everywhere, in all ages, shapes, sizes and mileages. Happily, however our guide to navigating the market has been devised and successfully applied by Autocar contributor, car lover and long-time student of the second-hand market Richard Bremner, himself an inveterate investor in older metal.

The selection rules are few and simple, but rigorous. Bremner starts by using the unique sorting facility of the mammoth Auto Trader website to refine an initial search, sticking to some simple parameters.

Cars must be at least 10 years old, they must have done very small mileages (usually fewer than 30,000) and they must have sound MOT and service histories, readily available for inspection. To an intelligent person’s eye, they must look honest and unmolested (no funny colour matches, no unexplained wear, no odd tyres, no holes in the dash or exterior panels). Oh, and they have to cost less than £10,000.

So, without further ado, let's take a look at the fifteen best used cars you can buy for less than £10,000.

A £10,000 budget doesn’t buy you much sub-30,000-mile glamour but here’s a slice, and with a decent chunk of remaining change too. The flame-surfaced sculpture of the Z4 doesn’t look any less intriguing than when it first appeared in showrooms 20 years ago and the cabin is equally striking for the curved sweep of brushed aluminium adorning its dashboard. On this car, it’s unmarked too.

This tidy specimen may not have the most exciting engine option – a 148bhp four-cylinder 2.0-litre, when the other Z4s have sixes – but you do get a six-speed gearbox. It also has an attractive colour scheme, what with those red leather seats, and its black fabric roof descends – and rises – electrically. It’s vital to check that it will do this, because the hood’s electric motor lies within a well that fills with water if the drain holes are blocked, with obvious consequences. Check for damp carpets too. Wiring lives beneath, leading to malfunctions if it has a bath.

This E84-generation Z4 has had two owners, has done only 30,000 miles, carries a full service history with BMW dealers and specialists and has a reasonably good MOT history. There’s a bit of bolster wear on the driver’s seat, but otherwise the interior is in very clean condition. Under the bonnet, there are signs that the car has spent periods standing – corrosion to parts of the alloy engine and to brackets and fixings – but the bodywork appears fine and this minor deterioration does further corroborate the low mileage.

As do the corroded brake lines mentioned on the older MOT tests, which should have been replaced by now. The N46 2.0 is not BMW’s finest work, being prone to oil leaks and at 100,000 miles or so the potential disintegration of the timing chain guides. The Vanos variable valve timing system is weak, too, and requires regular oil changes to remain fit. A six is a better Z4, then, but this four has low miles, history and price on its side.

Keen drivers will prefer a Porsche Boxster, but you won’t find one of those with this mileage at the price, and the Z4 certainly has lots going for it, not least the design both outside and in. And it’s a hell of a lot better than a Z3, too.

No, it wasn’t one of Volkswagen’s finest GTIs, but if you consider this one-owner, 34,000-mile Golf 2.0-litre as a refined, decently potent all-rounder, you’ll be less disappointed. Golf Mk4 positives include the leap in interior quality that it represented back in the day, neatly crisp styling and more than decent comfort. Plus, it’s increasingly difficult to find examples of the Golf Mk4 that aren’t tattier than a pair of ripped jeans, which will stand this tidy one in good stead in future years.

An MOT history that reveals nothing more than a minor oil leak is encouraging, as is a comprehensive service history. The 2.0 engine is tough, although it can use oil; the captive nuts retaining the lower suspension arms can loosen, requiring a labour-heavy fix; and the paintwork is more vulnerable to fade and lacquer peel than most, although this car looks good.

Saabs like this are getting hard to find. We stumbled across a one-owner 9-3 with a full service history and 10 stamps, the last recently completed, and it had covered only 33,000 miles. Shiny, near-unmarked bodywork, a sharp set of alloy wheels (Saab was always good at those), original Saab infotainment with sat-nav, leather seats and extended leather to the door cards all add to the appeal, as does an untroubling MOT history.

Saabs were built to last and the 2002-2011 9-3 is no exception, with many examples eventually clocking 200,000 miles. Issues with the petrol engines are limited to warped valves, which leads to rough running, and issues with the balancer-shaft chain tensioners on B207 engines, which are usually caused by missed oil changes. Otherwise, these cars are dependable and parts for them remain available despite Saab’s demise.

After an ominous whine lasting several hundred metres, our Vectra quietened down to drive just like a good Vectra should. Okay, that isn’t so great compared with a contemporary Ford Mondeo, but a mere three grand gets you a car that feels young and fit, sports an immaculate interior notable for an ergonomic logic that’s absent from so many screen-driven moderns and has a near-spotless exterior spoiled only by lacquer peel to the roof.

The whine? I’m fairly confident that was the ABS pump pressurising the system after a period of dormancy: this car was built in the days when it was worth boasting of anti-lock stoppers with a splash of chrome script on the bootlid. The LED information screen in the dash had lost enough pixels to make it indecipherable, but this 1.8 16v car ran so confidently that Cropley and I reckoned it would make Edinburgh that night with no trouble at all.

Vectras were robust cars built for unsympathetic fleet use, and there’s no reason why this 25,000-mile example shouldn’t be equally durable 25 years after it was built. As a precaution, it would be wise to get the cambelt changed. And to make it really shine, a roof repaint to deal with lacquer peel would complete the time-warp effect.

Both of us were tempted to buy one as a fine Festival of the Unexceptional entry. But if your needs are less frivolous, this would make an excellent low-budget family car, despite being in a condition that is anything but low-budget.

This is a model you have probably forgotten about. It’s possible you may not wish to be reacquainted, either, although this capacious estate was a pretty decent beast in its day. This example is still very much having its day, because it has covered only 21,646 miles in 28 years, its previous owner enjoying it, very sparingly, for 22 of them. In the glovebox is the book pack, complete with a stamped service record that is almost up to date. Beneath the pristine boot floor carpet lies an unused alloy spare, and a toolkit that appears unopened. The Aerodeck might be a beast of burden, but this one appears to have carried nothing, or nothing remotely dirty.

It lugs a lot of kit, though – the electric glass sunroof, quartet of electric windows, central locking, cruise control and stereo with (functioning) electric aerial fitted by Honda, and the protective door and bumper buffers, front window draught excluders, high-mounted stop light and various unidentified dashboard items added by its fastidious owner.

There’s also a reverse-parking camera, the screen ingeniously wedged in the recess behind the back-seat centre armrest. As you would expect of this Accord’s maker, the 148bhp engine sounds just so, instantly firing up to that slightly hammery idle characteristic of 1990s Honda motors, the four-speed auto shifting flawlessly. The engine has been treated to a quality timing belt and rollers and it has had a recent oil change. The MOT runs to November, with no advisories.

It’s not especially glamorous, this Honda, but it’s useful, different and crammed with convenience features and has masses of life left. And it’s another Festival of the Unexceptional contender.

The example we found had so little use and came with a full history. Not Mazda’s greatest MX-5, but real appeal at this price.

Alluring coupé in 156bhp turbo petrol form. Electric leather heated seats, Bluetooth, full history and barely used. A lot of entertaining glamour for £10k.

Many examples are little used, extensively serviced, with an attractive colour scheme and a manual. Not the S, but many reckon the 2.7 is the dynamically optimum 986-gen Boxster.

Used IS models are fairly plentiful, but they’re rare at the price we found one at. Ours had done 24,000 miles and didn't have satellite navigation, but miles of enjoyably comfortable driving lie ahead.

At 25,850 miles, it hasn't covered much road for its age, it’s in great condition and new timing belts are included in the price. Your £5k secures satisfying quality and comfort here.

An early Yaris in excellent condition with many miles left in it is a very good bet. No mention of service history in the car we found, but looks are well cared for.

If you want to warp time, try this: under 5000 miles and looks it. There are at least 100,000 reliable miles in this car.

Handsome car with equally handsome interior. A 1.6 may sound lame but this turbo has 178bhp for 62mph in 7.8sec. Quick, especially for this money.

Sharp-eyed readers may notice that this car does not fall into our ‘under 30,000 miles’ bracket, but it certainly comes well under the £10,000 budget ceiling, and was well over 10 years old when our writer Richard bought it last year. You might find an E63-gen 6 Series that meets all of these parameters – there’s currently an £8000, 34,000-mile 645Ci coupé on Auto Trader that comes close – and for that reason we mention this BMW as an example of what can go right, and wrong, when fishing in such pools.

What’s gone right is that Richard still has this car and is happy with it. Today, it looks very smart. He has enjoyed 10,000 miles he has got out of it so far and enjoys the fact that he bought 367 luxury-wrapped horsepowers for £5500, even if he had to spend a few thousand sorting it.

Not really an all-rounder, the Jimny, but famously brilliant at certain things, not least off-roading. It’s also handily small, very economical and fun to drive if your trip is short. And all the more so if the sun’s out, because this one is the fairly rare convertible. More practically, it also has a tow hook.

A full service history with six stamps, a Suzuki accessory bull bar (remember those?) and a period stereo with remote controller further enhance its appeal. The MOT history reveals nothing untoward and confirms the inchingly low annual mileage up to today’s total of 26,000. Bodywork and interior are in excellent condition, save for slight deterioration to the leather wraps of the steering wheel and gearlever – hardly deal-breakers.