Best used buys for every budget from £2500

When you look at this affordable bunch, there are strong grounds for concluding that you never need to spend more to buy an interesting car with plenty of life left in it. The only significant drawbacks will be outdated or no sat-nav (to which the solution is easy), potentially high VED costs and the possibility that eventually your car’s emissions could exclude it from some British and European cities.

But you will, of course, be doing your bit for the planet if you look after said car and maximise the use of its manufacturing carbon footprint.

To narrow the search to better quality cars, we’re looking only at those that have done fewer than 40,000 miles. It’s a very juicy array.

This 224bhp 3.0-litre V6-engined Mondeo was quite a rare car in its day, never mind in pristine condition now. Unusually, it’s on sale at a Ford dealership (cars this old must be exceptional for franchised outlets to consider retailing them) and thus comes with a decent warranty. It’s the most expensive ST220 currently on sale but looks fair value against others in this condition. It’s a great drive and if used sparingly will depreciate slowly.

This is terrific value, especially as it has a full service history with its single owner. If you think you need a V8, rather than a V6, consider that this SL will still break 62mph in 7.5sec and it’s noticeably better balanced in the bends.

Yes, it’s thirsty and its rotary engine can be troublesome, but the RX-8 is an interesting machine, fun to drive and guaranteed to become a classic. This one looks fit and is real value.

One of the great all-rounder hot hatchbacks, the fifth-generation Golf GTI represented a return to form for Volkswagen. Our find is a Japanese import so promises a clean, rust-free underside. There’s no mention of a service history, so that needs checking, but it looks terrific value for a car that’s so entertainingly capable.

Fancy a brand-new Punto? This find isn’t quite that, but it’s as close as you will get. A full service history, one former owner, stylish alloys (unscuffed), a Euro 6 compliant 77bhp motor, air-con and Bluetooth make for an unusual package, if one that’s a little pricey.

It’s not so fast, but this particular A4 is crazy value, having had 24 Audi services from new, across 39,000 miles, all with one owner. It’s in apparently superb condition and is even eligible for the Festival of the Unexceptional. There aren’t many toys, but it does have air-con.

A lot of luxury for relatively few bucks. The XJ6 is alloy-bodied, so it goes well even with a V6 and it won’t rust. Our find is well equipped and has loads of life left in it.

RS Clios are among the finest-ever hot hatches, and the 194bhp iteration added some comfort and refinement to the hooliganism. In excellent condition, this example is unlikely to depreciate.

This 3 Series with a folding hard top is classy. It has bags of power, a full BMW service history, a low mileage and sharp looks, if no infotainment. It would make a shrewd buy in the bleak mid-winter.

This is the much rarer 197bhp version of a car that’s among the most exotic looking (yet sensible) you can buy in this price bracket. Our find is recently serviced and has plenty of equipment.

This plug-in hybrid combines a 181bhp 2.0-litre turbo four with an 87bhp electric motor to produce more torque than the regular 330i and a modest electric only range of 18 miles. The finely integrated drivetrain delivers 0-60mph in 6.3sec and mighty overtaking ability. More than 45mpg is possible, too.

This big SUV is a diesel but Euro 5, it has done not many miles with just one owner and it has a tow hook. A great set of sophisticated family wheels in superb nick for less than a new Dacia Duster.

Almost £14k may seem a lot for a 19-year-old Boxster, but you might change your mind with this amazingly low mileage and the fact that it’s a 280bhp 3.2 S manual with a full-service history. Check that it’s had the intermediate shaft bearing replaced or budget for it.

This Jag saloon is still notable for its fine chassis – and it’s not yet another 3 Series. With unusually low mileage, our 237bhp petrol has had six services and three owners in nine years, and appears to be in excellent shape.

With its petrol-electric plug-in hybrid powertrain, this C-Class saloon will knock off 62mph in a startling 5.9sec and trundle you electrically to the supermarket if the round trip is fewer than 19 miles. Our find has been used sparingly by its two owners.

The original S-Max is still a brilliantly versatile all-rounder. Ours is notable for being lightly used and petrol-engined. It has had 12 services, has an advisory-free MOT and is well equipped. Few cars are this useful, and it’s good to drive too.

Spend this kind of money with a budget brand and you get something that’s fairly new – and in Dacia’s case, a useful family all-rounder to boot.

The ’86 is a real driver’s drive among this bunch. It’s not the fastest coupé, but that’s not the point: it serves up thrills in every (manual) gear, not just top. Being a Toyota, it’s doubtless very dependable too.

Earlier examples like ours have the automated manual gearbox, which demands a defter right foot, but look at the value in this pristine low miler. You will make an entrance every time.

It’s hard to think of a Bentley as a value buy, but the Conti is just that these days, its early popularity and fear of engine-out repairs (actually rare, happily) depressed prices. The later the car, the better it will drive, as Bentley continuously improved its big hit to make a car far more accomplished than the Volkswagen Phaeton with which it shared some essentials. Our find has had 11 Bentley services during its 40,000 miles, so it should be fit.

Thunderous even without AMG’s ministrations, and all the more so when it’s in all-black. Evidently well cared for, unlike many ageing CLs, our find has had 12 services over its 15-year life. Sat-nav, heated seats, a sunroof and reversing camera are among the goodies.

This version of the Fiesta ST, one of the great hot hatches, is generously equipped. There are plenty of hardly used examples available now, but they will be rare in a few years’ time.

The QX70 is still handsome and, as a V8, a potent choice for someone after a left-field SUV. Ours is exceptionally well furnished and equipped, and back-up is available from many Nissan dealers.

It’s not quite the most potent car here but, with 503bhp, this supercharged Jag coupé is seriously rapid and, overly firm ride apart, immensely refined – all for the price of a new Vauxhall Corsa.

A big slice of Latin glamour, and our find has the later, more potent, 4.7-litre V8. Low miles and a full history, although not all of it Maserati. Probably the most beautiful car you can buy at this money.

This looks to be a terrific example of the rumbling monster that is a full-fat AMG C-Class, its V8 having pulsed for only 18,000 miles in 14 years. It is immaculate and has a full Mercedes service history. You can buy C63s for a good £10,000 less if the odometer has clocked six digits, but this saloon promises an almost-new experience.

It will cost you a good four or five grand to buy a 981-generation Cayman, rather than an older 987, as here, with the same mileage. And your 981 won’t be a more powerful S, either. That makes this well-cared-for 987 tempting, especially as it has passed a cylinder-bore health check.

The new M2 may make this muscular coupé look subtle, but be under no illusion: this is a very rapid and highly entertaining straight-six M car. You won’t find a low-mileage manual at this price, but many prefer the excellent dual-clutch automatic anyway. Our find is a well-serviced example and still under warranty.

The Veloce is the Giulia for you if the maniacal V6 Quadrifoglio is impractical, a 276bhp 2.0-litre four being enough for high entertainment in this proper sports saloon. This low miler looks good value.

This budget just gets you into Ferrari territory, and with more than a slightly ratty Mondial, too. This particular 360 Modena has had a new cambelt recently and comes with a full service history – and given that it has been enjoyed, rather than stored, it’s one that you can drive as was intended.

You can now buy an early, lightly used, manually shifted 4.3-litre Vantage for around £25,000, and the good news is that these are relatively untroubled cars. Spend a little more and there are very low-mileage, very well-cared for examples such as the two-owner, Aston-serviced coupé we found.

A muscle car without a V8 feels wrong, so it’s the 5.0-litre version of the ’Stang we’ve picked here. Toys include heated and cooled seats, a reversing camera, Brembo brakes and Shaker Pro sounds, and it has a full Ford service history.

Audi’s affordable supercar looks great and drives even better. Rarer early ones have a manual transmission and a less cumbersome footprint than later ones. Our pick has a full Audi service history and appears to be a fine specimen.

This little French coupé offers one of the best driving experiences you will ever have, dancing rather than bludgeoning its way down the road. There’s minimal mileage on this heavily optioned, pre-facelift car, whose specification includes high-performance brakes, a sports exhaust and heated, full-leather seats.

You can buy F-Types for less than this, but they will be less powerful (the S makes 375bhp) and often have the convertible body, with its tiny boot. Our car has a full Jaguar history and a long list of ticked option boxes.

Just squeaking into the price bracket, this is the only sub-£50k AMG GT on sale at present – and yet it’s the more potent S version, with 503bhp. It has two former owners, its service history is all Benz and it looks in great shape.

The 997-generation GTS is much desired, and this one is complete with centre-lock wheels, the Sport Chrono pack and, unusually, a sunroof. It has a full history, mostly Porsche, from three owners and is likely to depreciate slowly.

You get a fat 503bhp from a Ferrari-related V6 in the cloverleafed version of the gorgeous Giulia. This pretty fresh five-year-old has a full Alfa service history that, with luck, will include the pricey belt change. It’s clearly been cosseted and it’s red.

There are plenty of top-end SUVs in this bracket, but the 575bhp X5 M would be our choice. A low-mile BMW Approved specimen with a panoramic roof, twin rear screens, 21in alloys and the Winter Pack would be ideal for a ski-slope dash.

For unadulterated sensory excitement, along with the fear of flying off the road, the F40 is hard to better. They are absurd money, but if you can buy one in the first place, you should lose little and might even gain. This example is especially expensive, because it has the rare Lexan sliding windows and lacks a catalytic converter and the less favoured adjustable suspension. The twin-turbocharged V8’s 471bhp is less out of sight than it was, but it sits within a car weighing only 1100kg. So it’s quite brisk.