Good small car, diesel, 30k miles, £5k?
Answers:
I would look at cars made by French companies their diesels are excellent plus you get great value for money when buying these second hand. Their samll cars are also made with womens needs in mind. Another alternative is Seat Ibiza as these are cheaper than VW but have the same qualities. Most of the other cars Fords and Vauxhall will generally have very high mileage.
Vauxhall corsa
Sounds reasonable, depending on the age, model and state of the car.
But are you asking people to consider buying it, or are you asking advice for yourself on buying it?
If you're after one of that range, I'd agree with Mr. Bondage and suggest a Corsa - they're good little runners and that would be a reasonable price to pay for one of that mileage. Try also looking at the Ford range - Ka, Fiesta etc.
Type in 'Crash Test Results' on the model you're considering into Google and it'll come up with the safety standards for it - very useful.
Peugeot is best
Golf tdi
VW LUPO 1.4tdi. It'll do 70mpg and give you plenty of change from 5 K.
Skoda Fabia
Essentially it is the same car as the VW Polo and Seat Ibiza, but it looks better than the Polo (if not as good as the Ibiza), is better built than either, and tends to be cheaper.
For 5k you should be able to pick and choose, any diesel at 30000miles should be ok - one sure way is to pay for an MOT at an independant garage to see if it passes the smoke test. the £40 will also confirm that the motor is fit for the road.
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