Recently, Used Car Expert was criticised for writing about the same cars all the time. But the reason is that they are popular cars in the market. Popular means lots of supply, which makes for cheap prices and great deals. If you want to read about other cars, then you need to do your bit and buy more of these random motors.
Of course you won’t, because if you look closely, you will notice that despite the lack of brand appeal, the absence of quality and the difficulty re-selling, they are not really that cheap. But, in the interests of variety and for some light entertainment, here are three oddballs at step prices to consider:
Proton Gen-2
Small family car which is fine to drive, looks quite smart and being a Proton is a good value buy, espcially when this model is a couple of years old.
Most economical: 1.3
Best used buy: 1.6
Used Car Expert magazine price: A 2007 1.6 Gl with average mileage of 9274 will be around £5,356. For similar money you can have a Peugeot 307.
Daihatsu Materia
A much more practical car than it looks. Great fun and more interesting than other small MPVs. Not as cheap as you imagine.
Most economical: 1.5 P
Best used buy: 1.5 P
Used Car Expert magazine price: A 2007 Materia with 8,000 miles will be about £7,000, so £1,500 more than a Citroen Xsara Picasso.
Fiat Stilo
Roomy good value and cheap. Unpopularity meant discounts and that trend continues on used market. Lots of standard equipment and petrol power the best value.
Most economical: 1.9 JTD
Best used buy: 1.6 Dynamic
Used Car Expert magazine price: A 2007 1.6 Dynamic with average mileage of 13,000 will be just £5,500. Which is £1,500 less than a Ford Focus. But you still won’t buy one.