We receive lots of emails from people who don't care too much what car they buy, just that it can do certain things - like has a boot big enough for pushchairs and weekly shops - and that it be cheap and reliable.
There is no such thing as a reliable brand these days. You can be unlucky with a BMW (who came out very low in Warranty Direct’s reliability survey) or lucky with a Renault (who traditionally don't have a great reputation). So the best advice we can give car buyers is to buy the most discounted car so that you can keep some money aside.
Buying cheap means looking at a few key factors. The first is supply vs. demand. Ford and Vauxhall have about double the number of cars on the used market as Renault or Peugeot and eight to ten times more cars than brands like Hyundai. If you really don't want a Ford or Vauxhall though, it's interesting that Volkswagen and BMW are only about 25% behind in terms of number of used cars in the market.
Next, look at age. The two years where the most cars are added are nearly new (under 1 year old) and three years old (MOT time). There are about 30% more cars to choose from in these age brackets than the others.
Finally, you should look at the difference between petrol and diesel. Ford's diesels are cheaper than their petrols on the used market, whereas for most brands it's the other way around.
So this leads us to these two cars really:
Vauxhall Astra
A practical family hatchback that makes up for what it lacks in style with quality build and great engines.
Most economical: 1.7 CDTI
Best used buy: 1.6 petrol
UsedCarExpert.co.uk fault checks: 7
UsedCarExpert.co.uk price: A 3 year old 5 door 1.6 P with average mileage of around 20,000 should be £7,200.
Ford Focus
It was revolutionary when it came out, but now looks a little dated. However, there is no getting away from the value for money it offers.
Most economical: 1.6 TDCI
Best used buy: 1.8 TDCI
UsedCarExpert.co.uk fault checks: 32
UsedCarExpert.co.uk price: a 3 year old 1.8 TDCi with average mileage of around 33,000 should be £8,000 or less.