A new car

[Trefor]

£3k on a used diesel.

<summary>Find a 1.9 Skoda Octavia that hasn't been used as a taxi.

<Long version>Ok, so ideally you want something without a DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) and something that has had religious oil changes/maintenance. There is so much to go wrong on newer used diesels. For this reason I'd tempted to look at either the older tech 1.9 Diesel from VAG (lots of car choices from Passat to Polo depending on what you need). These will go on forever. Otherwise avoid German at this price point, you're asking for trouble and if a 1.9 VW/Audi/Skoda/Seat doesn't float your boat then I say stick to a Ford or Vauxhall for simple repairs.

Considering how many miles I suspect you do a year a diesel is actually exactly what you don't want, but if the fuel is paid for then that is not an issue.

[Dedworth]

£3k on a used diesel.

<summary>Find a 1.9 Skoda Octavia that hasn't been used as a taxi.

<Long version>Ok, so ideally you want something without a DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) and something that has had religious oil changes/maintenance. There is so much to go wrong on newer used diesels. For this reason I'd tempted to look at either the older tech 1.9 Diesel from VAG (lots of car choices from Passat to Polo depending on what you need). These will go on forever. Otherwise avoid German at this price point, you're asking for trouble and if a 1.9 VW/Audi/Skoda/Seat doesn't float your boat then I say stick to a Ford or Vauxhall for simple repairs.

Considering how many miles I suspect you do a year a diesel is actually exactly what you don't want, but if the fuel is paid for then that is not an issue.

All diesels from 2009 (and some from before) are fitted with these damn DPF's