Jimmy
Ive been trying to look for exactly what you appear to be looking for. Im currently running a 51 plate mx5 but its not ideal for the kind of driving im doing.
For 3.5k:
a clio is a good bet however you'll be pushed to find the dci 100 for that price. If you're lucky you'll get the dci 80 (80bhp) which still has reasonable performance figures, all the toys and 67mpg which is excellent.
306 are good diesels and you can pick one up for less than £3.5k, they are comfortable cars and are pretty well built.
Audi - you'll be pushed to find a decent diesel example for this price as they hold a premium. A4s seem to be slightly less desirable on age against a3s.
Skoda - VW parts without the VW costs. The Skoda VRS is the car to have for performance but again not available for £3.5k. To be honest, im not a fan of the styling so ive not really taken much notice.
Diesels hold quite a premium over their petrol counterparts. To be honest, if you're doing less than 12k a year, and werent planning to keep the car, i would say that it maybe isnt such a good idea to buy a diesel. You are better off looking for a cheaper petrol example and using the money saved against the cost of fuel. Saying that, a diesel example may fetch a higher price on trading in.
Out of all the cars ive looked at, for that kind of money, the Clio offers comfort and a lot of toys with excellent mpg, low insurance and tax against anything else in that bracket. Im just not sure i could bring myself to drive a small car again. I know the 5 is a small car (2 seats) however its a sports car at the end of the day and it has a certain kudos (even tho some consider it a hairdressers car)
Alternatively, you could spend £3.5k on a good mk1 mx5. The engines are bulletproof and you get classic jap reliability. Nice leather interiors on some and you can whip the top off in summer.
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