Advice for buying a replacement to an ancient vw polo

[educatingarti]

I have a really old battered VW Polo (K Reg). It cost £1000 nearly 6 years ago and has been fantastic for value motoring! I am thinking of replacing it in the next few months because it is getting to the point where I will have to trawl scrapyards for spare parts! Prior to this I had 3 previous VW Polos and I have loved them.

My Dad used to source my cars for me but his is now seriously disabled so I am having to find a new (second-hand) car for the first time. I don't know much about buying cars and don't want to be conned.

I'd like something like another Polo if I can get one. I'm thinking that I need to use a dealer as I don't fancy buying one privately, knowing as little as I do!

I'd like a small reliable car ( 3 door is fine) that is likely to be long-lasting and inexpensive to run (ie small engine size, low road tax and insurance). I don't want to spend more money than I have to

Do you have any advice for me on:

a) What type of car would be good for me to get

b) How to find a reputable dealer that won't rip me off ( I have asked friends etc)

c) What sort of minimum price I should expect to pay, given that I know I can't tap my Dad's expertise for bargain basement cars any more.

d) What about places like Carcraft - does anyone have any experience?

Nissan micra's are good little cars and worth a look at.

We had a 2001 Micra which never let us down in 90000 miles and 9 years, but I think it might not have the build quality of a Polo TBH. Ours had a paintwork problem (bubbling, with undercoat intact) but very little rust, so maybe not the end of the world.

Have you thought about a Seat Ibiza? My first car was an ancient one and I loved it, and now are VW built I think.

If you like your Polo, why not another one? Or a Skoda Fabia, v similar but cheaper (I have had both).

Thank you all for your suggestions so far. I am taking them in and thinking!

Oh yes - I think skoda is owned by VW now.

Carcraft places can sometimes have slightly inflated prices because of their 'credit for all' policies, but they're worth going to as they'll have lots of makes and models in one place for you to have a sit in / try the boot etc!

Autotrader website should also give you some ideas.

VW owns Audi, Skoda and Seat. We have had at least one of each in the last ten years or so, and we always err back to Skoda. You get so much more car for your money! The diesels are v efficient too. My Fabia estate tdi does around 50 mpg in mixed countryside / towns/ bit of motorway.