Cars up to 3,000
At this level you are not buying a car, you are buying remaining life. That is no bad thing as long as you know it: a well-kept car with high mileage and complete servicing is almost always the better choice here than a prettier one with an unclear history. Budget for the first repair from the outset — spend your last franc on the purchase price and the first fault leaves you with no room to move.
What matters
- The most important item is not the price but the time left until the next roadworthiness test. A car with a fresh inspection is worth several hundred more than one due in two months.
- Rust on load-bearing parts ends the matter. Surface rust on the underbody is normal; flaking rust on sills, strut towers or the frame is a reason to walk away — the repair costs more than the car.
- Ask about the cambelt. On many engines it is due every five to six years and runs into four figures; a snapped belt destroys the engine. Proof of the last change is real money at this price.
- Work out the fixed costs before you commit: insurance, tax, testing, two sets of tyres. On a car costing 3,000 they often exceed the purchase price in the first year.
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Common questions
- Is a diesel worth it at this level?
- Rarely. Older diesels have expensive wear parts — particulate filter, EGR, injection — and a single one of those failures exceeds the value of the car. Add to that access restrictions in several European cities. At low mileage a simple petrol car costs you less.
- Buy privately or from a dealer?
- At this level dealers mostly sell without warranty, or not at all. On a private sale the warranty is effectively excluded — in exchange the price is lower. What matters is not the type of seller but whether you can have the car looked at by a garage or inspection body beforehand.