Best used cars under £3,000

There are hundreds of thousands of used cars for sale in the UK, with plenty available to suit any budget. A £3,000 budget is enough to avoid the very cheapest cars on the market, many of which will obviously have their best days behind them. Cars at this money should last for a while yet, although for peace of mind it’s always worth setting aside some cash for the occasional maintenance bill if you can afford to.

Cars lose a lot of their value in the first few years on the road via depreciation, so a budget of £3k is often enough to buy a car that’s around 10 to 15 years old – or slightly older if you’d like something from a prestigious marque. We’ve selected a variety of cars and all the entries on this list are available with five-figure mileages and plenty of life left in them. For this budget, you’ll find anything from cheap runarounds like the Fiat 500 and SEAT Mii to quirky offerings like the Audi A2 and spacious family cars like the Ford Mondeo or Mazda5. We've even included a sports coupe with an iconic design – The Mk1 Audi TT.

The best cheap fun cars from under £5k to over £10k

Not that mileage should be your only consideration. For cars in this price range, a decent service history is arguably more important, while condition (inside, outside and underneath) and the availability of paperwork is pertinent too. Most well-maintained cars will carry on long after 100,000 miles, so high mileage doesn’t necessarily mean a car should be dismissed out of hand.

While you’ll clearly miss out on the very latest infotainment technology, most £3,000 cars feature many modern essentials, including remote central locking, air conditioning, Bluetooth and electric windows. Some will even feature sat nav, cruise control and heated seats, while you’ll be able to find some cars with ISOFIX child-seat mounting points.

If you’ve got a little more to spend, check out our guides to the best used cars under £5,000, £7,000 and £10,000.

Ford Fiesta

Britain’s former best-selling car has been on sale for over 40 years, and while 2023 sees the end of the model’s production, there will be plenty available on the second-hand market for years to come. You can get a low-mileage example of the squarer Mk5 Fiesta for £3,000, but we’d choose a newer Mk6 Fiesta, as it’s better to drive, more stylish and more generously equipped. There’s a surprising amount of space in the cabin and boot, so four adults can sit inside without feeling cramped. You should have no problems with a used Ford Fiesta either, as these have a good reliability record and parts aren’t expensive.

Titanium models come with alloy wheels, automatic headlights, cruise control and keyless entry, which is a similar spec to a brand-new Fiesta Titanium. More basic Zetec models will have enough kit for many buyers, while Zetec S models add a dash of extra sportiness and are quite easy to find. Look for the lower-powered models for cheap insurance.

There’s a choice of petrol or diesel engines, manual or automatic gearboxes, and three- or five-door body styles, plus smart and distinctive paint colours. With so many examples on sale, finding one with a full service history and a normal number of previous owners won’t be difficult. If the example you’re looking at has an engine with a timing belt, check when it was last replaced.

MINI 

BMW reinvented the classic MINI at the turn of the century, and the result was a bigger car, but one that retained its retro styling and fun driving experience. It’s arguably one of the most entertaining cars you can find for a £3,000 budget and its popularity means there are plenty to choose from, like with the Fiesta. It’s only a three-door and the boot is small, but if these aren’t issues for you, the MINI is a good little car for the money.

Our pick would be a petrol MINI Cooper with a manual gearbox, as it’s nippy yet economical. Faster Cooper S hot hatches are around at this budget, but they’re often older and with slightly higher mileages. If you’re looking at a pre-2006 Cooper S with around 100,000 miles or more, make sure the expensive ‘Supercharger service’ is already out of the way.

BMW 3 Series

The BMW 3 Series has always been a fun-to-drive and spacious executive saloon, and even one for under £3,000 should still offer plenty of appeal. You might get more equipment in a similarly priced Ford Mondeo or Mazda6, but the BMW badge is a big draw on its own. There’s a choice of coupe, convertible, saloon or estate, and several generations of models. You can also avoid high-mileage examples if you look carefully.

Most examples with five-figure mileages are 318i petrols, so you might need to find a cherished example with slightly more miles if you want a different engine. Make sure you’re happy with the ride comfort if the car sits on run-flat tyres (which it probably will be) and check the alloys for hairline cracks.

Honda Jazz

We know the Honda Jazz is far from the most exciting car on this list, but it should be pretty bulletproof in terms of reliability. And when you’re buying a used car, especially for a relatively small amount of money, reliability is probably one of the most important qualities, as you won’t want the car to be constantly in and out of the garage.

Another big strength of the Jazz is its practicality; it’s a supermini like the Toyota Yaris, but offers far more space than any of its rivals. This budget allows you to get a first-generation car with as little as 35,000 miles on the clock, or early second-generation models with a higher mileage.

Audi TT

The first Audi TT is fast becoming a modern classic, and prices won’t stay as low as they are now forever. Its eye-catching styling hides the fact that it was launched over 25 years ago, and it’ll provide all-year-round thrills. The cabin is minimalist but, like the exterior, it still looks good and has aged well. You can choose from a roadster convertible or a hardtop coupe.

This is a car where the maintenance records are more important than the mileage because low-mileage cars tend to have bodywork scuffs or a high number of owners. Most cars around this price point are roadsters and if you’re looking at one of these, make sure the soft top has been looked after and doesn’t leak.

Ford Focus

The Mk2 Ford Focus is ten-a-penny on the used car market, but that means you can pick examples up extremely cheaply. We found facelifted petrol-engined models with under 80,000 miles for well within budget, with full service history, a year’s MOT and no obvious dings. The Focus is a spacious family hatchback, and you won’t find a rival that’s more entertaining to drive.

These models have a reasonable level of equipment, including air conditioning, Bluetooth and the handy heated front windscreen, although you’ll have to look at cars like the Hyundai i30 if you require ISOFIX points.

Nissan X-Trail

While smaller budgets tend to keep larger cars out-of-reach, steady depreciation has meant gems like the first-generation Nissan X-Trail can squeeze in at just under the £3,000 price limit. While this will only allow for cars that are very close to that 100,000-mile limit, this shouldn’t be an issue because the X-Trail was a ‘rough and tough’ SUV that was built to last.

Most cars in budget are equipped with a 2.2-litre diesel engine that produces 136bhp and all X-Trails of this era come as standard with four-wheel drive; perfect for if you often find yourself down muddy country lanes. Look for high-specced DVE models, which benefit from leather upholstery, climate control and even a sunroof to make that large interior feel even airier. 

Read our used car buying checklist and see what to look for when buying a used car.