4: Used
Technically, every car with a previous owner is a used one. However, for our purposes, a used car is out of manufacturer warranty but still tidy and with a reasonable enough mileage to get an independent one.
This is the general population for all cars being sold and includes private and dealer sales, so now we can consider older Golfs. Thus we arrive at Allans Cars, where for just £5450 there’s a 2014 1.6 TDI Bluemotion Tech SE with 86,000 miles and a full service history.
Diesels aren’t popular any more, but obviously we can get amazing MPG from them. A 2011 1.2 TSI 5dr with 89,000 miles from RB Cars and Vans Limited for £3890 will get you into emissions-protected areas and achieve pretty decent economy, too.
For something rather more exciting, an old-fashioned Golf GTI from the Mk5 era – a 2008 2.0 TFSI 3dr with a reasonable 70,000 miles – is £6295 from Valor Elite Cars. It has four previous owners, lovely red paintwork and an unmarked body.
This is proof that a used car can tick all the best buying boxes, as you can get a prime Golf for a fraction of the brand-new cost.
5: bangers
A banger is past its 10th birthday and possibly (but not necessarily) high mileage. Ideally, it’s all depreciated out but still full of life. So these are never wrecks or MOT borderlines yet are still only a couple of grand tops.
If you have £2000 to spend, there are some choice Mk5 Golfs out there. Loads are clean diesels, such as a 92,000-mile 2008 1.9 TDI S. That’s one of the most reliable oil-burners ever made so should go on forever. It’s a clean dealer car, so you can’t go wrong – unless you want estate practicality. In that case, I spotted a 2008 1.9 TDI SE for £1695 with a full service history and not in bad nick, despite having done 127,000 miles.
Otherwise, there’s a bedrock of Mk4 bangers. With £350, choose between a privately sold 2002 1.6 S auto with a full service history (it will need tyres, though) or betting the farm on a 2003 VR5 with 10 adoring ex-owners and 137,000 miles.
