Fiat 500

Used car tourism: Second-hand car buyers travel for cheaper prices

Used car tourism

Car dealers visit auctions all over the country to get the best price. Now private buyers are travelling too (Picture © BCA)

Used car tourism is on the rise with car buyers being urged to travel to take advantage of the regional variation in car prices. Popular used cars can be more than £1000 cheaper depending on where you buy them across Britain.

Used car valuation service CAP HPI has revealed that it found a three-year old Audi A1 selling for £1600 less in Nottingham compared to a similar model in the south east of the country. The result has seen an increase in drivers travelling from one part of the country to another to take advantage of cheaper used car prices elsewhere, according to one expert.

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Best student cars for kids going off to uni

Best student cars

It doesn’t have to be like this! Follow our guide to student cars

Buying the best student car and running it on a really tight budget can be a nightmare for many young people. But there is hope. With more choice than ever in the used car market, there are lots of cars out there starting from as little as £1000.

Double your budget to £2000 and you’ve got your pick of great small cars that should cost a minimal amount to run. That said, insurance on any first car will be steep. That’s why you need to stick with models in a low insurance group and with a small engine so you’re not hit by huge fuel bills. It also means no modifications: insurance companies don’t like them.

You might think that such small sums of money will buy you a mega-mileage motor on its last legs. But £1500 gets a good-condition supermini with under 70,000 miles on the clock.

Below we’ve picked some of the best models for first-time buyers. They’re all small hatchbacks which means they’re practical, with plenty of space to lug all your equipment between home and uni. We’ve generally aimed low in terms of budget, but if your pockets are a bit deeper we’ve included a couple of more costly options.
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