My job often means doing a high mileage. I spent a lot of time with nearly new cars, piling mileage onto them and watching the value plumet ! So, after a while I decided to buy "cheap" cars and run them till they die.

Choices for this are limited. Think about it, you need comfort, reliability, economy. To get all three is difficult, so, if you, like me, get a mileage allowance say 35p a mile then you need to ensure the economy will fit this.

After selling the Range Rover, I went for a £600 car.....£34000 to £600 was a bit of a culture shock !

£600 bought me a 1989 BMW 535i. One of a series of these Germanic house brick's I have had. From 1988 to 1996 these 5 series were really well built. The 535 I had was comfortable, relaxingto drive, quiet, fast, fun and, thanks to the massive power to weight ratio, pretty economical too. With mostly motorway driving it brought in an average of 30mpg !

OK, so it had a ripped seat, a couple of dents and always smelt funny but it was 100% reliable. In two years and 35000 miles it never ever let me down. All it ever needed was a headlamp for one MOT.

Dont worry about mileage ! This one had 161000 on it whan I bought it. At this kind of mileage, all the bad stuff has already happened ! You no longer need to keep up an expensive service history, you dont need to keep it clean and tidy, all you need is an oil change.

When I had had enough of it, I did a rally in it from London to Naples with the idea of leaving it there and flying home. 9 Countries in 3 days and 2000 miles later I deceided to drive it home too ! One dent on the Amlfi Coast and no other issues at all...Oh, my wife drov it off the ferry too fast with a boot full of wine and ripped the back bumper off but hey ho !

After this, I used it for another 6 months before selling for £850 !! So, my advice.....but a 5 series !

But, what if you need a 4x4. What if you only have £1k again ? What can you get ? Mostly rubbish, apart from: The Jeep Cherokee.

£1000 will buy you a Cherokee, either 2.5 or 4.0 petrol ( strangely the 4 litre is more economical ! ) up to about a 1998 with 100000 miles ish and in reasonable condition.

They go forever, they are very capable off road, nicely mannered on road and very cheap to maintain and service. Think about it, what else can you get for a grand that you can drive to then up Ben Nevis and get back home in comfort again ??

There are many other car bargains out there too. Forget your Vectra's Mondeo's etc, think more European.........

BMW 5 series

Mercedes 124 series ( Total bargains !! Especially for a big estate car. Just do a search on "Mercedes 230TE" and see what you get for the money) 230 is the best engine. Capable of 300000 miles easily, go to any African Country and look at the taxi's !

Renault Saffrane. Have you seen the goodies these have ! A 1997 car for £500 !!! Like driving a sofa floating on a bed of honey !

Volvo S70/V70. Getting cheaper by the day. A good 1998 will set you back as little as £1K. A bit thirsty though.

Alfa Romeo 166. What a car for the money, seriously, just do a search and have a look.

Saab 9000/9-5, Big, comfy and excellent build.

I think you get the picture now. reasonably large cars of a pre-98 vintage will offer value for money beyond all others.

If you dont believe me, just do an E-Bay search on these and look at what you get for the money. You care far less about a car that costs as little as this ! Park where you like, if someone opens a door into you....so what ! I love 'em, just swallow your cudos and pride.