Best used cars for £50,000 and under

Most car journalists from Adelaide to Zurich wax lyrical about the Alpine A110's ability to dance its way down a road. Most talk at great length about the Caterham-esque poise and deftness with which it carries itself, as well as its distinguished, raspy engine note.

We can attest to that. There's a very good reason why this car is one of few that Autocar has awarded five stars, and why our very own Steve Cropley was so impressed that he bought one.

Every significant component on this car, from the turbocharged torque of its engine to the hilariously immersive panache of its handling – is all about having fun.

But what about first-hand experience? Cropley filled us in: “I’ve been running my 21-plate Alpine Pure for two years and am delighted with it - to the extent that I never think of selling. That’s unusual; I don’t always stick with the cars for long. The A110 is special because it’s a delight to drive - not just quick and responsive but also simple and refined.

“It’s also very easy to own. Servicing costs are a fraction of Porsche prices (it’s a Renault) yet it annoys Boxster/Cayman types by sometimes getting more attention than them, on rarity grounds and because it’s so damned pretty.”

Desirability, then? Check. But what of its reliability? Some owners have been reporting issues with the fuel pump, for which a recall was issued, where the car will display a warning light and then run rough. But the good news is that, for this budget, you’ll find nearly new examples that are covered under warranty.

Looking online it's so easy to imagine potential buyers sitting in front of their screens fidgeting with interest at the prospect of a nearly new Jaguar F-Type for less than £50,000. 

But that's exactly the case - if there is one car on this list that delivers value for money, it's this. The top end of the £50,000 budget will bag you 72-plate examples with less than 10,000 miles on the clock, a 5.0-litre supercharged V8, and a few grand still in the bank. Even if you spend half of the budget you'll still get V6-engined cars with around 40,000 miles - some with a manual gearbox.

Being designed by Ian Callum, the same man who gave us the Jaguar XK and Aston Martin DB9, the first time you clap your eyes on it you wonder why it took so long to come to fruition. It just looks so right. And it was exactly what Jaguar needed at the time, given the XK was getting long in the tooth and a spiritual successor to the E-Type is the automotive equivalent to a new Pink Floyd album appearing 10 minutes ago.

The lineage brought two facelifts: one in 2017, the other in 2019. The second was more thorough and brought redesigned front and rear bumpers, new thinner lights and an interior refresh which saw the analogue dials be replaced by a 12.3in screen. Happily, there are many examples of this slender successor available within our budget.

While it is possible to grab one with a warranty, some owners report problems. Check the valves in the active exhaust system close properly, else a new back box is needed which can potentially be fitted under warranty. Also look for any scratches to the windows, as original F-Types were susceptible to pebbles getting between the seal and the glass. Jaguar will rectify this on early cars, free of charge.

This car was a breath of fresh air when it first arrived. BMW, Audi and Mercedes had long-since been in a game of four-door oneupmanship with supreme executive saloons that felt like the real deal, even when stationary.

And when Alfa Romeo brought out the 503bhp, 191mph Giulia Quadrifoglio that dispatched 62mph in 3.9sec and adorned more carbon fibre than is strictly necessary, it seemed Italy finally had a credible contender for what was already a saturated, expensive market.

But as fresh as it may have been, it was under a lot of pressure. To keep it in check against the competition, Alfa Romeo garnished it with a Ferrari-derived 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged V6, a front splitter equipped with electric motors that can move its angle of attack by 10deg, and carbon ceramic brakes. All of this sounds tremendous, not least because its 7min 39sec Nurburgring time meant it was faster than a Bugatti Veyron. But what's it like to live with?

Well, it's still a Giulia. Which is to say it has a boot competitive with the 3 Series, C-Class and A4, seating for five, a dashboard whose quality was a noticeable step up from Alfas of old, and an infotainment system that worked well.

Popular problems that seem to crop up include failing turbo overboost valves, and a wiring system that would see every warning light appear at once. Oh, and some cars were plighted with an overly-sensitive alarm. To avoid these issues, have the car checked and certified by a main dealer before you buy, and make sure you’re buying from somewhere reputable.

Believe it or not, a few of these creep into our budget with middling mileages, full service histories, and high specifications. But choose wisely.

AMGs historically let their dynamic flourishes come to life with low-slung, top-rung GTs like this. And the AMG GT gets off to a good start, possessing all the hallmarks of a well-balanced driver's car that also wants to be a grand tourer.

Up front is a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 with cylinder deactivation, so it’s claimed to achieve 30mpg when you want to drive efficiently, and when you don't you get 503bhp, 479lb ft, a top speed of 193mph and 62mph delivered in a raucous, snarling 3.8sec. That power is sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

All utterly purposeful figures for a car which produced an equally purposeful, thundering baritone of noise to make you wince at the surging cacophany of soft limiters and catalytic converters that strangle most cars nowadays.

Is that character something you could live with? Well, it's not present everywhere. Owners complain of some interior fittings and finishes feeling too C-Class and a ride quality that feels more akin to Monza than the motorway. But it is generally usable and, as long as they are looked after, it shouldn’t become an enormous hassle.

Cheaper, poorly maintained cars are likely to suffer electrical/wiring issues. Check, too, for bad scuffs, scrapes or scratches because this low-slung machine is quite difficult to see out of. We strongly recommend you only buy one with a full service history, given the likely hard life some cars will have lived, especially at this price.

If you want an everyday supercar then the Audi R8 should be considered, because it's one that isn’t blighted by a lack of space, poor visibility, wretched fuel economy, or less-than-desirable interior quality.

But that doesn't mean that the supercar recipe has been lost. It used the same 414bhp 4.2-litre naturally aspirated V8 you got in the then B7 RS4 - an engine which made it seem far removed from even the best efforts of other manufacturers - together with a slick six-speed manual gearbox and four-wheel drive. All of this amounts to a 0-62mph time of 4.8sec and a top speed of 187mph; good enough to stay with a Porsche 911 Carrera.

But its road manners gave it an added sheen of impressiveness over admittedly tough competition, because it was one of the first performance Audis in a lineage of anodyne, numb propositions that had the sort of steering feedback and tactility you'd normally associate with Stuttgart's finest.

Is it all good news, though? When buying, check the car for any damage to the bodywork by standing at the front and running your eye down from the front wings to the back. If something is out of alignment, this can be very expensive to repair. Clutches will last a minimum of 20,000 miles and cost around £3500 to repair, with lower rear wishbones prone to failing and costing as much.

As a side note, many forums say the R8 is easier to modify than the equivalent 911, which is useful if you fancy an exhaust like the Channel Tunnel.

The Ferrari 360 had a huge job on its hands when it was first launched in 1999, simply because it replaced the F355 - a car which changed the face of Ferrari and sold in unprecedented numbers.

To make sure the 360 didn't sit in the shadows of its forebear, Ferrari gave it a brand new 3.6-litre V8 developing 395bhp and made it lighter to the tune of 60kg, resulting in a 0-62mph time reduced to 4.5sec and top speed increased to 183mph.

Boldly, the F355's design was disposed of almost completely, with its chiselled bluff faces replaced by curvaceous, elegantly swooping panels and a much cleaner profile. The pop-up headlamps were also replaced with projector beams hidden behind perspex glass, as if they were tucked away in a trophy cabinet.

The results spoke for themselves. Production numbers shot ahead of the F355 with nearly 9000 coupes and 7500 spiders produced during the car's five-year lifespan. Of those, 646 remain in the UK, which means precious few are available even for our generous budget.

As tempting a £50,000 Ferrari may be, though, there are some flies in the proverbial to bear in mind. Check for excessive brake disc wear; buy cars with the standard exhaust if you plan to drive it day to day; the upgraded sports system is just too loud; and make sure the alarm sounds - some owners have reported problems with this critical function failing, costing £400-£500 to repair (or £50,000 if you lose the car.)

A 2200kg SUV with 567bhp, a 0-62mph time of 3.8sec and a three-ton towing capacity might not seem that bold anymore, but back in 2015 it was like driving a 2.0 TDI Golf to a Friends of the Earth reunion.

And yet despite the fact we find ourselves in such an environmentally-frenzied, waste-free time where the UK is slowly becoming one 80,000 square-mile low-emissions zone, the once £90,000 SUV is now available (and ULEZ compliant) for much less than £50,000.

But why should you care? Everyone has an SUV these days. But consider the owner’s forums, where the reviews are all but positive. Buyers say they’re impressed with the X5 M's mechanical grip, adjustable throttle response, distinct lack of build quality issues, and ease of use day-to-day.

It's also refined. Sure, you won't become so isolated to the fatiguing coarseness of wind noise and road rush that a motorway stint becomes sleep-inducing, because it has alloys at least 20in in size. But it's simply not as bad as you might imagine.

Nor is its reliability, because if the usual maintenance boxes are ticked, the M variant is unlikely to go wrong. But the X5 range as a whole has had some teething issues, including a child safety lock not fully engaging on cars fitted with soft-close doors and wheel bolts on cars manufactured between July and August 2018 that need to be checked because they weren’t sufficiently tightened at the factory.

As soon as it launched, hell bent on usurping the Porsche 911, Aston’s baby suddenly became frighteningly easy to compare with Mount Vesuvius. You could buy it with a 4.3-litre, 380bhp V8 so loud you heard it before you saw it, and later models used either a 420bhp 4.7-litre V8 or a screaming V12.

Those engines combined with its generous use of aluminium and magnesium meant it weighed less than any Aston Martin of the period, and only slightly heavier than the current Audi A3. That allowed it to push to 62mph in 5.1sec for early V8s, or 4.3 for later 4.7-litre cars.

But engines and performance only tell half the story, because its design is all but an unqualified success. Sketched by Ian Callum and Henrik Fisker, the latter admitting to be responsible for 80% of the work, it was developed in tandem with the DB9. 

That means that, despite being 313mm shorter and 60mm lower, both cars ended up similar in form, which is to say it is as well proportioned as it is easy to live with.

What is there to look out for? Issues have been reported regarding the fuel vapour recirculation hose, corroded exhaust bolts, a sagging headliner, and a stiff-shifting gearstick caused by transmission oil no longer up to the job. An easy way to insure yourself against this is simply by finding a car that has been serviced fully and correctly, and hasn’t been run on a tight budget.