I've come up with three choices so far:
A tidy Clio 182. These are quite economical and I should imagine are fairly cheap on the parts and Ash says £3k will get a good one. Insurance is £365pa and £260 in tax.
Should get a half decent one for my budget but with about 100k on the clock, maybe less. Owners seem to have very few issues with these as the engines are rock solid as long as history is there. Guess parts are fairly pricey on these but insurance is £365 and £280pa tax.
Finally my favourite, a 325ci m sport. I've had a 323 before and it was good and solid and drove great. The straight six engines are pretty bulletproof but if anything goes wrong BMW will have my pants down on parts prices. The space will be handy for family use but not essential. I've used a 205 for family use before and it was ok. Insurance is £348 and £280pa tax.
Any other suggestions out there for £3k that I've missed or any advice/opinions on what I've chosen so far? I'm not much of a fan of Seat Leon's before anyone suggests it.
________________________________________
Less than 24 hours to go!