best used cars for less than $7,000: Citroen Picasso

Ok, so the Citroen Picasso isn’t exciting. Really, it isn’t. I don’t care if Citroen did put a robotic arm with artistic aspirations and/or personality disorder in the advertising. But if you’ve spawned a pup or three in the last few years, and are labouring under intense outside-of-the-school-gates pressure that suggests the family hatchback is so last century, then maybe, just maybe, a people carrier is for you. And that being the case, the Picasso is the one to go for – roomy for five, good-looking, decent engines and relatively car-like to drive. Over a 250,000 have been sold in the UK alone; finding a good example shouldn’t be tricky.

best used cars for less than $7,000: BMW 3-Series

The Ford Mondeo’s biggest problem isn’t reliability. It isn’t mainstream rivals like the Vauxhall Vectra, Toyota Avensis, or – heaven forbid – Renault’s Laguna. Nor is it the rise of the niche vehicle. It’s this: the BMW 3 Series. Boring old Ford versus almost as affordable up-thrusting executive express. It’s no contest really. Your five large will land you a 2000 vintage E46 circa 80,000 miles – although if you want one of the bigger engines prepare to be a little more flexible. Well made, great to drive, solid image – it’s easily our mid-sized saloon of choice. A surfeit of marque specialists means servicing needn’t cost the Earth, either.

best used cars for less than $7,000: Fiat Panda

We obviously don't mean the boxy '80s original. (Though if you do see someone selling one of those for £5k they deserve a medal for gall.) This is the shiny-recent 21st century Panda – and if a new-ish number plate is important to you, it’s by far the best bet. You can even get one registered this year for less than £5,000 if you’re not too picky about specification. Why should you want to? Well, celebrity motoring fans aside, the Panda is a truly excellent city-car. There’s plenty of space inside, it’s cute, handles well, and will cost you peanuts to run. Just steer clear of the more lurid interior hues.

best used cars for less than $7,000: Lexus LS400

Right, now hold on. Before you start complaining a big German would offer more kudos for your cash, consider this: reliability. It doesn’t seem to matter how old an LS is as long as the servicing’s kept up, but this amount will see you safely ensconced behind the wheel of a ten-year old face-lift model, with around 80,000 miles on the clock. Better value than any German equivalent, add the promise of the industry’s best dealer network, a super-smooth V8 and electric toys that actually work and you’ve got one satisfying lump of a luxury saloon. Steering feel is non-existent (who cares?), and look out for skimping on the maintenance; otherwise – enjoy.

best used cars for less than $7,000: Renault Clio 172

Renault’s Clio 172 was quite simply the best hot hatch of its generation. The chassis tuning and involvement can even show the current breed a trick or two – especially in lightweight ‘Cup’ guise. They also last pretty well; a remarkable feat for any French hatchback, let alone a hard-charging one. Shame about the seating position, and the interior being more prone to rattles than a box of broken biscuits. If a Cup is tempting you, one more thing: the track-optimised spec also ditches several user-friendly niceties – like the ABS. Worth keeping in mind the first time you’re hammering towards a blind corner in the streaming wet.

best used cars for less than $7,000: Ford Focus

If Arthur Dent’s intergalactic best mate was after a ‘nicely inconspicuous’ name for our modern times, perhaps he’d pick Ford Focus, rather than Prefect. Given that vast swathes of them surround us on a daily basis, it’s easy to forget how good the first generation version really is. Compared to the Escorts that came before: an utter revelation. Compared to contemporary rivals: a thermonuclear attack. The handling, the ride, the radical styling, the value, the quality – Ford’s Focus went straight to the top of its class, and has never looked back. Secondhand dependability is good, and availability unsurprisingly high. It’s a £5k car we couldn’t neglect.

best used cars for less than $7,000: Mazda MX-5

You don’t care about kids. You don’t care about practicality. Or luggage space. Or outright cross-county pace. You just want to have some good, honest, inexpensive fun. And for that there’s probably no better car than Mazda’s MX-5. £5,000 stretches to an early Mk2, giving you almost all the enthusiasm of the first car, but less of the rust. Sweet short-throw gear change, feelsome rear-wheel drive handling, and even the 1.6 has power enough to keep things interesting. What’s more, they don’t break down, and the boot is big enough for a couple of squashy overnight bags – perfect for the odd weekend ‘away’. Nudge nudge, wink wink.

best used cars for less than $7,000: Honda Integra Type-R

This is, I admit, pushing the £5,000 budget a teeny bit. But it is possible to get a UK-original Honda Integra Type-R for this amount, I promise. And if you can’t find one look for an import. No, really – look. Not only is the Integra blessed with a nigh-on unburstable VTEC motor, pushing out 187bhp from it’s naturally aspirated 1.8-litres at a screaming 7,900rpm, it’s also got possibly the finest front-wheel drive chassis ever produced. So what if it’s noisy? That just means fewer trips out to the shops with the mother-in-law. Buy one in white for that authentic hardcore Honda experience. Utterly awesome.

best used cars for less than $7,000: Nissan 200SX

What, another Japanese ‘performance’ car? Yup – and you’ll find no apologies here. The Nissan 200SX wupped the competition in contemporary large coupe group tests, and still represents excellent entertainment-to-pound value today. That long bonnet might look like it’s compensating for something, but a tough 2.0-litre turbo motor and lively rear-drive chassis mean you need to keep the side glass as clean as the windscreen – even in the dry. The SX is so notoriously easy to steer from the rear, In the wet you’ll wish Nissan had fitted extra wipers. ‘Touring’ spec gives you leather and is worth seeking out; price and condition varies, but there are plenty to choose from.

best used cars for less than $7,000: Porsche 944

It’s a testament to the quality of Porsche’s engineering, and the high esteem in which the cars are held, that even at over 100,000 miles a £5,000 Porker is considered great value. The 944 might not have the iconic lines of a 911, or the 928’s V8. But it’s still a Porsche, and not only can you expect it to entertain like little else, it should also be reliable, well built, and given the hatchback, even practical, too. Preferred choice at this level is the 221bhp S2 – the Turbos being too much of a risk. Servicing will still be steep – even at an independent specialist – but the rewards are worth it.