Buy them before we do: second-hand picks for 1 March

Proton Satria 1.8 GTI, £5995: This rare 2003 example of the Malaysian hot hatch caught our eye, and not just for its low, 51,000 miles, Recaro seats and one-owner history. No, it’s the fact that Lotus had a hand in its chassis tuning, a hand that received warm praise from reviewers. 

Volvo S60 R, £5850: This four-wheel-drive 300bhp S60 is a manual version, plus it’s had just one owner and has 14 service stamps. Tempting, except that the 4WD system was flawed, the adaptive dampers were fragile and it had a habit of splitting its cylinder liners.

Maserati Ghibli 3.0 TD, £18,500: It never unseated rivals such as the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class but the mid-sized Masser still holds appeal. That V6 diesel is punchy and sounds good. And few exec cars look so dramatic. This one is a 2014 model with 38,000 miles and full history. 

Alfa Romeo 147, £995: The 147 is a pretty car that continues to dignify the bargain end of the price spectrum. Our find is a 2005-reg 2.0 Twin Spark with 99,000 miles on the clock and a leather interior. It’s a two-owner car with, incredibly, full main dealer service history. 

Auction watch

Austin 1800: Had it not already sold, here’s one our own Mr Cropley could have driven to the Festival of the Unexceptional at the Claydon Estate, Bucks, on 20 July. It’s a 1969 Austin 1800 Mk2 ‘Landcrab’. It needs a bit more than a polish, obviously, but is structurally sound and has done just 40k miles. 

A colleague’s father had two, in which he racked up around 200k miles without any issues. He recalls the novel, floor-mounted umbrella handbrake, the spacious rear bench seat and the pride he felt when seeing it described in his local Halfords as a ‘saloon’. 

Get it while you can

Jaguar XE 2.0d 240 R-Sport 4WD Auto, price new - £41,930, price nearly new - £30,844: With a facelift now revealed, an 'old' look XE should be easy prey for a bargain hunter. Sure enough, a dealer we know has a clutch of pre-registered examples in a variety of colours and trims, all on 68-reg plates and with delivery mileage. His 2.0d 240 R-Sport 4WD caught our eye. Ask nicely and a Jag dealer will knock around £2500 off the new price, but for the sake of an extra name in the logbook, our acquaintance can save you £11,000 on a nearly new one. 

Clash of the classifieds

Brief: If it’s not a contradiction, find me a used SUV that’s fun to drive for £20k.

BMW X6 xDrive40d, £18,967: Neither car here is particularly attractive, but it’s the BMW X6 that’s the more capable SUV on the road. Yes, Mark’s Cayenne has more power, but the 40d’s 306bhp and 442lb ft of torque are still enough to keep things interesting. What’s more, the X6 has the high-speed cornering abilities of a sorted hot hatch, road tax is only £290 compared with £540 for the Porsche, and the BMW should return high-30s economy as opposed to a figure south of 20mpg for the Cayenne. Which means fewer opportunities for people to see you in it. Max Adams