Yet for this relatively trifling sum there's a vast array of great cars within reach, including sports cars, family hacks, luxury saloons and the odd 4x4. Admittedly you're in danger of getting your fingers burned with some of them but that's the fun of used car roulette isn't it? All of the cars we've picked for our £5k budget are advertised online so we haven't made anything up – everything here really is within reach…

Pictures are examples of models discussed