Motor Industry News

Nothing like having your own car at college: MyCarCheck.com’s valuation experts name their ‘best used cars for students’

MyCarCheck.com - the UK’s No.1 vehicle provenance website - has saved millions of people from making an expensive used car mistake. As well as vehicle history and mileage checks, the company also provides independent valuations.

Unlike others in the market, CDL Vehicle Information Services (which owns MyCarCheck.com) has its own valuation system, VIPDATA, and has recruited some of the UK’s foremost experts in car, van and motorcycle valuations.

Justin Powell, Consumer Business Manager at MyCarCheck.com, commented: “Students are notoriously hard-up but many still manage to run cars, whether they graft for it themselves or raid the bank of mum & dad. For teenagers especially, street cred, safety, reliability and low running costs are all key factors in the choice of make and model. With this in mind, our in-house valuation team has drawn up a list of ‘the best used cars for students’ in four price brackets: up to £1k, up to £3k, up to £5k and, for the very lucky or hard-working, up to £10k.

“The selection process provoked lively debate among our used car experts, but they largely agreed on the top contenders – either a Ford or a VW, depending on your budget. At the bottom end, practical considerations have to take precedence – it is better to get from A to B in a Fiat than to break down in a Ferrari. Let’s face it, as well as bringing incredible freedom and independence, having your own wheels is only going to help in the scramble for friends in freshers’ week.

“Buying a car is always a big deal and for most students it will be their most exciting purchase to date. Our core message is that, considering the sums and risks involved, spending just a few pounds with MyCarCheck.com is a great investment. Giving a prestigious independent endorsement, The Mail on Sunday’s Live magazine described MyCarCheck as its No.1 cash-saving app. We can confirm in seconds whether a vehicle has ever been scrapped, stolen or written-off, the last recorded mileage, the number of former owners and much more.”

The MyCarCheck.com valuation team’s best used cars for students in 2012 are:

Budget: Up to £1,000

1 Ford Ka (previous model)

2 Vauxhall Corsa

3 Citroen Saxo

4 Peugeot 106

5 Nissan Micra

Budget: Up to £3,000

1 Ford Fiesta

2 Citroen C2

3 Vauxhall Corsa SXi

4 Toyota Yaris

5 VW Lupo

Budget: Up to £5,000

1 VW Polo

2 Citroen C1

3 Toyota Aygo

4 Peugeot 107

5 VW Fox

Budget: Up to £10,000

1 VW Golf

2 Audi A3

3 Honda Civic

4 Fiat 500

5 Mini

Over the last couple of years, MyCarCheck.com and MyTextCheck delivered around 4.5m consumer checks. Parent company CDL performs over 1m vehicle data checks a day for companies including AutoExpress, CompareTheMarket, Go-Compare, Moneysupermarket, Swiftcover and WhatCar?.

It uses up-to-the-minute information from the Police National Computer (PNC), the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and major finance houses including Lloyds TSB.

Know what you’re getting into: MyCarCheck.com