The best used cars under £10,000

It might feel like £10,000 doesn't go quite as far on the used market as it once did, but we've tracked down 10 top-notch motors all available for less than five figures.

All of these models are available to buy as used cars from Motorpoint and include warranty coverage.

• Citroen C1
• Dacia Sandero
• Fiat 500
• Hyundai i10
• Dacia Spring
• Vauxhall Corsa
• Citroen C3
• Nissan Leaf
• Toyota Aygo
• Ford Ecosport

Citroen C1

• Low running costs
• Cute colour and upholstery options
• Infotainment available across most of the range

The Citroen C1 is a cute city car with bags of charm. It comes with a 72hp 1.0-litre petrol engine, so you'll need to give the accelerator a good poke to get up to motorway speeds, but fuel, insurance, tax and maintenance costs will be some of the lowest in the business. Your £10,000 budget will buy a nearly new C1 in Flair or Shine trim, with luxuries like a reversing camera, air conditioning and cruise control, plus an infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so you can use your favourite mapping and entertainment apps through the car's screen.

Browse used Citroen C1 cars or read our Citroen reviews

Dacia Sandero

• Decent practicality at this price point
• Simple, durable design
• Less utilitarian than older Sanderos

When the Dacia Sandero first launched in the UK, you could get a brand-new version for less than £10,000. Those prices are long gone now, with the latest model starting far above our £10k budget. However, you can still pick up the latest Sandero for four figures if you choose a nearly new model. It's a far better car than the first Sandero too, with much more standard equipment and substantial improvements to refinement and handling. The strong practicality remains unchanged, however – this is a small hatchback that can reasonably carry adults in the back seat, and handle the odd flat-pack furniture shopping trip.

Search used Dacia Sandero cars or read our Dacia Sandero review

Fiat 500

• Cute '50s-inspired design
• Many special editions with special colour and upholstery options
• Low running and repair costs

The Fiat 500 has been around for more than a decade and a half now. Its popularity has remained stubbornly high thanks to its attractive, retro styling and wallet-friendly price. There are scratchy plastics lower down and cheap-feeling fabric lining the boot, but Fiat has put effort into the parts you touch every day, like the steering wheel, gear stick and dashboard controls. If you're buying a nearly new 500, you'll probably find cars in Lounge trim with rear parking sensors, air con and cruise control – but there are several special editions with exciting colour and fabric combos. You can even find examples of the newer EV-only 500 for less than £10,000.

View used Fiat 500 cars or read our Fiat 500 review

Hyundai i10

• Very spacious for its size
• Grown-up ride quality
• Five-year Hyundai warranty

The latest Hyundai i10 has finally crossed below the £10,000 mark on the used market. This is one of the most complete city cars you can buy and comes packed with big-car features and a composed, big-car driving experience too. You get an impressive amount of passenger space for the car's tiny footprint, which also means it's one of the few city cars that can seat three across the rear bench – at least for very short trips. The basic 1.0-litre petrol engine is fine for most driving duties and won't have much of an impact on your bottom line, but the 1.0-litre turbo might be a better choice if you do more driving on faster roads.

Check out used Hyundai i10 cars or read our Hyundai i10 review

Dacia Spring

• Useful practicality for its size
• Extremely affordable for an EV
• Ultra-low home charging costs

Electric cars are expensive right? Well the Dacia Spring is here to prove that wrong. Like the rest of the Romanian brand's lineup, the Spring is back-to-basics and utilitarian. There are simple dashboard controls and a restrained infotainment system with a straightforward menu structure, so you rarely find yourself hunting around for the function you want. All versions achieve around 140 miles on a charge, so the Spring works best as a second car or for mainly local trips – with supremely low running costs if you can charge at home. Despite its truly diminutive dimensions, the Spring is relatively tall and boxy, so there's just enough room inside for passengers or cargo.

Take a look at used Dacia Spring cars or read our Dacia Spring review

Vauxhall Corsa

• One of the larger cars at this price point
• Decent standard equipment
• Good boot space

Most of the sub-£10,000 choices on this list are tiny city cars – great if you're buying as a single driver or couple, but heavily compromised if you have regular rear-seat passengers. Thankfully, prices for the current Vauxhall Corsa have now dropped below the £10,000 mark. You'll immediately spot the extra space compared to most cars on this list, with enough room for adults in both rows provided those in the back aren't well over six-foot tall. Accompanying the larger cabin is a decent 309-litre boot, which should happily handle most day-to-day tasks without needing to fold the rear bench down.

Shop used Vauxhall Corsa cars or read our Vauxhall Corsa review

Citroen C3

• Fairly spacious
• Soft ride quality
• Quirky cabin design

Like the Corsa, the Citroen C3 is a slightly larger hatchback that makes it onto this list of mostly tiny city cars. While the C3 is still very easy to slip into tight city parking spaces, you'll find a little more rear seat space, which will come in handy if you're carrying adults or bulky child seats in the second row. Compared to the Corsa, the Citroen is much softer sprung, which means it wobbles about a bit if you drive like a hooligan, but also means it handles potholes and speed bumps far more gracefully. Inside, there's Citroen's typically minimal but quirky cabin design, and rugged exterior details like the 'airbumps' that protect from parking scrapes.

See used Citroen C3 cars or read our Citroen C3 review

Nissan Leaf

• One of the most spacious cars at this budget
• Smooth electric powertrain
• Lots of standard equipment

The Nissan Leaf is a trailblazer in the EV world, but this second-generation model has always been overshadowed by newer and cleverer electric cars. The Leaf's mediocre range and not-a-fashionable-SUV bodystyle has always held it back from chart-topping success. However, this drawback plus steep first-year EV depreciation means the Leaf is a super-savvy purchase for a used-car shopper. Nearly new Leafs (Leaves?) quickly reach below our £10,000 budget, which puts them among the most spacious and well-equipped cars at this price point. Its 168-mile range isn't very impressive but should be enough if you cover mostly urban and suburban driving.

Browse used Nissan Leaf cars or read our Nissan Leaf review

Toyota Aygo

• More youthful looking than its Peugeot 108 and Citroen C1 cousins
• Easy to drive and park
• Toyota's 10-year service-activated warranty

If you expected Toyota's entry into the city car class to be a shrinking violet, think again. The Toyota Aygo has sharp, ninja-like styling to stand out despite its tiny stature, looking noticeably more aggressive than the Citroen C1 or Peugeot 108 with which it shares most of its parts. You'll find lots of cars in X-Play trim at this price point with air conditioning and a reversing camera, but we'd be tempted to hold out for an X-Trend car that gains alloy wheels and full climate control. All models include a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to keep you entertained and on the right track when driving.

If you're fine to stretch the budget a little, you can pick up examples of the newer Toyota Aygo X, too.

View used Toyota Aygo cars or read our Toyota Aygo review

Ford Ecosport

• Chunky SUV feel in a small package
• Affordable pricing
• Useful passenger space

If you want a fairly up-to-date used car that's also an SUV, your options are quite limited. The popularity of these 4x4-aping models means prices stay stubbornly high across the market. However, the Ford Ecosport is one of the exceptions to that rule. It's based on the old Ford Fiesta but substantially lifted giving a confidence-inspiring driving position and excellent visibility. Plus, the tall body means adult passengers will rarely find their heads scuffing the headliner, though they might still ask for a little more rear legroom. Boot space is also respectable, with some handy room above the parcel shelf, but the side-opening boot lid takes some getting used to.

Search used Ford Ecosport cars or read our Ford Ecosport review

Save thousands on a nearly new car

Search Motorpoint's huge choice of affordable nearly new and used cars under £10,000. For more budget-friendly options, see our picks for the best cars that are the cheapest to run.