As much as we all love beautiful, brand new cars, much of the time it’s not realistic for most of us to buy one. But that’s OK! There’s a whole wealth of used vehicles out there, and you can find some really good value cars if you know what to look for. Read on to find out the best cars you can find for under £10,000 which will really make a statement.

The Stylish Italian

Image credit – Wikipedia user Pava

Italian cars – no matter their reputation for build-quality – never fail to bring a warm fuzzy feeling to a car fan’s heart. Alfa Romeo is no exception to this rule. The Alfa brand has gone through a lot of changes lately, and looks to go through many more in the years to come. Looking back a few years, though, one car stands out as one of their best.

Even before the Brera sports coupe was released, it was winning awards for its amazing design (or at least the concept vehicle Alfa Romeo showed off was). The accredditations didn’t stop there, though. Throughout its lifespan it won multiple awards including Best Design from Autocar – and with a back end as well sculpted as the Brera, it’s well deserved!

If you want to make a statement that says “I love great design!” the Brera would be a great choice, and it definitely falls under the £10k budget! Just be careful – Alfa Romeo have a name for making beautiful cars, but their reliability is known for leaving something to be desired. But, really, who cares when you look this good?

View the current Alfa Romeos available on finance.

The British Racer

Image credit – Wikipedia user Anslaton

Lotus are another company who have seen better days. The brand is well known for one thing and one thing only – making tiny, lightweight cars which are immensely fun to drive.

Any Lotus is good for a sunday drive, and most can be picked up for a good price, but the 1.8l Elise fits our budget nicely, and can be picked up without too many miles on the clock! This is just a 2-door sports car so definitely not one for a family road trip, but the fun factor involved in driving one of these motors more than makes up for the lack of space.

If you want to tell the world you love the thrill of driving, a little Lotus is perfect, and will keep you wanting to pick up those keys just for one more drive.

To see a list of the Lotuses we have in our database, visit our vehicle search page.

The German Businessman

Out of the prestige German marques, BMW have made a name for themselves by offering reliable, beautifully designed and thrillingly engineered cars, and if you look in the right place you can pick one up for well under £10,000 – lovely!

The pick of the litter would be the 320d EfficientDynamics – a car you can pick up within our budget and with a host of different options to choose from. The diesel engine performs fantastically and for the businessman on the go, the car looks the part too – something to consider when rolling up with your golf clubs or meeting clients!

If you want everybody to know you like great quality, well designed products, the BMW 3 series is a great choice!

Find more BMW 3 Series at our vehicle search.

The Quirky French Number

Citroen have had somewhat of a resurgence in popularity lately – something I’m very thankful for, if only because the automotive world would be a much duller place without the two chevrons lighting up our roads! I personally owned a C3, which was a solid little car if not a little dull.

The DS3, however, could never be called dull. A revival of the DS brand which hails back to the amazing Citroen DS (itself named the most beautiful car of all time by Classic and Sports Car magazine), the DS3 is a quirky supermini which has won awards and the hearts of drivers everywhere.

Available in bright colours and all the mod-cons its millenial target customers might expect, this car is made to turn heads, and feel great when doing so.

What’s the best part? Because Citroen love you all so much, they price their cars very competitively when they’re new. What this means is the used car market has plenty of fantastic low-mileage models available for much cheaper than its competition (such as the Mini or the Audi A1) and you’re guaranteed a great deal that fits well within our £10k budget. If you want a stylish, fashion-conscious and kind of crazy little car, the DS3 is the one for you.

Find more Citroen DS3’s in our vehicle search.

The Luxurious Gentleman

If you prefer comfort over anything else, Jaguar have offered some great cars. The British (but technically Indian) manufacturer has made a reputation for comfort whilst not giving up on great performance. What’s more, you can find a relatively modern model within the £10k budget if you sacrifice a low mileage to do so.

Within this price range, you can pick up a gorgeous-looking Jaguar XF with a 2.7l engine and under 90,000 miles if you know where to look. In exchange for this, you can expect some models to come with navigation, bluetooth and other fun extras.

The only thing to look out for here is reliability. As they are generally only found with a relatively high mileage within our £10k budget, it’s worth getting a mechanic to take a look over any car you find. If you choose a good one though, you’ll be cruising down the motorway in comfort and regal style!

Has the Jaguar caught your eye? See what we’ve got on our database here. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, don’t worry. Give us a call and we will find what you need!

Whether you like it or not, your car says a lot about who you are, so why not scream it as loud as you can? Can you think of any other statement cars in our £10,000 budget? Let us know on the comments or on our Facebook page. If you’d like to get any one of these cars, apply for car finance here and you could drive away an amazing, head-turning motor very soon!