Reliable Car (Version 2!)

[anaxcrosswords]

So I’m pretty much set on buying a Ford Focus TDCi (diesel) on a ’12 plate. It fits my budget of about £9k (for which I can get a car with about 40k on the clock), has road tax of £20, good MPG, well-equipped, reliable and – being Ford – it’s pretty easy/cheap to fix problems.
But I ‘decided’ on this a couple of months ago and haven’t spent much time looking at alternatives. If you were a dealer with a range of cars suiting those criteria, what would you recommend?

[Graham-W]

Don't dismiss the Skoda Fabia. Here's one a year younger than the Ford and includes all the bells and whistles.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201403192645083/sort/default/make/SKODA/model/FABIA/postcode/yo85jd/radius/100/price-to/9000/fuel-type/diesel/price-from/7500/engine-size-cars/1-4l_to_1-6l/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/page/2/advert-type/featured-listing/dealer/561945/usedcars?logcode=flp

[anaxcrosswords]

Thanks Graham. It's not the prettiest thing in the world but that's a lot of car for the money. Unfortunately, after clicking the thumbnail for the interior photo the website has stopped loading so I can't check it out further. My PC/broadband is useless!

[Fitzer]

Do you do the miles/runs that a modern diesel needs to keep in good nick, just had this conversation at work and read up on the snags here http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/fuels-and-environment/diesel-particulate-filters.html

[BlueToffee]

Agree with Fitzer, no good buying a deiesel if you're only commuting, they need good long runs and an average of at least 15k a year.

Skoda, Seat and VW all come from the same stable, then there's Hyundai i10/i20, they have a 7 year warranty, so many choices.

It's a personal thing, but we're hooked on VW's.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide on please.

[anaxcrosswords]

VW Golf Bluemotion is looking a good bet, too, although I'll have to look into costs of parts/servicing - am I right in thinking they're on the expensive side?
Wasn't aware of the DPF issue and it's rather surprising. Thankfully I don't do stop-start commuting - the car gets very little use during the week (I work from home) but tends to get a good weekend run.