Work out what sort of car you need - hopefully it'll be very close to what you want. Don't let your heart drown out your head, as you'll probably only regret it.

The older the car, and higher the mileage, the more maintenance it'll need. Parts wear out, so don't expect the car to just keep working without regular servicing. The following should be factors in your purchase:

• What type of car and how much space do you need?
  
• Which makes more sense; petrol or diesel? If you cover over 10,000 miles per year, diesel is probably best.
  
• Establish what the insurance and servicing costs will be.
  
• Do you want an automatic or manual gearbox? Self-shifting gears can be a real bonus with today's traffic levels, but cars with an automatic gearbox are always more thirsty.
  

Don't necessarily be put off by an ex-company car, even if it has a high mileage. Not only should it have been cared for mechanically (you can check the bodywork and interior easily enough) but most of the miles it will have been running hot. There's nothing worse than a low-mileage car which has been run almost exclusively cold - it's a surefire way of wrecking an engine.
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