Six new cars for under £6000 - Introduction

Unwilling or unable to spend lots of cash on a new car? Then you're probably considering buying used, and often that's the right decision.

However, if you're prepared to shop around, there are plenty of new cars on the market for under £6000 - some even cost less than £5000.

So why buy new? Well, there's very little you'll have to pay for if anything goes wrong, because your car is covered by the manufacturer's warranty, and it will settle the bills for all but 'wear and tear' components, such as tyres and brake pads. That's a big weight off your mind.

If you buy used, chances are your car will have little or no warranty from the manufacturer, and that means you'll foot the bill if something goes wrong.

Manufacturer warranties differ in length, but the minimum you should expect is three years' cover, limited to 60,000 miles.

Also, when buying new, there'll be no nasty surprises such as accident damage or signs of abuse, so you don't have to check out the car's history.

The downsides of buying new on a budget are that you won't get anything very big or flashy.

However, if you're looking for hassle-free motoring for years to come and don't need much space, we've come up with six cars for under £6000.