HOW MUCH TO PAY

£3500 - £5000

The bottom of the market is littered with cheap Cat C/D/N/S machines (some good, some terrible) and early cars, particularly with private sellers. Colour and spec doesn’t make much difference to price.

£5000 - £9000

Early cars in good condition or later machines with higher miles and lower specs. Red and Black Editions start at around £6k but pay £7000 for a decent example. This budget should secure any model, colour and spec.

£9000 - £13,000

ST-Line starts here (much less for cars on the register), and you’ll want a full-spec 2017 model. Mega-low-mileage cars from main dealers are at the top end but haggle hard because they need to shift stock before more used Mk8s hit showrooms.