Aston Martin DB9, £29,950: You could argue a DB9 looks at its best in the classifieds, where it’s someone else’s problem. Still, it does get you dreaming, especially one like the 66,000-mile, 2005/05-reg car we found in black, shot against an austere Edinburgh terrace. Equipment includes a Linn sound system, xenon headlights and rear parking assistance.  All the signs of a good purchase are here: factory-spec Bridgestone Potenzas all-round, main dealer service mileages laid bare for examination and a recent service ensuring there should be no horrors waiting in the wings.  It costs less than £30,000 but that’s just the start. You’ll need to budget at least £1000 a year for servicing and other expenses, and that’s before road tax. It would be sensible to maintain its main dealer service record, but we’d understand if you went in favour of a specialist who prefers to repair rather than replace.  So what to look for? Check the weepage holes on the sides of the cylinder blocks that are a clue to cylinder liner corrosion. Examine the timing cover seal and the gearbox oil cooler system for oil weeps. Then listen for noisy valve gear from cold and when warm. Check the condition of the coil packs: if they’re faulty, the engine may misfire or feel hesitant.  The DB9 is a heavy car so on the test drive feel for tired suspension bushes and worn springs. This example is an automatic, so check changes are smooth (the rare manual ’box eats clutches). Don’t gloss over worn leather trim – it’s expensive to repair – and check the electric windows work.  We’re confident our find is a good ’un, but you can never be too careful.  Actually, tempting though this example of a 1980s hot hatch is (50,000 miles, one lady owner), you’re welcome to it at this money. It’s had a thorough mechanical overhaul and a lick of new paint. Do let us know how you get on with it. It’ll be expensive to run but, with just one owner and a full book of service stamps, this Cayenne Turbo is too good to ignore. We’d check the coolant pipes and coil packs, propshaft centre bearing and front wishbones, and that all the toys work. Autocar ran an early XF diesel and what a wonderful motor it was, so we were drawn to this 2008 2.7 TD Premium Luxury. It’s done 132,000 miles but it has a full Jaguar service history and there are no advisories on its latest MOT. Mid-life chassis tweaks gave the S Coupé the handling finesse earlier versions lacked. This 2007/07 example has done 70,000 miles. The service history looks a little patchy but these are tough and simple old things, so we’re not too concerned.  Auction watch With a 215bhp 3.2 V6, subtle bodykit and understated saloon body, this Omega MV6 auto is the definition of a Q-car. It romped home at auction, making £4440 on the hammer. The 2001-reg motor had 72,000 miles and belonged to the boss of a Vauxhall dealership, so had enjoyed five-star treatment. Upgrades included an Irmscher grille and a Powerflow exhaust. As a special incentive on the day, the boss threw in its Y11 VXL registration number. The car’s sure to attract attention at club meets, where enthusiasts earnestly debate the Omega’s comparison with rival Beemers and Mercs.  Get it while you can If you love small cars, Autocar’s recent story on their possible extinction is a wake-up call for those interested in models such as the Volkswagen Up GTI. When it first landed last year, there was a queue around the block. You’ll still have a bit of a wait, but why bother when you can get your hands on a nearly new one now and save a pretty sum in the process? One like the 2018/68-reg example we found. It’s an ex-demonstrator with 1800 miles, so fingers crossed it hasn’t been thrashed too much.  Clash of the classifieds Brief: Find me a 4WD cross-country/ Allroad-style estate for £8000. Volvo was one of the first to offer a jacked-up estate car (the other being Audi) and the brand is well known for good load-luggers – ergo, a Volvo XC70 makes a whole lot of sense. The car I’ve found is a luxurious SE model with the obligatory heated seats, along with Volvo’s charismatic five-cylinder 2.4-litre D5 engine – which has more than a passing resemblance, sound-wise at least, to an old Audi Quattro. This one has done only 70,000 miles since it was new in 2008 and it has a full service history, all for just £7495. Max Adams In matters of taste, there is no argument; and in matters of off-roading, everyone doffs their cap to a Subaru. This barely used 2011 Outback is the supreme all-rounder. It’s built so well it’ll never go wrong, and its four-wheel-drive capabilities are such that it can tow horseboxes, traverse streams, plough across fields and take the family to Cap d’Antibes on holiday without ever missing a parish quiz night or a school run or a farmers’ ball. That flat-four diesel will cover huge distances, too, while the luxurious interior will impress even the Chipping Norton
Origin: Buy them before we do: second-hand picks for 26 April

Nissan 350Z, £6499: The Nissan 350Z caused a real stir on its launch back in 2003.  Arriving first as a coupé, it was powered by a 276bhp 3.5-litre V6. From 2005, the year the convertible landed, the engine was uprated to 296bhp, although this more powerful motor was a tad troublesome, so in 2007 a revised version, producing 308bhp and codenamed HR, arrived to save the day. You can spot its presence by a power bulge in the bonnet. By this time, standard equipment included Rays lightweight alloys, bi-xenon headlights and Bluetooth.  We saw a 2008/58-reg HR convertible GT with 65,000 miles and full Nissan history advertised for £6499. Finished in Midnight Blue metallic with black leather it looks a real eyeful. It’s had a lightened flywheel fitted, too, which is no bad thing since original dual-mass items can fail expensively at 60,000 miles.  If we were serious, we’d check around the oil filler neck for fresh spillages: it’s a sign the engine is using oil, which they can do. We’d peer under the rear end, too, looking for corrosion on the ‘W’ brace.  On the test drive, try to detect play in the diff mounting bushes. The suspension bushes are fragile so we’d expect some looseness and possibly knocking. Most folk upgrade to tougher poly ones. Our example looks like a cracker, though, and given its history it’d be a surprise if it has subprime tyres, but even so, check it’s wearing OE Bridgestones or similar premium rubber.  After the run let it idle for some time, checking to see if the fan cuts in (they pack up at around 80,000 miles). On a cold day, the hood can take an age to fold away. MG Fs and TFs are bargains now, like this 50k-mile, one-owner 2004/53- reg TF Sunstorm with full history. It’s had a new head gasket and cambelt and a hardtop is included. TFs had coil springs in place of the F’s Hydragas set-up. Check for uneven shutlines. Optional extras lose value quicker than the car they’re fitted to, so fully loaded used cars, like this 103k-mile 2004/04 Maybach, are a lot of fun. Its electrically operated partition and panoramic glass roof cost nigh-on £30k new; here they’re thrown in free.  This rare Punto 1.9 JTD diesel is the sporty HGT. Shame it’s not the 1.8 130bhp petrol HGT, but still, we’ll take its 192lb ft and sub 10-second 0-62mph time. It has full history and, says the seller in time-honoured fashion, ‘looks and drives superb’.  BMW’s now defunct saloon-cum-coupé-cum-SUV oddball never caught on, so it’s now a bargain. This one has done 100,000 miles but it’s got the gung-ho 3.0-litre diesel engine under the bonnet with almost 400lb ft of stump-pulling grunt. Auction watch This 1996 Volkswagen Corrado with 113,000 miles and only one owner since being sold as a nearly new ex-demo made £6270 on the block. It had a heated leather interior, refurbished Speedline alloys and a good history. The bid looks a little strong given that it probably needs a thorough overhaul, but good, unmodified Corrados are rare. Tempted? Check the timing chain. They can let go at around 100k and it’s an engine-out job to replace. Headlights are hard to source and the heater matrix can be troublesome (a tell-tale sign is a damp carpet). Get it while you can It’s change-time for the Mercedes A-Class and its various spin-offs. First to arrive was the hatch and now there’s a new CLA coupé, although you can still get the old one with around £3500 off list price. Later this year the CLA Shooting Brake arrives. Time, then, to ponder a deal on a nearly new current model while they’re being cleared out. We found a zero-mile 2019/68-reg 180 AMG Line Edition for £22,980 – a saving of more than £5000 off list price. Clash of the classifieds Brief: Find me a quick Mini with a reasonable mileage and a solid service history for £6000. Specialist tuning companies have long been associated with the Mini, but the best known of all is John Cooper, named after the legendary racing ace. This is a fully factory-backed version with the R56-generation Mini and gets engine and exhaust mods that turn the wick up to 208bhp, better brakes and an electronic differential. This 2008 example is slightly under budget and only has 65k miles on it. There are no advisories listed on the MOT check, so it should be in pretty fine order, too. Max Adams For some very personal and, I admit, totally irrational reason, I’ve always disliked the BMW Mini. This has nothing to do with my being a huge fan of the Issigonis Mini, by the way, because I wasn’t keen on that either. So before I make myself very unpopular, let me fulfil the brief by offering up this 2012 Coupé version, a car that shares all the normal hatch’s qualities but is at least unusual to look at and quite rare. It’s quick enough, plus it has a low mileage and a full service history. Mark Pearson Verdict: Power aplenty, an electronic diff to keep me out of hedgerows and that evocative JCW association to bore my mates with. Max’s Mini
Origin: Buy them before we do: second-hand picks for 19 April