Well, I've put down a deposit on a 2010 Fabia 1.2 2 HTP which has done 118,000 miles and is priced at £2245.
I rode to the dealership (pretty much just a gravel area on a farm that is next to another dealers/ workshop) although it wasn't until I was halfway there that I realised I'd not brought my driving shoes
but I found that if I just undid the zips and velcro on my riding boots, I had enough freedom of movement to control the car.
I had a bit of a chat with the dealer first, then took it for a test drive (he didn't even ask for my driving licence, but I was hardly likely to leave my bike there and vamoose with the car!)
It was a little tricky to drive to start with as the height of the brake pedal was much greater than what I'd got used to in the Corsa I'd learned on and, of course, the clutch feel was different, but I drove it around (mostly on 30 and 40 mph roads) for several miles.
The only real problem I had was on a single lane hump backed bridge with traffic lights at the top. I had to stop, so I figured I'd be able to practice a hill start, unfortunately I got the clutch/ accelerator balance wrong the first time and stalled it, much to the annoyance of the BMW driver behind me who decided beeping his horn was the correct way to help...
Anyway, the second time I got it right and then I tried some reversing in a car park which went pretty well and on the way back I got onto a 50mph road and tried out 5th gear.
From my (very limited!) experience, there weren't any nasty noises, although the Check Engine light was on, however I was told that it was an issue with a filter that they were going to fix. There was also a "clunk" when I tried a hot start, but (supposedly) that was a loose exhaust bracket which, again, would be fixed.
Once they say they've sort those out, I'm going to pay for an RAC inspection and the dealer has signed up to the AA Car Standards code. It will come with free AA cover that actually makes no difference to me as I have Any Vehicle RAC cover, but WTH! Also the MOT runs out in September, so they're going to do a new one for me.
The tyres are only about a year old and barely worn, so that's ok.
One thing I have discovered is that the Fabia needs the Timing Chain, Tensioner and Water Pump replaced every 60k miles, so I guess someone decided to flog it off before they needed to pay for between £500 and £800 of work, however, on further reflection, even including that, it still bring the car in at a maximum of £3,100 so that's well in budget for me.
It comes with a 3 month guarantee, so fingers crossed everything goes smoothly...