The obvious choice would be a second-hand Volkswagen Golf estate that shares many of the same mechanicals as the Audi A4 Avant, including the engine. Your budget of £9,000 would get you a 2001 ‘51’ plate VW Golf 1.9TDi SE 130bhp with about 20,000 miles on the clock. But we’d also suggest that you also take a look at the Nissan Primera estate. Nissan has an excellent track record on reliability and the Primera estate is a cracking car to drive. Second hand prices are reasonable and if you go for a top spec car like the SVE you also get all the toys like air conditioning, leather upholstery, alloys and satellite navigation. For around £9,000 you can get a 2002 ‘51’ registered 2.2Di SVE (126bhp) diesel estate with just 20,000 miles on the clock.

I am shortly moving out of London and will need two cars from a budget of approximately £20,000. We have already decided one will be an X-Trail Sport/SE+ for £12-13k. For low-ish mileage (6-8,000 miles per year), is it necessary to go for the diesel, which everyone says is great, or is the 2.0 petrol strong enough? The second car is trickier. I will need to do a 30-mile each-way motorway commute. I am leaning towards a new-ish Vectra that seems to give a lot for the money, but an older 5-Series also appeals and I'm open to other suggestions. Reliability is essential and insurance/running costs are a factor. Julian Dennison, London

The diesel engine is perfectly suited to the X-Trail but it doesn’t come cheap - you’ll pay around £1,500 more for a second hand diesel than the equivalent petrol model and with the low mileage that you are doing you are very unlikely to recoup that extra money you spend in the first place through fuel savings. The diesel has built a strong following amongst owners who tow heavy loads or cover high mileages and you may find a diesel is a little easier to re-sell when you get rid of it in a few years time. But our opinion is that the petrol version could well be the best one for you and you’ll certainly get more car for your money. Regarding the second car your dilemma is an increasingly common one: do you go for something newer and less exotic or something older that is potentially more unreliable? The good thing about older cars is that the rate of depreciation has slowed down so, apart from fuel and maintenance the car could be quite cheap to run. We’d suggest that if you do go down the BMW or Mercedes-Benz route you take your time and try to find a diesel version as this will greatly reduce your fuel bills and should prove to be very reliable. After all both are commonly used as taxis in Germany and they can cover 500,000km and more.

I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee that needs replacing. I can't decide between a new Jeep, an XC90, an X5 or the new Nissan Murano. Maybe I should just buy an MPV for the family, but I like comfort and performance (my other car is a Jaguar XKR). Help! Sam Wren, Farnham

A tempting line up of cars and each one has its virtues which, depending on what you need the car to do, may well refine your decision-making process. The Volvo XC90 has been a huge success and until recently the residual values have been terrific, but as stock has become more readily available we can expect to see values soften slightly. The XC90’s biggest virtue is its 7-seater capacity. However if you are not going to need those extra seats it may not be the one for you. The BMW X5 was the undisputed champion of the luxury 4x4 sector for so long but now the competition is catching up. The best model remains the quick and economical 3.0d Sport with an auto box. In terms of driving dynamics and build quality it still leads the field but make sure you don’t over-burden the car with lots of expensive extras as you won’t get the value back when it’s time to sell. Just make sure you buy one with the satellite navigation communication pack.

The Nissan Murano is perhaps the most interesting vehicle of the three and I personally love the styling. It’s also the most exclusive vehicle in terms of its rarity at the moment and it is never going to be a common site on the UK roads. The good news is that it comes with all kit and you won’t need to spend any more than the £29,995 list price. On the down side though you will find that the gorgeous 3.5 litre V6 engine is a bit on the juicy side and you’ll struggle to return 20mpg. Future values are also hard to predict as it’s a new segment of the market for Nissan and there is no track record of them doing well at this end of the market. So to summarise, buy the Volvo if you need seats, buy the BMW if you want a great drive or buy the Nissan if you want to be different.

I have £5,000 to spend on a car. I am considering a 1970s Jaguar/Daimler 4-litre Coupe, a 1990s Jaguar/Daimler 3.2 sport or 4.0 supercharged, or a Volvo 850 T5. I would be very grateful for some indication of running costs (I think I can guess which is the most expensive). I have driven luxury/sports cars before but never owned one. Name and address withheld

The good thing about all the cars you are considering is that the bulk of the depreciation has already taken place so the most you can ever lose is your £5,000 initial purchase price - not too bad when you consider that most of these cars lost that kind of money the day they left the dealers! The old Jaguar/Daimler coupe is a thing of real beauty and a car I always fancied after I saw John Stead in the New Avengers driving one, but you have to be realistic about a 30-year-old car now as most will need some fettling to stay in tip-top condition. The Jaguars of the Seventies suffer from a fair few rust problems and much of this can be working its way from the inside out. By the time you see it bubbling through it’s already too late. If I was driving less than 5,000 miles a year though I’d go for one and take advantage of the cheap classic car insurance. Just be prepared to keep spending money to keep it in good health.