As regular viewers will know, my last car is totally hosed. It's currently sitting down at a local garage waiting for the scrapyard to collect it. This cloud has a slightly shiny lining, however -- I get to buy a new car.

Actually, I say new car. I mean used car.

I plan to buy a used car from a dealership, rather than from a car supermarket or private ad, because I want the extra peace of mind.

So, this afternoon, I dragged Jen out to a couple of local dealerships to see roughly what I could get for my money.

First stop was the Peugeot dealership. They've got some quite nice cars, but I'm not sure about the styling on the 307. The 206 was nice, but I don't think it's big enough. I'm 6 foot tall and most of my driving's on the motorway -- visiting family and the like, so I want something comfortable. Obviously the car itself has got to be good on the motorway.

I was pleasantly surprised at what I could get for my money. I've got around £8000 of my savings to spend, and it turns out that I can get an '02 registered Peugeot with a reasonable selection of features for that money.

Any thoughts about the Peugeot? Am I right in thinking that it might be a bit small for me?

My other criterion is that it must be possible to get a snowboard in the boot (trunk). I ride a 164 wide, so with the bag I'd need about 175cm of space. Fortunately, this can be diagonal.

Next stop was the Ford dealership to look at the Ford Focus. I think I prefer the Focus -- it's a larger car, so I think it'll be more comfortable to drive. Unfortunately, it's more expensive. For my £8000, I can only get an X-registered car. Is it worth forking over slightly more cash and getting a 51-reg or 02-reg car? Should I pay the extra for a diesel? Admittedly, there didn't seem to be many diesels on the used lot.

Any other suggestions? We went along to the Renault dealer as well, but they were closed by the time we got there.

The Ford salesman is implying that there might be a bit of haggling involved. I hate haggling. Any good tips? How much might I be able to get knocked off the price for cash/banker's draft? Should I haggle for more options or a free warranty instead?

How easy is it to fit the empeg in the Focus? It's got a non-standard sized radio fitted. Can I easily get an adapter?

Actually, thinking about it, should I get a draft from the building society? Should I just pay by credit card and pay it off by cheque before the end of the month? What's likely to get me the best deal?

Any other cars around that I should consider? Are there any other questions I should be asking the salesman?

Anyway, I'm off for a test drive in on Monday. So many questions. I look forward to your suggestions.