Buy them before we do: second-hand picks for 11 January

Peugeot 306 GTi-6, £1995: With prices for nice 205 GTis off the scale, here’s an alternative. The GTi-6 was powered by a 165bhp 2.0-litre four-pot attached to a closer-ratio six-speed gearbox. Our find is a rustfree, 2000/W-reg Phase 3 model with 92,000 miles.

Vauxhall Calibra, £6995: It may have been a tarted-up Cavalier but we loved the Calibra, especially in turbo four-wheel-drive form. This one is the more down-to-earth but reliable 115bhp 2.0-litre 8v cooker. It’s an immaculate 1996 car; one female owner, full Vauxhall service history. 

Proton Savvy, £2695: To a certain buyer, the name would be reason enough to buy one, hinting, as it does, at good sense. This 2009 car has a 75bhp 1.2 with 38k miles, full service history, rear parking sensors and two female previous owners. What’s not to like?

Auction watch

Ford Mondeo Citrine: “Mondeo Latrine, more like,” said one wit on glimpsing this 141,000-mile, 1994-reg lime-green Mondy 2.0 Si Mk1, which fetched £2968. But titter ye not since the Citrine of 1994 was a rare and desirable special limited to 211 examples, each intended for the nation’s Ford dealers as a promotional tool. It sported the RS bodykit and the racy Si seat fabric. Still, even this wasn’t enough for one dealer group. Hendy Ford produced its own even more exclusive version, still in Citrine but with the Si’s 136bhp 2.0-litre engine tweaked to produce 150bhp. Only 10 were made. Yours, then, for £17,250. 

Get it while you can

Mini Cooper D, price new - £18,495, price now - £15,380: The confusion over diesel has claimed another scalp in the shape of oil-burning versions of the Mini hatchback. Now you can only buy new models powered by a choice of 1.5- or 2.0-litre petrol engines. That’s no hardship but at least diesel ones went further on a gallon and offered a tax advantage. They were EU6 engines, too, so safe from forthcoming inner-city emissions charges. It means you should strike now if you fancy a late-plate Mini diesel. We found a 2018/18-reg Mini Cooper D with 10 miles on the clock for £15,380 – a saving of almost £3000. 

Clash of the classifieds

Brief: Find me a £20,000 car that’s as much fun as a sports bike.

Caterham Seven Roadsport 140, £19,995: Bikers love something that accelerates like a ballistic missile, which this Caterham Seven Roadsport 140 will do because it weighs not much more than Danny DeVito and has a potent 140bhp 1.6-litre engine that reaches 62mph in less than five seconds. They also like a loud exhaust (for safety, obviously) and since it’s practically next to your right ear, you’ll definitely hear it. Plus, if you’re not careful, you’ll burn your leg on it on the way out, just as with all the best sports bikes. Max Adams