AA or RAC have services where they'll check over the car for you. I wouldn't worry too much about insurance, after 1 year of driving (and 1 years NCB) it should half.
sub 1k ford....ka or zetec fiesta vauxhall..astra....avoid corsa, they are usually sh*te at this money vag...excellent mk2 golf, good mk3 golf, good modern polo, mint(groan)mk1 polo, excellent seat ibiza, skoda favorit, seat cordoba fiat...excellent cinquecento, punto, even uno....good seicento....avoid bravo one of the only unreliable fiats i can think of renault...good older clio but i personally wouldnt.... citroen/peugeot...excellent ax, good 106, reasonable saxo
...or buy a proper car for 500 quid (saab, volvo, merc, bmw....)......
At 25 insurance shouldn't be too awful, but its probably best to stick at the lower end of the range. The Ford KA is probably your best bet (watch out for spark plugs etc corroding themselves into the engine) and the spares are dirt cheap. A Micra would also be good, but they are more expensive to fix when bits drop off. You should also find the fragile but extremely fun Fiat Seicento sporting at this money. VAG stuff tends to be a bit overpriced (unless you want a Felicia) and isn't quite as reliable as people tend to think.
Once you get a years motoring under your belt, and if you want to be a bit more adventurous, £1000 will buy all sorts of interesting stuff that you can put on dirt cheap classic insurance.
have you ever considered the volvo 480, superb quirky unvolvish looks, i have a soft spot for them, and considered getting one, but having had first hand experience on a 460, the realibity was an issue. But if you look after them, they will look after you. cheap as chips too!
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