You can have this entire fleet of 10 used cars for just over £10k

We thought we’d approach this week’s round-up differently, building an ideal 10-car fleet that not only has plenty of variety, but won’t cost a fortune. A pair of estates kick us off, starting with this high-mile Volvo V50. Equipped with a 178bhp five-pot, it's a solid workhorse option for just about anything.

The perfect opposite number to the V50; for those days when you want the extra luggage space but a bit more flavour. Current bidding for this example sits at just over a grand. The owner has been transparent about the issues too, most notably consisting of a small oil leak and non-functioning AC. Nothin’ a little elbow grease won’t sort.

Moving on to the luxury segment of our list, here’s a classy Rover 75. The exterior is admittedly rather dull, but how lovely is that interior? Cloth seats, lots of smooth wood trim and an automatic gearbox combine to offer a wonderfully wafty experience. And it has just 62k on the clock with a list price of under a grand. Serious bargain.

Or here’s something a bit more German. The W220-generation S-Class can be picked up for peanuts these days, and that’s despite it featuring air suspension and the world’s first radar-guided cruise control. Here’s a tidy example with a few scuffs - but you can get over that for an asking price of £1.5k, surely?

Moving on to the daily drivers, and, like the S-Class, another vital inclusion in any ultimate bargain fleet is the Fiesta. For more than half a century, the little Ford served fresh-faced teens and chiselled veterans alike, being a go-to choice for a dependable, economical runaround. Here’s a Mk5 in ‘ST-150’ form, with the highest bid at the time of writing just £620. So it’s this or a ticket to NYC - we know where we stand.

At the other end of the spectrum sits this big blue Disco 3. It’s a handsome old thing and comes with the torque-y TDV6 powertrain. In fact, there’s nearly 440lb ft of it, so it should have no problem acting as your main vehicle if you decide to sell up and move yourself, your floof and your fleet to the countryside.

We’ve ticked off estates, luxury cars and daily drivers, so next up is a pair of convertibles starting with this second-gen MX-5. We won’t try to hide it: the body needs a respray and the mechanism for the driver’s window needs replacing. But sort these two relatively minor foibles out, and your fleet gains a member of the most successful lineage of soft-tops ever.

The seller of this Z3 describes the engine as being ‘mint’, the gearbox as being ‘mint’ and the drive as being ‘mint’. So we’re assuming it’s mostly… mint? It looks it anyway, barring a bit of rust and discolouring on a few of the body panels. But the idea of having an MX-5 and a Z3 together for £2,000 is tempting, so we can forgive its blemishes and dream of redlining the Bimmer’s inline-four through the Surrey Hills.

Our final section has been reserved for classics, and one you’ll find in abundance is the MG Midget. Here is one of the cheapest on sale right now, priced as such because it’s a 1500 that has ticked over 120,000 miles and needs a new wiper and speedo. Apparently, the key has been lodged in the ignition for over three years now too, but what’s a veteran British convertible without a few quirks? 

This E39 is up for £999 and has no obvious issues. What on earth is the seller thinking of, letting it go for that price? Like many of the other cars on this list, the paint and body panels do need a bit of love, but it still looks factory-fresh inside and, according to the ad, the 2.8-litre straight-six still runs well. What more could you ask for in a budget modern classic? 

Using the Top Gear team’s considerable mathematical talents, we’ve figured out that all 10 of these cars’ values/highest bids total £10,540 at the time of writing. That’s a lot of different metal for the money - and certainly enough to keep you occupied for a few years. Thoughts on our list, readers?