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Best way to gauge is to scour auto trader. Put in £4000-£6000 with the keyword 172 and see what's on offer. Buy from a dealer though cos you'll probably need the backup. My 182 is on its third trip back to the dealer to have work done under warranty and I've had it 4 months. Ghey.
I wouldn't buy from a dealer as the parts they would cover under warranty aren't likely to fail, most niggles are easily sorted by doing a quick search on this forum
Best bet is to buy a well cared for example from an honest seller who will tell you of every little niggle that has been rectified
5k will get you a 02 or 03 car that should have had its cambelt renewed due to it being 5 years old
Condition wise its just a matter of looking at a few examples
Spec wise they are all the same apart from 53 plate onwards come with cruise control
Just what I tried to do, unfortunately most owners I spoke with said "oh my mechanic says it's not due until 72k..." and wouldn't budge much on the price, which IMO made the 5k not really worth it as it would have needed £500 spent on it straight away
Thankfully, I found a 51 plate with 56k and belts done for £3800