People with money in their pocket rush into buying a car- simple, most dont have the time or dont want to wait for the right car to come up, also 90% of joe public dont want to travel, its just the 10% that are enthusiasts are perpared to go that bit further- after all a 100 miles trip worth say £40 in expenses is worth it to buy the car you want-
5k will get you a good solid car-- it will get you a 40k Artic blue, silver & you MAY get a black one on an 04 or 54 plate if you are lucky, if you want the premium colour of racing blue your probably a bit shy.....
At the end of the day there arent many bargains with 'generic' traders- especially as the giblits dont know about the cambelt changes- so you are left with a specialist trader ( Eg all vehicles, DS cars etc etc) or the gauntlet of a private sale-
If your buying private- know exactly the spec you want, go for low owners, low mileage- FSH-- budget belts £500 if they are not done ( preff not done because the right specialist can do it)
If you went through PH, AT, Top Marques, Ebay, & every other avenue for your spec & price theres probably around 10 cars that fit the bill- the rest are pisch.......
Best of luck
Steve