I'm looking to buy a car and I have no idea what to look for (outside of what I DON'T want - which is anything French and anything microscopic or similar looking to Suzuki Swift/Mini Cooper/Fiat 500/etc.).

The budget is some 13,000€ (can probably loan some cash if needed) - for comparison to Danish (over)prices, I can tell that a VW Passat/Audi A3 starts at 40,000€, Vauxhall/Opel Corsa at 17,500€ (5 doors) and Nissan Micra at 13,000€.

I'm mainly looking for something that's cheap to maintain, decent mileage and 5 doors. Nothing used - I'd rather pay for a smaller car. Extras would be AC and cruise control.

Any suggestions?

I was going to recommend fiat 500. Never mind.

Used to have a ford focus, was happy with it whilst i had it.

Audi A1 or A3, both awesome and reliable cars and should be around that price range.

Søren you can call one of my good friends - he's name is Lars and he is a mechanic he knows whats reasonable and whats not. - 23724911.

I'd like to see how you arrive at A3 being in "that price range"

It is if you buy second hand; can usually find them from 10-15k dependant on age. It wouldnt be brand new but you could easily find one from 2010 or 2011.

Ah, missed that. Why nothing used? You overpay for new cars and their value plummets within a year of buying so it's always much better to buy used unless you've got money to throw around.

Could always look at a Kia Picanto if you want brand new, they are nice cars and pretty reliable.

Buying a used car is always going to be a gamble. If you get a bad one it'll cost as much in repairs as it does in purchase. You also get more money from selling a new car after you used it.

Looking at an offer for a Kia Rio with diesel engine for the price of the equivalent gasoline model. They sell em with 7 year warranty, so a decent buy I reckon.