I'm with Damo.
Buy something old & fun, especially if you have a local garage mechanic that you know and trust.
2K will buy you something real nice if you go older, but will take some good hunting to get something good.
It'll need some looking after by your local man (who will like it 'cos he can fix it) but the savings overall, including fuel & insurance, will be massive compared to shelling out 10K to buy the thing.
306 GTI-6 On Autotrader.
If I needed a car I'd buy that, nice plate on it too.