Personally I would go for a 6 month lease at lingscars or somewhere similar, at least you know you will get rid of the car at the right time. I think you will find you get ripped off by the dealer (dont we all, ......the barstewards). You could end up having to accept £15k or less for the 08 ed 30 from a dealer....nothing would surprise me more.
Though having browsed some lovely MK2s for £1500 would also suggest this is a real option, and you will be able to get ALL your money back at the end of the time (for the right car of course).