A DSLR camera that would work with older lens?

I consider myself an amateur photographer, I currently own a Nikon D40 and I find AF-S lens to be a bit expensive. A just bought a Nikkor 35mm f1.8 for 180£. Looking at other AF-S lens I find them expensive to the point of inaccessible. I would be interested in some 10-24mm but even Tamron are expensive.

Now my question: if I was to get a new body what should I look for? Meaning some DSLR that would work with older lens which I'm to find cheap on ebay. Autofocus function is a must and if I had a choice I would stick with Nikon.

Thank you

Added (1). I've tried manual focus and it is a lot harder.a lot of hit and miss

Added (2). I'm not much interested in telephoto. So if i was to buy one all-round lens id would go for a cheap 18-200, and i know tamron suffers from softness.
i'm more interested in widelens, low light and fish eye lens.

Added (3). Thanks zack and photoace, answers getting better and better

You have to get a new Nikon body that has its own autofocus motor.

p.s. Why is autofocus a must? It's time to learn how to focus the lens if you have not done so.

It seems to me you're going to spend a lot more cash buying a new body and used lenses that you would if you bought one all around lens. I wouldn't buy Tamron though. I own one and it has issues that you don't want. That doesn't mean they all do but I no longer trust that brand.

The camera a step up from your D40 entry level camera is the D90.It uses all AF, AF-I and AF-S lenses in the auto-focus mode and if you do not mind manually focusing your shots like we did for decades, any Nikkor AF lens can be used on your D40

Manually focusing does NOT have to be hit and miss if you use the electronic rangefinder.

When the dot is black the image is out of focus.

When the dot flashes, you are close to being in focus

When the dot is a steady green, you are in sharp focus.

The new replacement for the D90 should be out soon, so if you wait a little, you should be able to find some good deals on the D90

The cheapest new body that has an AF motor is the D90, which runs ~$800. That's around $200 more than the Tokina 11-16mm wide lens.

You could get a new body, but if you are on a budget, focus on getting lenses. Wide angle lenses can be very easily manually foucsed. I shot my 12-24mm Tokina in Manual Focus mode all the time on my D60. They are so wide that almost nothing is ever out of focus. If my subject was over 2 meters away, I just had to keep it at infinity.

Also, keep an eye on the focus confirmation dot. That will help you get perfect focus from lenses that your D40 can't focus.

If you still want a body to AF your lenses, and you want to go cheap, look for a used D70, which will run you around $250.

D90 is the answer if you want to stay with Nikon.

Shame you didn't get a Sony. Every Minolta fit lens for the last 25 years works on the Sony and there are loads on eBay. Sony, Minolta, Sigma, Tamron, Tokina "A" mount lenses will auto-focus and meter correctly. Plus they will all be image stabilised as the Sony has sensor stabilisation. With Nikon and Canon you have to buy stabilised IS/VR lenses.

If you insist on Nikon, stay away from Nikon D60/D3000/D3100/D5000 bodies, they don't have AF motors either.

This is the sort of stuff the Nikon fan-boys don't tell you.