Buying my first car

[itgirlinuk]

I am in the process of buying my first car. I have a budget of £4000 and I need an automatic. I could increase the budget by £1000, but only if the car is a new car / nearly new car. I am not asking for the moon, just a nice runaround, a small hatchback is all I need. Something like a Corsa or C2 or Clio (Don't know why it all starts with a C :) )

I considered car leasing, but some views on a different posting, suggest that I buy my car outright.

So, I am now confused. A new car, a leased car, a nearly new car or a used car?? Which one??

Can someone please please help??? I need my car urgently and dont know which line of purchase to pursue. :(

[mrcow]

Hi

Please can you just clarify.....when you say that your budget is £4k, do you mean that you have £4k cash to spend on this car, as your post also talks about finance?

Also within that £4k, have you included insurance and tax?

[jjames]

I would certainly buy rather than lease -- 2nd hand values have taken a pounding recently and there are bargains to be had.

I'd steer away from the Clio and C2 and look at the likes of the Seat Ibiza, Toyota Yaris, Nissan Micra, VW Polo, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Getz or Skoda Fabia. The Getz in particular represents excellent value for money as you can buy a nearly-new (brand new but pre-registered) one from a dealer for about £5000. It comes with a 5-year warranty as well.

For £4000 you should be able to get a very good 2-3 year old car which should give excellent service.

As for finance, a straight £4000 loan from an internet bank is the best option, you should be able to get it at around 7%.

[ArsenalFC]

I would suggest buy. They is no need to buy a brand new car unless absolutely necessary as older car are value for money, half their price in 3 years normally.

The clio isn't a bad car, got 4 stars out of 5 from parkers. I agreed that the yaris and polo should be look into, along with the micra, skoda and fiesta for value, although the yaris and polo looks better than others in my opinion.

The yaris is the best car for reliability, but some people may not like the look. I am currently looking at the polo from 2002 with the round lights for someone, she prefers the polo to the looks of the yaris. Each to their own on this one.

[itgirlinuk]

Thanks for your views. To clarify few things, I have £4000 to spend on the car and I am not going to take out finance. And the £4000 is for the car and I have set aside money for insurance. Don't know where the tax is going to come from!!! Oh dear! :-(

I like the Yaris and Polo, but as I am looking for an automatic, I wont get a Polo for that price. This is based on what cars are on sale right now on autotrader.

Or do the dealers negotiate on price? I dont know what I have to do to be able to buy a £5000 car for £4000. Is this possible at all?

Sorry about all these questions...I have never done this before and I am worried about the whole process.

[vansboy]

Hi Again!

The best place for a small automatic, is from auction, within the Motability Fleet section. These are, generally, low, or very low mileage cars, operated by Motability (the UK's largest motor leae fleet) & driven by people who fund the car, with their mobility (disability) payments.

Obviously, I wouldn't expect a first time buyer, to have lots of info on auctions, BUT... is there a local repair garage, that you know - or could be recommended to you. Perhaps they would go to auction with you, to give the car a once over (not that that is the easiest thing to do in auction).

They would be gaining a new customer & you'd need to pay for their time, looking at the car for you.

Have you thought of Astra? You'd certainly be into Y/51 reg in Motability. A 1.6 club gets air con, elecric windows, & reasonable trim at your budget.

Where are you in the country, I'll let you know of the nearest auction centres holding these type of sales.

VB

[jjames]

5k car for 4k? Unlikely. Rule of thumb is to make an offer 20% below the asking price, and you'll probably get the car for 10% below, but a lot depends on the dealer.

So £500 off is probably about as much as you can expect on a £5000 car.

[zacspeed]

1. Buy nearly new - let some other sucker take the depreciation!!!
2. Buy a Honda.

:D

[ArsenalFC]

With the polo it would depend on the year and spec you want from the car. Year 2000-2002 mk3 you can certainly buy with your budget. However if you want the newer shape from 2002 mk4 it may cost you a little more, being an auto is rarer to find in a small car, also cost a little more.

I would say, set aside upto £4500 for the car you want, maybe polo from 2002 mk4. Have patient and lookout for the ads on a regular basis, which I think you're already doing. Ebay auction is another place you can look into, the majority of the time you can get car cheaper than in the autotrader. For example there was a new shape polo 2002 silver, 55k miles and no one bid on it @£4000. The person then advertise in autotrader for £4700. I would recommend ebay, but you should always ask/take someone who knows a little about car to view or test drive them.

Like I say, i am currently on the lookout to get the polo with air con on behalf of someone. She would of got that £4000 polo had I not advise her against it as it had no air con. Patient is very important, wait for a price that you can afford. There will be plenty of cars up for sale as the summer is just around the corner.

Goodluck with the hunt. :)

[jjames]

1. Buy nearly new - let some other sucker take the depreciation!!!
2. Buy a Honda.

:D

Buying a Honda is a good idea, but there are cheaper alternatives.

My second car is a 12-year-old Nissan. Just one exhaust back-box and a battery needed in 5 years, and no sign that it's going to let go any time soon -- still a first-turn starter in the worst of weather and an almost silent engine. Very, very solid cars, and cheap too :)

I bought a Hyundai last time around because they're sooooo cheap second-hand, had that 30 months no with not a hiccup, but I think I'll go back to Japanese next time, I dunno they just feel more solid somehow, even though the Hyundai seems to be indestructible.

[CrazyChemist]

My second car is a 12-year-old Nissan. Just one exhaust back-box and a battery needed in 5 years, and no sign that it's going to let go any time soon -- still a first-turn starter in the worst of weather and an almost silent engine. Very, very solid cars, and cheap too :)


I wish I could say the same for our Almera :(

I won't be buying Nissan again because their customer service is rubbish. They just flog me off to the dealer all the time and the dealer refuses to do anything on the car.

DON'T BUY NISSAN!!!

[jjames]

So what's wrong with it?

Could this be the Renault factor starting to kick in I wonder?

[itgirlinuk]

I dont have a lot of time, I want one fairly soon. And I need it for the summer anyway, to drive around.

I will look at ebay. I went off it, as some of the specs too good for the price. But if you say its cheaper than autotrader, then that makes sens :)

[highlighter]

Hi itgirlinuk,

Have you considered a Ford Ka? You could prob get a relatively new reg, also quite a popular car so parts would be cheap aswell as insurance and maybe tax.

Have only skimmed the thread so apologies if its been mentioned before.

Good luck with your car hunting :beer:

[jjames]

The Ka is great new as you can get them for £5k, keep for a year and sell for £4.5.

Not so brilliant nearly new for exactly the same reason ;)

Nice little cars. Just watch out for rust on the sills, Kas are bad for it.

[itgirlinuk]

I don't like the shape of a KA. Or am I being too picky, given that beggars can't be choosers?? ;)

[highlighter]

I know what you mean about the shape of them but i think they are a good car that suit girls (or am i being wierd lol).

If you get a nice metallic colour with matching bumpers etc (not the standard black) then they look really good imo.

Honest i dont work for Ford!! lol

[jjames]

You buy a car to drive, not to look at ;)

[DaisyNelson]

Just a thought, does the insurance group number have a bearing on the type of car you want? Do you live in a part of the country that attracts higher premiums? Have you got a garage or off road parking. Parking on the street may bump up your premiums.

[ArsenalFC]

You have a decent budget itgirl. The problem will be if you rush into getting a car straight away, this usually means you'll be paying a little too much just to get the first car you'd seen for sale.

Ford Ka looks bad. Get the car you are looking for, you have enough of a budget to do so. But if you want a car asap and not wanting to pay over the odds then I'll suggest looking at the yaris and clio along with the polo, this gives you more choice. Go for a car that you'll be happy with, so forgot what others say.

Not sure what you mean when you say ebay prices are too good for spec. The auction have a timescale, the current price you see will not be the price it'll go for. Usually the real price will happen in the last 30 mins before the auction ends when people really starts bidding. But this may be beyond you, unless someone are able to help you. I bought myself a car 3 months ago on ebay I paid £2000 for the car, got it about £500 - £700 cheaper than in the ads.

Of course I test drove the car to make sure everything was working as described. I'd of walk away if their were faults which were not described. Anyway can you not enlist the help of someone who knows a little about cars and current prices? That'll be your best bet to find a car with a suitable price.

[Sheel]

My younger daughter got her first car , a pre-reg Ford Ka 1.3 Style (http://www.caranddriving.com/exchange/ncrt_c.asp?id=!!17A97DB8-E591-11D5-A67F-00036D19AF81}&maker=FORD) recently and I think it's the ideal car for her. It's in a low insurance category , cheap to run and maintain and it's actually very nice to drive. I use it occasionally and it's very nippy and fun to drive http://img.moneysavingexpert.com/icons/icon6.gif

[vansboy]

You won't find a Ka auto.

Best ry some showrooms on a Saturday, look at as many as you can, with models you'd consider....

THEN... get them to source a demonstrator car for you, might take a couple of days....

THEN... have a PROPER test drive, booked in advance, so you're not rushing around,. Allow as long as you can in the drive - certainly minimum of an hour,(Vauxhall offering 3 DAYS currently!!) to see how it feels.Don't be bullied by any sales talk - you're the customer, walk away 'till you've had thinking time ...

THEN...once you've a shortlist, ask to try the car again, before you choose, what to go for...

THEN...it's up to you. Get the dealers to come up with their offer & take it from there.

& take someone with you, each time, ANYONE, then they'll make their comments too.

Not easy is it!!??

VB

[Sheel]

You won't find a Ka auto.

Oops! sorry ,forgot you wanted an auto http://img.moneysavingexpert.com/icons/icon11.gif

[itgirlinuk]

I went car hunting last weekend with my boyfriend (i did take someone with me, even though he does not know a lot about cars!!)

I found 3 cars I liked:

1. A Nissan Micra, P reg (10 years old), low mileage for £1700 (price negotiable). complete service history, 1 owner, comes with 3 months guarantee.

2. A VW POLO, P reg, 51K miles and 2 owners and some lost service history (doesn't sound great) and comes with 6 months Auto protect guarantee for £2900

3. A Corsa, 2000 V reg, 32K miles, 2 owners and some lost service history (not great!) and comes with 6 months Auto protect guarantee for £3900

I am leaning towards the Micra, as its cheap to buy and insure (yes, cheap insurance is important to me and I do have off-street parking). But I am not sure whether I should buy a 10 year old or a 5 year old car. Isn't the mileage more important than the age of the car?

[craigeybabe]

I just bought a Hyudai Getz 1.3 CDX pre-registered so it was a lot cheaper than a new car. It is a fab small car absolutely packed with equipment. Depending what you use the car for, I would highly recommend it.

Don't know what your financial situation is but I paid for half of the car up front and got the dealer to give me 0% finance on the on the other half to be paid for over two years.

If you are in full time work then it may be worth your while considering something like this and getting a nearly new car. Hyundai has a 5 year warranty so you know the car is covered for at least that period of time and they are very reliable.

I used to own a Nissan as well and they are extremely reliable also.

Bottom line is don't buy new and go for a company who stand behind their cars with a robust warranty for at least three years.

Feel free to PM me with any questions

[ArsenalFC]

I would recommend the micra. Im in the process of hunting for one myself to use for work and I want automatic too :) . It is cheap to buy, insure and very reliable. The fact it is 10 years old isn't a problem. I have seen one on autotrader for £1200, 1997 1.3slx auto with 66k miles (private seller is in london). Try and get a 1996 model onwards as they come with driver's airbag as standard. Lower the mileage is always better and should have some sort of service records. This will indicate whether the car has been looked after. Always beware of cars that dont have any service records as it could have been neglected and return big bills for u.

All micras comes in 16v engine and have timing chain instead of the belt, it means this will not need replacing for the life of the engine. Saving £200-£300 compare to other cars. Although I have heard the chain do break aswell! I haven't found any decent deals for the micra with automatic yet, so may consider getting a manual, it would be cheaper and gives me more choice.

The micra maybe the least best looking of the small car range, but it is the best choice if you are on a budget. So if looks isn't an issue then get a micra. Goodluck with it.

[vansboy]

Hi Again!!

Glad you've looked at several DIFFERENT makes, always best action !!

At this price range, better to worry about the cars general condition & way it drives, rather than be too concerned about age/miles. A low mileage car, thats done only a few school runs, will have more wear on the mechanical bits, than one cruising the motorway at 70mph all day!

& as your first car, the budget end of the market, can show up some VERY useable vehicles.

Then, when you're ready to trade up, you might even have something worth a few £$£ towards deposit - if it's a 'lemon', you'll not have spent out toooooooooo much, anyway!!


Do make sure you READ the V5(log book). Watch for first owner (especially with the Corsa, or if you wanted Rover 100) being a business sounding name. EVERY chance it was a driving school!!

If you let us know who the owner is, I'll do my best to confirm it for you.

VB

[jjames]

As a general rule, far Eastern cars tend to be more reliable than European ones -- this includes Korean, so the Getz is an excellent buy and will no doubt be one of the great used bargains of the next 10 years or so.

The only thing I'd say about the Micra is the low miles. As has been said, very low mileage is just as bad for an older car as very high mileage. The little Nissan engines are some of the most reliable and durable ever built, and will run to mileages unheard of on a lot of competitors' cars. But they *need* to be worked, and regularly serviced, or they can get sludged up leading to camchain failure. It's rare, but it does happen.

If the engine is quiet, it shouldn't be a problem, but if that chain is rattling, look for another one, there are plenty about. A well maintained Nissan Micra engine should be almost silent at idle when warm, and most of them pretty much are. A few minor squeaks and rattles on startup are common at 10 years old though.

Generally though the Micra comes highly recommended. There are few more reliable cars on the road, they last very well (look at the number of 15-year-old box-shape Micras still on the road!) and the parts are easy to come by and inexpensive on the whole.

As has been mentioned as well, be very careful not to get an ex-driving school car. Superminis are the cars most often used by driving instructors, and Corsas and Micras are two of the most common models chosen. The driving school cars can have expensive problems with transmissions and suspension/steering, although this is less of an issue with automatics. The problem with autos is they tend to be bought by granny who drives them to Morrisons and back twice a week, and although they may look pristine they've never been warmed up, probably haven't been serviced every year and there are things elderly drivers do which are not ideal for a car. Plus they'll never have had an "Italian tune-up" in their lives, essential for any car :)

[itgirlinuk]

Thank you all, for all your valuable inputs. I am getting closer to my decision.

I was told by the trader that Micra was owned by a lady and was bought and sold to the trader under her husband's name. I did see her name on the registration too. And they have the log book.

So does this mean, they used it for the school run and is that bad? And is £1700 a good price for the car? I was told they will negotiate on the price. So I am going to ask for £1200 for it and work my way upwards. Is that a good idea?

And does it matter that I have looked at only 1 10 year old micra before I buy it? Should I walk around for other traders?

[vansboy]

Look at as many as you can - but it'll be a bit like buying shoes - if you're not careful, you'll forget which you liked!!

Whatever 10year old car you buy, it'll be towards the end of it's life.

You only need 1 BIG problem & it'll not be worth fixing, in relation to the cars value.

Think you REALLY need someone with a bit of knoledge, to go with you!!

VB

[ArsenalFC]

£1700 for that car is too much, you'll get a lower price by buying it from a private seller. Look into a few other micras too as there are some about even with automatic, the trader's one will not sell overnight so u can always go back to them.

Generally speaking school run cars (short trips) are not good for the engine, but the micras have a very reliable engine. Get one with some service records. The £1200 one i saw on autotrader now has a price changed to £1500, strange, maybe the seller mis-price at first. Take a look on www.autotrader.co.uk , there are a few micra auto about with your price range and as always, u can negoiate on price.

As most have said, DO take someone with knowledge with u everytime.

[itgirlinuk]

OK. Let me try and find someone with good knowledge about cars. Trouble is lot of my friends in London dont drive and no one knows a lot about it. :(

And let me look at private sellers too.

And is £4000 too much for 2000 V Reg Corsa then? I am not happy paying that kind of money for a 5-year old, but all traders have marked it up to the same price. Maybe they check autotrader before pricing!!! ;)

[ArsenalFC]

I would advise against getting a corsa, they are not as good as a polo or a yaris. The yaris is the one u should go for if spending £4000. Otherwise the micra is a very good choice.

[burbs]

Hi

I have not been able to read the whole thread, not enough time but i agree with ArsenalFC on the whole. I sell cars for a living and i would not touch a Corsa with yours if you know what i mean. They are awful cars and for some reason they go at stupidly high prices.

You say you have £4000 and want an automatic in your OP, have you looked into Motobility auctions, very good choice here and low prices as well.

I would not look at Micras either, i think they are awful looking cars and if i was spending 4 grand on a car i would not dream of looking for a Micra.

[ArsenalFC]

I would never advise anyone to spend £4k on a micra cos they do look bad to part with that much cash. She was looking at the micra as a budget option, spending <£2k. So I advise her on that car if she doesn't mind that it does not look good in bubble shape.

£4000 go for yaris/polo. I would personally get the yaris as the car is very good, the polo is also nice looking and good. This will be down to you, which style you like.

[burbs]

I guessed that you was not advising her to spend £4000 on a Micra mate, i was just saying that if i did have £4000 to spend on a car i would rather spend and not even look at the Micra - true its going to cost you half of your budget but it is an awful car and ugly as you like. Still, each to their own.

[jjames]

If you buy a car based on what it looks like you are asking to be bitten, and bitten hard.

Try asking the thousands who bought a Renault Laguna then complained to JD Power about all the breakdowns.

You buy a Micra with your head, because it is cheap to run and very unlikely to break.

Can I ask, what your definition of a good car is? Please don't say Peugeot, Fiat, Citroen or Renault......

[itgirlinuk]

Definition of a good car for me is easy to maintain and drive, cheap as well and very practical. I am not big on looks, but I do have my preferences. I would never buy a Ford Ka. A bubble micra, I might start to like it and appreciate it. But I do like a Yaris or a Golf. Except that Golf is out of my reach. :(

Someone else mentioned Motobility auctions - how do I find them? I will googley-goo them and see if I can find them. But aren't auctions dangerous for someone with so little knowledge of a car???

I must thank all the regulars on this post - Arsenal FC, jjames and others on this thread (i cant see your names right now! so not mentioned your names). You have been very helpful. And my thanking is hopefully not going to kill this thread! ;)

[burbs]

http://www.british-car-auctions.co.uk/main.asp?page=453

thats all you need to know about the motobility auction dates.

Auctions are dangerous if you dont know what you are doing, if you cant take someone along with you then be very careful. If you think about it though, dealers (includiong myself) do get cars from auctions as well, they are not only there to sell dodgy cars on

[itgirlinuk]

So that rules out the auction for me. I dont have friends who know about cars. Oh dear! Will anyone source this for me from the auction? And will it cost me a lot to get someone to source a car?

And it brings me back to autotrader and local shop windows. :(

[jjames]

Motability auctions can be a great way of getting a relatively new, low mileage vehicle. You can buy through a broker, but they tend to charge a fair whack. Do you know your mechanic fairly well?

[tonys]

Like many others,I have always advocated buying as opposed to leasing etc.
However after looking at www.simplycontracthire.co.uk ,you could have a brand new
Nissan Micra including road fund licences, tyres and servicing for 3 years for just
under £500 initial deposit and £170 a month-assuming an annual mileage of 10,000
miles.You therefore keep most of your £4000 intact,earning interest and never have to worry if the car you have develops major faults.The total cost over the 3 years would
be around £5300.You have no worries about selling the car at the end of the time,or
trying to negotiate a part exchange with some snake oil salesman,when buying your next car.

Granted you never own the car but if you work out the cost of buying and running one,why would you want to?And you tie your money up in a depreciating asset.

If you work out the cost of a second hand car at £4000,take into account 3 years
servicing,repairs, MOT,tyres and punctures as well as depreciation and possible
ripoff charges by garages who reckon they can fleece inexperienced women,and that
contract hire price doesn't look too shabby.Especially as you will have a brand new car.

Not sure if they would hire you a second hand car instead,but one can always ask.

[ArsenalFC]

A quick search on autotrader found 2 yaris automatic 1.0 at dealers for £3500, £3700 within 14&40 miles from london. A micra is a very good car if on a budget, but if you are planning to spend your original budget then you certainly can get the yaris 1999-2000.

Forget auctions. I know a little about cars, even I would not attempt auctions as i dont think i know enough.

[itgirlinuk]

I dont have a car now, so dont know any mechanics. None of my friends even remotely work with a car. So cant trust my local one, just bcos he is local :(

I will look for these Yaris on autotrader. I do like a Yaris and I thought it was priced out of my budget.

What about the leasing option? Lot of people are against it, but tonys does make a fair point. I am desparate for a car, and ready to look at all options. Am I running around in all directions like a headless chicken?? Its feel as if I am ;)

[itgirlinuk]

Just an update:

I looked at the Yaris on autotrader and they are all manual. There are 2 within my price range, but they are located atleast 140miles away - one in bradford and the other in Belfast!!!

And I looked at the leasing option and the sample prices are for a manual car. No automatic prices. I will call them and see what they say.

Still very very confused! I wish there was an easy way out.

[burbs]

Just calm down, you have managed without a car and surely you can manage a little while longer whilst you look for the right one. There is no point getting a car and then realising you did the wrong thing as you will not get the same amount for the car when you resell the car quickly.

As said before do not lease if you have the funds avaliable to buy the car that you think you want - what is the point? This just means you do not have the hassle of finding one yourself but it also means you never own the car and at the end of the contract and all that money has been spent you are back to stage 1.

If you know what you are looking for (write down a couple of ideal cars for you) Take them into a lcal car dealer (smaller second hand dealers the better) and ask them if they can find you one in your budget. They will not force you to buy but they will be able to look around for you and get back to you. Then when they find one you can view and if its all go then buy it. This happens a lot at my garage and many people are very happy and buy the cars, others cannot find what it is they are looking for but do this

[ArsenalFC]

As burbs said, take your time. There are plenty of manual yaris in your price range if you decide to take up that option. I seen plenty of them on autotrader from as little as £2300, isn't you budget is £4000?

Do you have problem searching on autotrader or something? I have found 7 yaris from private sellers and 34 from dealers within 60 miles from london, upto £4000. You have the money, buy the car, rule out leasing.

Burbs also suggest asking a local dealer to find one for you, look into that option. Don't panic.

[itgirlinuk]

I need an automatic and not a manual. And there are many automatic Yaris on autotrader in my price range.

I suppose I could wait, but I do want this done as soon as possible. Will make my life much easier (or so I think!) :)

[tonys]

In a perfect world second hand cars would be well maintained,free from
problems and with a genuine mileage,sold at a fair price.In addition there
would be a gradual depreciation,no conmen and no part would need
replacement between services.And you would also get a good trade in price for your old car from the salesman.It would be easy to find your replacement car with all the extras you wanted eg automatic,air conditioning without
having to scour the country.

However we do not live there.And for someone new to buying a car with no
knowledgeable friend to accompany her,the potential to buy a pig in a poke
is quite high.As is the chance of being ripped off by garages for doing unnecessary work or being charged for work that was not done.

For all the above reasons,there is a case therefore for leasing a car.

If the bottom drops out of the secondhand market,it is not a problem-you
have a contract.If the garage over charges,the leasing company pays.If
the car is an absolute dog,constantly breaking down,it might be annoying but
the leasing company stands for it.

Yes it does work out more expensive than buying a car but only if every thing
goes ok and you know the right price to pay for the car and the repairs and
servicing.And nothing major goes wrong.

In addition the most money you ever have tied up in the car is three months
rent,leaving your money in the bank/building society earning interest,not
depreciating.

It is possible to buy a brand new car for much less money down than if you
were financing a three year old one [I know you don't need finance itgirlinuk].
And most leasing companies would be happy to lease one of their preowned
cars for less than the cost of a new one.

Most of the advice you are getting is from guys who are forgetting what a
huge learning curve there is,and how costly cars can be when things go wrong.One of the advantages in leasing,is that all your costs are known in advance,and that the leasing company does all the work for you including
membership of the RAC or AA and paying for the road fund licence and MOT
certificates when they fall due.The only thing you have to do is inform them
when servicing is due if you selected the maintenance option.

Perhaps there is someone out there who has leased a car for their views?

[Ted_Hutchinson]

I need an automatic and not a manual. And there are many automatic Yaris on autotrader in my price range.

I suppose I could wait, but I do want this done as soon as possible. Will make my life much easier (or so I think!) :)

Nice one for sale in the Motability Auction in Nottingham tomorrow.
British Car Auctions Nottingham (http://www.british-car-auctions.co.uk/main.asp?page=2723)

[vansboy]

Ted - which vehicle did you refer to in the sale, tomorrow?

I didn't see anything which would suit Itgirls selection/budget.

VB

[Ted_Hutchinson]

Ted - which vehicle did you refer to in the sale, tomorrow?

I didn't see anything which would suit Itgirls selection/budget.

VBYour right I'd forgotten about her budget when the Yaris auto with very low mileage caught my eye. Mind you there are several other automatics which look like they will fetch under £4000 so I still think a trip to a Motability auction might be good idea for someone wanting a lowish mileage automatic with a known history and bought from a reliable source.

[vansboy]

Agreed - Motability - now UK's largest fleet operator, does have the best choice, for small cars - autos especially.

But sometimes the vehicles have had MORE use & wear, than you might expect.

Beware excessive wear to seating & door areas. Some of the users with wheelchairs & walking dificulties, aren't able to get in & out as easily as the rest of us. So you do need to look VERY carefully. Don't just consider the mileage!

VB

[Ted_Hutchinson]

I note that Motability are listing some of there cars like this
BG02 PXZ Jun 2002 FIAT PUNTO 1.2 ELX 16V SPEEDGE 5 Doors, Semi-Automatic, ASTRAL BLUE, 999999 Miles (Warranted), Registered keepers 1

Usually the warrented mileage is shown, so warrenting the mileage as above is probably a way of indicating they themselves don't actually believe the mileage shown when the car was returned, is consistent with it's condition.

[itgirlinuk]

I found a Colt for sale. Is Colt a good choice??

P.S: Did I thank you all for being so helpful! :)