Great 'Tips on buying a second hand car' Hunt

Former_MSE_Penelope
Former_MSE_Penelope Posts: 536 Forumite
edited 18 March 2016 at 2:00PM in Motoring
MSE Insert:

We now have a guide 20+ Tips for buying a used car which may help tiy.

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Great 'Tips on buying a second hand car' Hunt

Buying a second hand car comes with its fair share of risks, so we want some MoneySavers' tips on making sure you don't get ripped off and where the best places to look are.


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  • Lost_Prophet
    Lost_Prophet Posts: 172
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    edited 8 April 2011 at 11:28AM
    This relates more to buying 'New' cars but I'll say it nonetheless...

    A new car would cost anything from £15,000 for a family sized car. My example was a Diesel Mondeo a few years ago. I got it when it was just over 1 year old and had 6,000 miles (I think) on the clock. It had a done very low mileage for a diesel and also for a car of its age. The sales guy said 'the previous owner wanted the upgraded model' which could of been an excuse for 'it had lots of problem' but it was 100% fine for, apart from a few niggling issues that the warranty sorted

    I paid £10,000! The price for the car originally was £17,000 so I saved £7,000 by getting a car with low mileage, 1 year old and in excellent condition. I would recommend this to anyone looking at buying a new car. As soon as you drive the car off of the forecourt you lose a massive amount of money and it goes to show that buying a 'Near New' second hand car is much more beneficial!

    I got this one from a main dealer (Jennings Ford) so it goes to show that main dealers don't always rip you off - they have also been great with any of the niggling problems I have had (Alarm System Service Warning appearing randomly)
  • n_hatton
    n_hatton Posts: 20 Forumite
    edited 8 April 2011 at 11:29AM
    I always buy with a Full Service History and work on the idea that every MOT and service should cost significantly less than If I was paying a loan on a newer car. I.e. I bought a car 6 years ago for £350 with FSH and the MOT and service never costs more than that original price. The car is approaching 200,000 miles and runs like a dream (my girlfriend is still using it).

    My general tip would be always buy a car with Full Service History. Any vehicle I've bought that hasn't has always never worked out financially. It generally means the timing and all other engine maintenance has been well done. This means the engine has had less stress on it over the years and will generally last longer and better. It also maintains better fuel economy.
  • Strider590
    Strider590 Posts: 11,874 Forumite
    n_hatton wrote: »
    My general tip would be always buy a car with Full Service History. Any vehicle I've bought that hasn't has always never worked out financially. It generally means the timing and all other engine maintenance has been well done. This means the engine has had less stress on it over the years and will generally last longer and better. It also maintains better fuel economy.

    You can't and should never rely on the presence of service history or a valid MOT as guide to vehicles condition. There have been recent scandals of staff at dealers/garages stamping log books for a quick backhander. An awful lot of garage's don't actually carry out the work they claim to either (why should they when the customer will never find out?).
    You could end up with a nice shiney service record and a car that's never seen an oil change in it's life.

    If you don't know what your looking for, then get the vehicle inspected by a professional. It's worth paying that extra cost!
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  • mclean1979
    mclean1979 Posts: 20 Forumite
    edited 8 April 2011 at 11:29AM
    1. If possible go to the salesman with your own finance organised. Often they will offer you a 'flat rate' of say 7.2% for instance that actually works out at around 14% APR. If taking finance through the salesman, ensure you are aware of the APR which we are more used to dealing with.

    2. If trading a car in always check the value of it first. If i see my car with similar mileage, condition etc selling for £7,000, expect the garage to give you around £1000 - £1500 thousand less than that as they will need to service, replace brakes, possibly tyres etc. Best to get it valued at a few garages first and then go into the one you want to buy from armed with that information.

    3. If you know the rough value of your trade in it is much easier to work out what is called a changeover price (the value of the car you buy minus your trade in and on the road (tax)). If you go into a garage and offer a changeover price, ensure it is a around £500 less than the ticket price of the car.

    4. Be ready to walk away to get the best deal, dealers will not want you to go to their rival and will try to get the deal done.

    5. Don't be afraid to lie and say you were offered such and such car with such and such trade in from a competitor.

    6. The best time to shop is after new reg comes in or even better, end of financial year.

    I managed to get a car £600 under the ticket price using the above. Never accept the price on the car, you must test the dealer and see how much they can move on the price. This will depend on the car/time of year etc.

    remember you are the one who holds the cards. :money:
  • LostProphet - you seem to have got a good deal particularly from a main dealer. However, there is a flaw in your argument if you are comparing the £10000 you paid with a list price of £17000. No-one pays list price for a new Mondeo. In 2006 I bought a diesel Mondeo Estate and got a 30% discount via an internet broker.

    4 weeks ago, I bought a brand new Ford Focus (list price £17365) for £12004 i.e. a 31% discount. Both cars were supplied by Ford main dealers but those prices would not be available to people who walk into the showroom, only if internet brokers are used.

    The dealer who supplied the Focus has an identical 1 year old model on his web site for £3000 more than I paid.

    Discounts of 30% are not available on all makes and models but are available on mass-market cars like the Mondeo and Focus.

    Apart from the unquantifiable pleasure of having a brand new car, there is the 3 year warranty, no doubts as to its history and a higher value when you come to sell it. In addition you don't lose thousands as you drive off the forecourt.

    So, I believe that if you can get a big discount on a car supplied retail by a main dealer then that will be a better deal than a 1 or 2 year old car. Have a look at long-established brokers like drivethedeal.com and broadspeed.com where all money is paid to the main dealer.
  • Handy Link Here
    :)
  • jockosjungle
    jockosjungle Posts: 759
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post Home Insurance Hacker!
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    If you've no idea how much your old car is worth, try webuyanycar.com to give you a quick quote being honest about the condition. They're pretty bad about giving that quote in cash but it is a ballpark figure. I tried trading in my KIA Picanto at a KIA dealer and was offerend £1000, WBAC offered £1700, in the end I traded it in at Fords of Winslow for £1650, it was easier than haggling with the crooks at WBAC. However had I just gone to the main dealer and was took in by the head gasket failing and how they'd lose money at £1000, I'd have been ripped off.

    If you're not looking at the bottom end of the market and have some cash, consider an ex=motability car. They've usually been well maintained and have FSH, often they've not been driven far either!

    Quite a few more modern cars come with longer warranties, I purchased a 3 year old Kia Ceed SW Diesel for 8k with 13k on the clock, thats half what it cost new and has 4 years left on the warranty. As Korean cars depreciate quite fast from new a Hyundai or KIA can be picked up quite cheap, with decent set of extras and a few years left on a warranty (a warranty from a used car dealer is about £400 a year)

    Aside from this, the usual applies. Shop around, most large car supermarkets and dealers, right down to private sellers stick their cars on autotrader so its a great way to compare prices. Try and take someone who knows a bit about cars, make sure you test drive a vehicle.

    Consider your own finance if you need it, an 8% loan with Tesco is much better than you'll be offered by a dealer. The places which offer 0% finance, make sure you compare how much you will be paying back, they're usually priced high if you get your calculator out, probably well over £1000 more than they should be. There are also mileage limits on some deals. It'll often work out cheaper to get an 8% loan from one of the large lenders, than a 0% deal from a garage as you're paying over the odds for the car.

    The 2nd hand dealer will try and sell you things like reversing sensors, a warranty, gap insurance and some sort of fancy coating for the cars paintwork. If you need any of the above, take a look online before you agree to make sure you're getting a good deal. Dealer tried to sell me reversing sensors when they were fitted as standard on my 2nd hand car, the fancy coating is also probably already on the car as they'd have sold it to the sucker who previously owned the car. Gap insurance can be got cheap online and consider the warranty carefully, it may not be worth the paper its written on. If you buy from a 2nd hand dealer, you will be offered these products so don't get blind sided and agree to the hard sell, take ten minutes and research online.

    Another good idea is to decide if you really need a car at all. I accept my wife and I need one vehicle, we were going to have a second one as we thought we needed it (she also owned one but it was off the road). While the car was being fixed, I used public transport, got a lift or walked to work, after six weeks we accepted that a second car was a luxury we couldn't afford and didn't need. We're now a once car household and about £2000 a year better off. Although a car is nice to have, my first car directly coincides with the first time in my life I was short of money and forever shall be.

    R
  • hartcjhart
    hartcjhart Posts: 9,463
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    personal recomendation
    I :love: MOJACAR
  • Zork
    Zork Posts: 34
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    I found this website a while back, apparently written by ex car dealers. I hate buying cars and try to avoid it so don't know how accurate it is, but take from it what you will.

    The info is in the 16 links on the left.
    www.carbuyingguide.org.uk/best-buy-car.php
  • mclean1979
    mclean1979 Posts: 20 Forumite
    If you've no idea how much your old car is worth, try webuyanycar.com to give you a quick quote being honest about the condition. They're pretty bad about giving that quote in cash but it is a ballpark figure. I tried trading in my KIA Picanto at a KIA dealer and was offerend £1000, WBAC offered £1700, in the end I traded it in at Fords of Winslow for £1650, it was easier than haggling with the crooks at WBAC. However had I just gone to the main dealer and was took in by the head gasket failing and how they'd lose money at £1000, I'd have been ripped off.

    If you're not looking at the bottom end of the market and have some cash, consider an ex=motability car. They've usually been well maintained and have FSH, often they've not been driven far either!

    Quite a few more modern cars come with longer warranties, I purchased a 3 year old Kia Ceed SW Diesel for 8k with 13k on the clock, thats half what it cost new and has 4 years left on the warranty. As Korean cars depreciate quite fast from new a Hyundai or KIA can be picked up quite cheap, with decent set of extras and a few years left on a warranty (a warranty from a used car dealer is about £400 a year)

    Aside from this, the usual applies. Shop around, most large car supermarkets and dealers, right down to private sellers stick their cars on autotrader so its a great way to compare prices. Try and take someone who knows a bit about cars, make sure you test drive a vehicle.

    Consider your own finance if you need it, an 8% loan with Tesco is much better than you'll be offered by a dealer. The places which offer 0% finance, make sure you compare how much you will be paying back, they're usually priced high if you get your calculator out, probably well over £1000 more than they should be. There are also mileage limits on some deals. It'll often work out cheaper to get an 8% loan from one of the large lenders, than a 0% deal from a garage as you're paying over the odds for the car.

    The 2nd hand dealer will try and sell you things like reversing sensors, a warranty, gap insurance and some sort of fancy coating for the cars paintwork. If you need any of the above, take a look online before you agree to make sure you're getting a good deal. Dealer tried to sell me reversing sensors when they were fitted as standard on my 2nd hand car, the fancy coating is also probably already on the car as they'd have sold it to the sucker who previously owned the car. Gap insurance can be got cheap online and consider the warranty carefully, it may not be worth the paper its written on. If you buy from a 2nd hand dealer, you will be offered these products so don't get blind sided and agree to the hard sell, take ten minutes and research online.

    Another good idea is to decide if you really need a car at all. I accept my wife and I need one vehicle, we were going to have a second one as we thought we needed it (she also owned one but it was off the road). While the car was being fixed, I used public transport, got a lift or walked to work, after six weeks we accepted that a second car was a luxury we couldn't afford and didn't need. We're now a once car household and about £2000 a year better off. Although a car is nice to have, my first car directly coincides with the first time in my life I was short of money and forever shall be.

    R


    WBAC usually offer well below the actual value. They offered me £4795 for my car and i got £5500 at trade in, that is a bit of a difference :D
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