Car buying advice??

MK500

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any advice for my current situation!!

The other day i took my car to the garage as it was playing up, i was told it was beyond repair and would cost more to fix than what it was worth, it wasn't a great shock as i had been expecting it for some time

So, now i need a new car!

Too be honest i dont know where to start as i have had my other car since i passed my test and was given to me by my parents, i have some money saved up but not enough to buy one outright.

So i wasnt sure what was the best way to go about paying for it, i have had different opinions from a few people ranging from buying one on finance or getting a loan from the bank or using a credit card.

I am hoping to go away travelling next year so i dont particularly want to be tied down with large payments that i am not going to be able to keep up with, so i was hoping to pay it off within the next year before i go so i have the option to sell it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Many thanks

tomstickland

Beyond repair? What's wrong with it? What age, model, condition, miles etc? Garages sometimes take a problem car off your hands and then miraculously fix it and sell it on or use it themselves.

You can buy a lot of car for little money nowadays. Ideally don't use any loan or finance options. If you need to borrow money then look into credit card 0% deal tarting as an option. Pay the money you would have paid on the loan into a high interest account each month and you earn interest rather than paying it on a loan.

Anyway, you can buy 12 month MOT cars for £500 and at £2-3K you get totally fine cars. My mother bough a 5 year old Micra for £1700 and it's in perfect condition.

MK500

Its a 1993 Rover Metro and the head gasket has gone, it is only worth a few hundred quid at the most. Also it has a cracked windscreen (& im only third party fire & theft insurance so i can't claim for that) and few other problems so i thought it was time to cut my losses.

Was thinking of spending in the region of £2k-£3k, but also taking into consideration the insurance cost as i'm only 20.

tomstickland

Ah right, worth very little. You could fit another engine, but you could buy another one for the same money. They're probably right - it probably isn't worth the effort.

For your insurance situation I'd say just buy any car that is acceptable for cheap money. The untrendy models can help. For example, the Golf with the boot aka the Jetta was always cheaper to insure on a like for like engine version.

A few friends of mine have owned and run workhorses like Cavaliers and Escorts etc.

Another friend has got a Skoda Fabia (or maybe it's a Felicia) anyway, the small one and he reckons that's only worth £1200 and it's a fine car. Eseentially a VW Polo. Other good cheap cars are the Nissan Almeras, Primeras, Micras etc. Primera is a better care than the Vauxhall/Ford offerings.

Anyway, get scouring the local papers and do your insurance homework on confused.com