Buying used car - advice please

roadsidetree

Hi,

today OH passed car practical test.

currently we have a 5-door Peugeot 106 1997 reg. we are thinking of exchanging this and buying a similar small size car - ideally a jap make, 5 door one with decent boot. This will be necessary to take 3 month old SM out and about.

now the question is how to go about buying an used car

- we checked out honda/toyota used company car showrooms and what we saw was way beyond our budget.
- a mate of OH is a mechanic but they are not in good terms now. so can't go to that person.
- we both are skeptical about ebay. heard lots of sad stories so want to stay well clear from ebay

we have a budget of £1500 on top of exchange.

any idea how to go about buying a quality used car? can some help me please :question:

hobo28

There are loads of car supermarkets out there and reputable 2nd hand car dealers. Their prices will be below those of main dealers.

Also try Autotrader. If your worried about picking up a duff one, I'd stick to trade ads.

Stay away from companies like Carcraft whose prices are inflated and shove uncompetitive finance down your throat.

alice's_mum

Have a look on the motoring thread on here. I asked them some questions earlier in the year when looking to upgrade and there are some very knowledgable peeps on that board. They helped me get a good deal on a car, and ask for all sorts of things I wouldn't have thought of or had the cheek to ask for.