Help want to buy a new car (second hand) but not sure what!!

ljwari

Hello,
i would like to buy a second car we already have a family salon but i would like a little car that i can use during the week when my partner is at work.I would like something that wont cost an arm and a leg on insurance and running costs.I used my partner's sisters car when she went travelling and althought i only used it about 15 time in 3 months it was nice to have it on the drive incase i needed to go out anywhere as i have a toddler and is so much easier than getting the bus which are very few and far between where we live!If i let you know some details then hopefully i will get some idea's on which type of car to get so here goes
27yr female driving for 9yr no accidents or convictions and 5 years no claims, i woud like something that i can fit a buggie in with a bit of room for the food shop! sorry to go on and thanks in advance for reading this and helping me out

Blackdog

Hi, make sure you do the sums carefully working out the full cost including tax, petrol, insurance, maitenance and depreciation. Depreciation is really important as once you buy the car it goes down in value every year eg purchase price £10k and in a years time it is worth only £8.5k. Once you know your annual cost you could work out if it would be cheaper to use a taxi, train, or hire a car when you need it for special trips.
If you decide to buy then try a Ford Fiesta which is cheap to maintain, you can always try putting the buggy in the boot when you go and view one!

Ask around to see if any friends or relatives are selling theirs, if not ask the if they know of a reliable dealer you can go to.

Good luck with your purchase.

ljwari

Blackdog wrote: »

Hi, make sure you do the sums carefully working out the full cost including tax, petrol, insurance, maitenance and depreciation. Depreciation is really important as once you buy the car it goes down in value every year eg purchase price £10k and in a years time it is worth only £8.5k. Once you know your annual cost you could work out if it would be cheaper to use a taxi, train, or hire a car when you need it for special trips.
If you decide to buy then try a Ford Fiesta which is cheap to maintain, you can always try putting the buggy in the boot when you go and view one!

Ask around to see if any friends or relatives are selling theirs, if not ask the if they know of a reliable dealer you can go to.

Good luck with your purchase.

Thankyou so much for your advice i will take it on board.

julie97au

Hi, we changed last year and were advised by our local mechanic to stay away from Ford as he had a lot of the newer ones in giving trouble with injectors - over £1000 to fix. He recommended going for a Toyota, Seat or Volkswagon. We went for a Toyota Avensis (2004 - new shape) and it is a great car. Friends of ours bought a Ford Mondeo at the same time and it has been it at the garage 2 or 3 times already. Hope this has helped and not confused you more

Blackdog

julie97au wrote: »

Hi, we changed last year and were advised by our local mechanic to stay away from Ford as he had a lot of the newer ones in giving trouble with injectors - over £1000 to fix. He recommended going for a Toyota, Seat or Volkswagon. We went for a Toyota Avensis (2004 - new shape) and it is a great car. Friends of ours bought a Ford Mondeo at the same time and it has been it at the garage 2 or 3 times already. Hope this has helped and not confused you more

I agree I would not recommend a Mondeo. The Focus or Fiesta though are popular cars. It really depends on budget, Audi or VW are excellent but you pay for the quality. Seat is similar to Audi and VW but at a much lower cost, only problem is that the resale value is reduced. Have a look at the Honda range they have been consistently good.

Hope this helps.

earthmother

My parents have a Honda Jazz - great consumption, good ride, reliable, and with a tardis-like boot. Knowing Dad, the insurance is probably cheap too. In fact, they like it so much they recently bought their second one.

One reason they went for it was it has some of the best rear leg room and seat widths for this size car (you can get three car seats in side by side, so that if they have my three kids for the day, or have a day out with my sister and her partner & daughter, they all fit), so it will grow with you.

I think they paid around £6000 for a 2 year old (low mileage), and the Parkers guide (very useful if buying second hand) says an 8yr old should be around £2000, so if you don't mind going older you could bring the price down a lot.

mum26

Would it be possible for your partner to bus / cycle to work then you have the car at home? Unless they are driving it around all day it is just sitting in a car park not being used which is a shame for you stuck in with a toddler?