advice on buying used car

u01jet4

Hello,

I am looking to buy a 2004 1.6 Sportka SE. It has done 35000 miles, has been serviced 3 times with the last service at 31,200 miles and will come with a years MOT and 3 month warranty from the dealer.

As it is my first car I want to make sure it is reliable and isn't hiding any huge future problems under the bonnet. Is it worth me getting a vehicle inspection done before I buy it? I have also heard about warrantydirect.co.uk and was quoted £230 for a years warranty. Is this worth doing too?

Any tips on how to be sure it doesn't have any huge problems would be brilliant thanks.

Microstar_2

Definitely get an inspection on one of these. We routinely see these with poor paint, structural rust etc. Brakes tend not to last long and steering racks wear quickly. They are fun to drive but flimsy. A used one of this age really does need a thorough check.

As regards "warranties" - we frequently get customers waving their warranty documents at us. Remember that these so called warranties are actually mechanical breakdown insurance policies. They will not cover ANYTHING that could conceivably be considered as wear and tear.

u01jet4

Thank you Microstar. Are Sportkas even more flimsy than Ka 2's then? we had one of these and it lasted 9 years without too much trouble, including frequent trips between Edinburgh-Aberdeen and still sold for £600 on Ebay at the end.

Does £3750 seem reasonable price, or a bit steep?

Microstar_2

Well, they use the 1950's technology 1.6 engine, which is not very powerful but a fairly trusty and solid lump. The weak spot is the bodyshell, which like the Ka2 etc., has had a lot of corners cut.
I do a lot of MoT's and older Ka's nearly all have pretty bad rust.
The SportKa is a bit of a fashion/lifestyle car so if you have your heart set on that sort of thing then its probably for you. At least repairs are fairly cheap.
My suggestion would be something like a Fabia or Ibiza 1.4 of that vintage. Rather more solid cars with no big weak spots and which are quite nice to drive. £3500 should get you a good one, but possibly not the sort of body shape you are after?

u01jet4

I am looking for something with fairly low mileage which is quite small and easy to drive (and park!) it needs to be good enough condition to last around 3-4 years without developing many major problems (I don't mind a bit of rust as long as it's not a mechanical issue) and potentially be able to drive to france and back easily.

I'd like it to be quite nippy as it is a Jazz that I drive just now and it is a bit slow getting out of a junction or onto a roundabout etc, but I'm not a girl-racer so it doesnt need to be too fast!

If I was to go for this car then does it make sense to put down the deposit before getting it inspected to secure it? but then if there are big problems from the inspection would the garage return my deposit?

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

The mileage is irrelevant. What you need to examine is the overall condition of the car. Dings to the bodywork. Scratches around the door handles, boot lid, etc. The interior; stains, worn out carpets, broken bits of plastic, does it smell, etc?

Ask yourself, would you rather own a car with 50,000 on the clock which you know has been on the motorway all its life, and has therefore little wear and tear? Or would you rather have the car with 15,000 on the clock that's been to the supermarket and back, through the gears, on the brakes, over speed bumps and potholes, up and down kerbs, etc?

Almost all engines, if looked after, will happily exceed 200,000 miles without too much trouble.

Oh and whatever you test drive make absolutely sure that its engine is stone cold before you start.

u01jet4

Just had a look at Fabias and Ibizas on Autotrader and they do 0-62 in 15.4 and 13.2 secs respectively and as the Honda Jazz seems slow at 13.3 I am a bit wary of them. The Sportka does 0-62 in 9.7 so I'm looking for something more around that mark but happy to hear suggestions if you have more!

u01jet4

Why does the engine need to be stone cold?

Microstar_2

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

Almost all engines, if looked after, will happily exceed 200,000 miles without too much trouble.

Thankfully that statement is completely untrue. Otherwise I wouldn't have a business!!

Microstar_2

u01jet4 wrote: »

Just had a look at Fabias and Ibizas on Autotrader and they do 0-62 in 15.4 and 13.2 secs respectively and as the Honda Jazz seems slow at 13.3 I am a bit wary of them. The Sportka does 0-62 in 9.7 so I'm looking for something more around that mark but happy to hear suggestions if you have more!

If you want more performance then just opt for one with the more powerful engines. The 1.9TDI's are quite sought after. If we have a Ibiza or Fabia 1.9 (esp vRS) on the pitch it always gets a lot of interest and sells quickly for good money - so could be out of your price range, although a good buy in that they do hold their value.

0-60 is not the whole story though. Maybe see if you can get a drive in one or two cars and see what you like. As said, the Ka is not a bad little motor and nice to drive but get a thorough inspection done because they are not built for the long haul.

calebdylan

you need to check the Tyre and the engine ,bearings and coolant system check for any rust of white spots in tank and body of the car check the total miles