newish car wanted asap

rabialiones

my daughter is looking for a newish car,
visited showroom, but prices are extortionate, any help/advice appreciated.
does not have to be brand new

Idiophreak

don't buy new. You can quite often get cars with 4-5k on them (sometimes even less) for about 60% of the cost.

If you want to save more, look for cars that're three years old (just out of warranty) - people often return cars at 3 years, even if they're in good condition, low mileage etc. they're often cleared pretty cheap.

What size car is she looking for?

rabialiones

thanks, up to about 1.8
where, would these cars be as the dealers had used ones which seemed quite expensive as well
they definintely were not 60 per cent of the cost.
any ideas on best places to buy?

martmonk

rabialiones wrote:

thanks, up to about 1.8
where, would these cars be as the dealers had used ones which seemed quite expensive as well
they definintely were not 60 per cent of the cost.
any ideas on best places to buy?

Wait as long as you can into next month as most dealers will be desperate to move their '06' demo models. If you can be even more patient and are prepared to do a good deal of hunting some will even be available into March.

Look for especially good deals on models where there is due to be or has recently been a new release, for example last year when helping a friend she eventually opted for an 05 civic, the dealer was desperate to get rid of the stock because of the new shape models.

Also I have a friend who has worked in car finance for years and we were able to draw on his experience to drive down the overall cost so if you're going for a finance option as well I'd be happy to help. Just ask.

kittiwoz

Generally it is far cheaper to buy privately through classified ads (eg. Exchange and Mart) than from dealers. However if you don't know about cars then you really need to get the car checked out by someone who does know about them because they are "sold as seen".

Nile

Hello rabialiones

Your thread will be better placed in the 'Motoring & Public Transport' board, so I'll move it across.

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Regards

Nile

gerretl

Hi. I have just got a great deal on autotrader. I was looking around for ages, and did all the dealers. The key is to know exactly what you are looking for, so use the filters to their fullest extent. Location is crucial, and I did a search up to 50 miles radius (I live in east London).
Check out the engine size, and do searches for models in each group with that engine size. I was looking for a 1.6, so did a search on Volkswagen Golf and Polo.
Decide on your budget, and how old you want, and put in a maximum mileage.
I ended up with an eight year old 1.6 Polo with only 24,500 on the clock
Also, give yourself time, and see if you like the feel of the car. Don't be afraid to turn down a few sellers, if they are not what you want.

Quinny_2

And trawl around the country for a deal,as prices can vary enormously.

It might be worth the £100 or so train fare,if the car you are buying is £1500 cheaper than nearer home.

Ken.

gerretl

Is there any part of the country where cars are better value than others? eg, in London, the engines will have low mileage but could well be knackered, because of all the stop start stop start.

vansboy

Go to http://www.honestjohn.co.uk clik This Weeks Best Deals link in right hand box.

You'll get loads of up to the minute GENUINE best prices, from nearly every make!

Also if you post in Thee Backroom - Discussion, on the his site, you'll have a heck of a lot of sensible advice.

But do try to be a bit more specific, as to your needs/wants/budget etc.

First thoughts would be latest model Punto - gets supermini style & running costs, for around £6000, with a few months,/thousand miles on. From dealers, with warranty!!

VB