Best place to find second hand cars

bigmaz

Hi

We are on the market for a cheap second hand car, maybe about £1000. The Autotrader used to be really good for this, but it seems to only have trade sales these days, with only a few private sales within a search. Just wondering if anyone has any ideas the best places to look online for private sales? Or is the local paper's classifieds still the best alternative?

Foxy-Stoat_3

For that money I would look at local Friday-Ad or Ebay.

Put the search in for cars up to 20-30 miles (you dont want to be driving for hours to view dissapointments) and treat all the Ebay auctions as an Autotrader advert, ie, view and check over the car before making bids/offers and do an HPI check from the Ebay site, its only £4 or something like that. Most of the cars on Ebay are classified adverts which takes the pressure off a bit. If you are bidding on a car that you havent seen as a punt then after winning it check it over very carefully with the Ebay auction page printed off. If its not as described then walkaway. If they leave you negitive feedback you have an "out".

JimmyTheWig

Is anyone you know getting rid of a car for a valid reason that you could buy off them?
Or anyone they know, etc?

At least this way you'll know that you're buying a genuine car rather than something that someone's selling because it's shot to pieces.

oldtoolie

Don't forget the cards at the news agent and the supermarket. The local hospital has a bulletin board used by staff outside the cafeteria which always has a few cars for sale. Craigslist and Gumtree worth a look too.

gabitzul

For this sort of money it has to be Gumtree... Local adverts and lots (still) of private sellers.

[Deleted User]

For sub £1000 it has to be the free sites as people are reluctant to spend Autotrader/eBay listing money.

Foxy-Stoat_3

Ebay listing fee for 30 days is £14.99 which is cheaper than the autotrader and does get more hits.

andygb

Foxy-Stoat wrote: »

Ebay listing fee for 30 days is £14.99 which is cheaper than the autotrader and does get more hits.

All well and good, but how much selling commission do you have to pay once you have sold it?

andygb

For sub £1000 I would go to an auction, plenty of bargains to be had if you know what to look for, and is it any more risky than buying privately?