second hand car

sadlybroke

hello
i,m thinking of buying sub £2000 car from second hand car dealers.
can anyone recommend one in bristol.went to one and you could tell
he was talking crap(said had full service history but did,nt know if cambelt been done and when i asked to view history so say did,nt have it with him at dealers had very little fuel in so could not even take it for test drive.

plus what are warranty like as some are useless.i,m thinking of going this route as i usually buy cars for £500 private

seen few cars private at this price but usually they are selling on behalf of uncle sister etc or some bull.asked about 1 car knowing
it had camchain asked seller when cambelt was done he said o yes just changed it. i must be to truefully as ever car i sold i,ve told them everything wrong with car even if it means getting scrap money for the car thanks sorry about my lack of writing skills

mikey72

At that sort of price from a dealer, you're probably looking at the ones you buy for £500 privately anyway.

jase1

No test drive? Sounds like a quality dealer right there.

Sally_A

I know a few in Bristol that will do the best they can for that price range, and who I also know will get a pre sale check done. A couple of them can be a bit "geezerish", but on the whole, they are long established and don't want bad press coming back on them.

Depends what model you are after really, I'd always say not to buy French.

VW's are always a good bet, as they seem to go on for ever, parts are cheapish, and there are a couple of local breakers that are decent too.

Alternatively, go to a trusted garage that you've had dealings with before, they will normally keep their ears to the ground for you - and they also know damn well that if they recommend a duffer, it's their nadgers you'll be poking.

jase1

Sally_A wrote: »

Depends what model you are after really, I'd always say not to buy French.

VW's are always a good bet, as they seem to go on for ever, parts are cheapish, and there are a couple of local breakers that are decent too.

At £2000 I totally disagree with that, and I'm no fan of French cars as anyone on here will tell you.

The good thing about French cars (and some others like Korean, Italian and some Japanese, along with certain Fords and Vauxhalls) is that they depreciate badly. This is bad news when you're buying new, but at £2000 you'll be getting a car that's significantly newer.

VWs don't last forever, and their reliability is sub-Japanese by some margin. But you're paying a premium for them, and that ain't good at this end of the market.

Buy on condition is the watchword. Newer generally equals better -- *any* make of car will last 15 years if looked after, and VWs will be nearer that 15 year mark than similarly-priced Fords, for instance.

What do I do? Well I buy a £1000 car every 4 or 5 years as a second car. I buy something unloved, but with a decent reputation, with a solid history and in good order. Generally this means I end up buying some ugly Korean thing (which are just as reliable as a VW). This time I went upmarket and ended up with a Mitsubishi, which has been absolutely rock-solid. The parts are cheaper than VW because the car's internals are shared with about six other models, and it's all quite old-tech and well-proven, dating back to the mid-1990s even though the car is a 2003.

s_b

while i shouldnt really say this i will
why do you think cars are priced at £1999?
its because people set a budget of say this figure and trust me here if i offered them the crown jewels at £1899 or a turd in a paper bag at £1999 most people would buy the turd because they believe that it will be better because it fills their price barrier fully
me?
i would tell dealers ive got £1500 and let them upsell me a little or downgrade something from £1999 they have that you might fancy cheaper
i would not by a vw at this kind of price because as jase says you are either going to pay too much for an old car or be sold into an overpriced piece of vw junk

Sally_A

Agree with Jase and s b. If you can find a Mitsubishi that suits, you will be laughing, but bear in mind pattern parts are hard to come by, and trade price at dealers is a mere 5 - 10% less than retail. I only mention VW as you have Elmo's on Bath Rd Brislington, and VW Audi Breakers at Bradford on Avon that will supply a 2nd hand tested part for about half or third price of a replacement part, not guaranteed, but they are both straight up enough to sort out any grief.

My only tip for buying a car at the cheaper end of the scale - is have a look around and see what vehicles you see going well, and frequently when they are approx 10 years old.

Eg, you could get a 20 year old Volvo, and knowing the sheer stubborness/reliability of that make, it will still be going at the end of the world. In fact you could proably watch the end of the world in comfort with heated seats that have been installed since 1987 or earlier, and a fine selection of airbags to protect you from the Trumpets of Doom.