Buying a car and no idea where to start

reehsetin

... Literally ! I've never bought or sold a car before but my car's slowly loosing it (12y old avensis) so in the next few months I think I'll need to replace it.

I don't really have an idea of where to start, is there somewhere that has all of the makes, insurance class, tax costs etc that I could compare?

Ideally I want something cheap to run (I want an electric but they seem to cost loads), not tiny but smaller than my avensis

I don't have a precise budget (maybe 5-10k), I don't mind spending a bit more if it's really worth it

Any ideas on where best to start? what should I be looking at?

pawlala

I've just come through a similar situation, however mine was slightly forced in that my 12 year old car went kaput and the bill at the dealership repair centre would have beenh more than the car's worth. therefore I decided to buy a nearly new car at the dealer for 8k. I was going to do that before the next MOT anyway. easy to get rid of the old car that way. they did the tax and DVLA stuff. just make sure you find a car that suits and don't get sucked in to buying all the extras on top of the price of the car otherwise what might look a good deal to you is going to be a better deal for them!!

Ultrasonic

reehsetin wrote: »

I don't really have an idea of where to start, is there somewhere that has all of the makes, insurance class, tax costs etc that I could compare?

Parkers is probably a good start:

http://www.parkers.co.uk/

Do any of your friends/family have cars you particularly like or dislike?

Weird_Nev

Work out what you want from a car, how many miles you do, whether you need something big and comfy or is a small, frugal car is what you want.

Most importantly, decide on a budget and stick to it. Otherwise you might find yourself with "budget creep" where you end up spending more than you initially wanted, or ever needed to. This could cost you thousands! £5k0£10k is NOT a budget! You're a salesmans dream right now...

To be honest, I see no value in spending more than £5k on a car. You an get very fast cars, very economical cars, and very practical cars within that budget and all can be reliable if chosen well.

So set a budget of £4,500 and keept £500 back for any minor problems that may develop, or if a car needs new tyres or brakes or something.

IF you jsut want a small cheap to run car than something like a VW lupo, a Toyota Aygo could be up your street. If you do a lot of miles and want an efficient car, then a 2005-2006ish Skoda Fabia 1.4 Tdi could be up your street, but they don't like short journeys (no diesel does).

reehsetin

pawlala wrote: »

I've just come through a similar situation, however mine was slightly forced in that my 12 year old car went kaput and the bill at the dealership repair centre would have beenh more than the car's worth. therefore I decided to buy a nearly new car at the dealer for 8k. I was going to do that before the next MOT anyway. easy to get rid of the old car that way. they did the tax and DVLA stuff. just make sure you find a car that suits and don't get sucked in to buying all the extras on top of the price of the car otherwise what might look a good deal to you is going to be a better deal for them!!

Thanks, am worried about buying new I'd love loads of little gadgets, I'm not that bad with everything else it's just I'll use it every day and I know I'll have it for ages

reehsetin

Ultrasonic wrote: »

Parkers is probably a good start:

http://www.parkers.co.uk/

Do any of your friends/family have cars you particularly like or dislike?

Great!

So far my only real dislikes have been, skoda, micra and civic I like the Toyotas and I know they're usually meant to be pretty good but don't want to be blind to anything else

reehsetin

Weird_Nev wrote: »

Work out what you want from a car, how many miles you do, whether you need something big and comfy or is a small, frugal car is what you want.

Most importantly, decide on a budget and stick to it. Otherwise you might find yourself with "budget creep" where you end up spending more than you initially wanted, or ever needed to. This could cost you thousands! £5k0£10k is NOT a budget! You're a salesmans dream right now...

To be honest, I see no value in spending more than £5k on a car. You an get very fast cars, very economical cars, and very practical cars within that budget and all can be reliable if chosen well.

So set a budget of £4,500 and keept £500 back for any minor problems that may develop, or if a car needs new tyres or brakes or something.

IF you jsut want a small cheap to run car than something like a VW lupo, a Toyota Aygo could be up your street. If you do a lot of miles and want an efficient car, then a 2005-2006ish Skoda Fabia 1.4 Tdi could be up your street, but they don't like short journeys (no diesel does).

Thanks some great advice! I had to drive a skoda once and really hated it, it really put me off, the Aygo may be too small, I don't have a family now but I will in the future and it will be our only car

Weird_Nev

Ok, look for mid sized hatches.
Ford Focusesesssesss are a good starting point. Class leading to drive, loads about to choose between, cheap parts and servicing.
Ford C-maxes are also decent, and a bit more versatile

Toyota Auris's aren't bad to drive and your money gets you a decent one

Volvo S40's offer a lot of spec for the money and are very decent cars, based on the ford focus platform.

I've made some assumptions there: You don't do mega miles so a 1.4-1.6 petrol will do (generally speaking less servicing cost and less to go wrong, plus more car for your money than the equivalent diesel model) and that you want to get a manual gearbox.

you've got the luxury of time, so cast your eye about, speak to colleagues /friends about their cars, and see what takes your fancy. Build a shortlist, and then go to a dealer and test drive one nearby to check that it will meet your needs. after that, once you're settled on a model you can hunt out the best example within budget. You have the luxury of time, so use it.
Damn. !!!!!!! links won't work. You'll have to do your own autotrader searching, sorry. Thanks MSE :roll: