Buying my first car - what do I need to look for?

tr3mor

Suzey wrote: »

Thanks - I've done some research and for what I want (no older than 2003 plate) I should be paying about £4k.

I wish I was a bit more savvy about these things

Suze

You can get a fantastic brand new Fiat Panda for £5k. Why would you want a 2 seater 4 year old car with a 3 stroke lawnmower engine in it?

James

Something I did a few years ago.

Saw an ad in the local rag. Visited the owner and had a test drive.

Rather than pay for an AA or RAC Inspection we mutually agreed to have the car fully serviced by a franchised dealer. Any defects the seller agreed to put right. We went 50/50 on the cost of the service and came to a mutual agreement over the sale price.

That car served me well for a good few years.

Whatever you decide, good luck.

ollyshaw

Looks like you have some great advice. I would echo it really, especially

Dont buy off ebay unless you test the car in person first

Take someone along who knows something about cars/car buying.

Olly

vaio

Both our current cars came off ebay (’99 S4 £7k, ’99 Alfa 145 £1400)

Both have been fine.

Ask the questions before you bid and walk away if you don’t get told the truth

gelato_cat

Sounds like good advice - thanks!

Suze

vaio wrote: »

Both our current cars came off ebay (’99 S4 £7k, ’99 Alfa 145 £1400)

Both have been fine.

Ask the questions before you bid and walk away if you don’t get told the truth

gelato_cat

That sounds like a good idea - you'd soon know if they were trying to get rid of a wreck

Suze

James wrote: »

Something I did a few years ago.

Saw an ad in the local rag. Visited the owner and had a test drive.

Rather than pay for an AA or RAC Inspection we mutually agreed to have the car fully serviced by a franchised dealer. Any defects the seller agreed to put right. We went 50/50 on the cost of the service and came to a mutual agreement over the sale price.

That car served me well for a good few years.

Whatever you decide, good luck.

gelato_cat

I'm buying the car as a luxury, therefore I'm buying what I want to buy. I don't like Fiats, never have. I've never had a car before so I fancy splashing out on something I really want rather than something with a good VFM purchase price.

Suze

tr3mor wrote:

You can get a fantastic brand new Fiat Panda for £5k. Why would you want a 2 seater 4 year old car with a 3 stroke lawnmower engine in it?

gelato_cat

Blimey, that sounds a bit of a nightmare. Good thing you can get it fixed by the dealer, but it still must have been gutting when you realised how much was wrong with it.

Thanks for the link - I'll have a look!

Good luck with the car

Suze

mara wrote: »

My first car was a L reg Clio - dealers put a new MOT on it for me when I got it & I had it for 3 years with no problems. This time I thought I'd trade up - Got a Peugeot 206 X reg 3 weeks ago, which is a lovely car - apart from the brakes, exhaust, cam belt and radiator need replacing :rolleyes: I took it back to the dealers today & they are fixing all of these things for me - which is the main reason I feel happier using a dealer. If I'd bought the car privately, I'd be looking at a repair bill of £800 with no come back on anyone. I have certainly learnt my lesson on this one and would not buy any car unless it had been serviced or MOT'd.

If you were going to buy private, I'd agree with the other posters that it would be worth paying to get it checked over by a mechanic.

You might also want to look at 2pass.co.uk - under the passed section they have a section on buying second hand cars & there is a printable list of the things to check which is quite handy as a guideline.

Good luck with the car hunt - it's great when you get your first car

gelato_cat

Yikes, I hope you have better luck in future! Thanks for the tips

Suze

misfire wrote:

I would find out when the cambelt needs chaning on the car you are thinking of buying.
I would take someone with me who knew abit about cars/was a good haggler.
I would do lots of research first find out how much the car is worth (parkers guide on line) and how much they do go for in your area (not always the same thing)
Check local garages and online ones - it may be worth your while going futher a field if the price is right.

Reluctant_spender

Have a look at this site - www.honestjohn.co.uk/home/index.htm it gives tips on buying and also reviews on cars - pro's and con's

Click on car by car breakdown and select your model