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

vaio

Suzey wrote: »

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

Whilst I appreciate the “buy what I want rather than VFM” sentiment (I have an Audi S4) have you ever driven a smartcar? They are small, slow & noisy.

I would maybe get one if I lived in central Paris but wouldn’t even think about taking one on a motorway

trets77

Smart car is without doubt the crappiest thing i have ever driven. a nightmare to reverse , wind whistles , completly impractical for going shopping ect and handles and corners like a cheap go kart.

£4K will buy you a lot of good car , if you prize style over enginenering , good luck to you , your a dealers/ sellers wet dream.

if it was me i,d go for a Yaris or something similar,

Chain driven so no need to worry about a cam belt, great economy, and high quality Japanese build. plus low insurance group .

a full service history would be a must for me at £4k mark and a full MOT ticket without question . also someone who knows what to look for to view with you a very good idea

gelato_cat

Thanks - very useful!

Suze

Reluctant_spender wrote: »

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

mookiandco

My OH bought me a second hand smart car (Four Two 2003 Pure tiptronic), just under a year ago and I absolutely love it. I suppose people either love it or hate judging from the other opinions on here, but I cant fault it. Living in London its absolutely perfect for me and its great whizzing down the motorway.

I bought mine on ebay and had no problems. Made sure it was low mileage, right-hand drive (so many are LHD so be careful), went to look at it before we bought, took it for a test drive etc etc. I tried atleast 2 others before i bought and i watched sale prices for almost a month to ensure I was paying a fair amount.

If you have any questions about smarts, ask on here: http://smartmaniacs.co.uk/forums/

They are really helpful and there are often smarts for sale too, so it might be a good place to look.

rizla01

There is nothing to stop you from going to a secondhand car dealer and taking a Smart car out for a test drive, just to assure yourself that it's right for you, is there. They don't sell every car that is test driven.

Small Fiat - I would avoid like the plague.

You obviously like quirky, but a small convertible would be fun and they hold their money.

If you buy privately and the car has a full service history and is up to date with servicing, Etc then you cannot go far wrong.

Buy from an older more respectable type of person and you will be safer.

There are certain towns near me that I wouldn't buy a car from.

ALWAYS Always, drive the car first.

Ask the owner if it has had any accidents or repairs.

mookiandco

If you are worried about safety then look on here: smart is fairly average as far as i can see and comes up better than some 4 x 4s even.

http://www.euroncap.com/content/safety_ratings/details.php?id1=1&id2=69

gelato_cat

Nice to meet a Smart enthusiast! I think you're right - you either love them or hate them.

Thanks for the forum link - I'll go and have a look

Suze

mookiandco wrote: »

My OH bought me a second hand smart car (Four Two 2003 Pure tiptronic), just under a year ago and I absolutely love it. I suppose people either love it or hate judging from the other opinions on here, but I cant fault it. Living in London its absolutely perfect for me and its great whizzing down the motorway.

I bought mine on ebay and had no problems. Made sure it was low mileage, right-hand drive (so many are LHD so be careful), went to look at it before we bought, took it for a test drive etc etc. I tried atleast 2 others before i bought and i watched sale prices for almost a month to ensure I was paying a fair amount.

If you have any questions about smarts, ask on here: http://smartmaniacs.co.uk/forums/

They are really helpful and there are often smarts for sale too, so it might be a good place to look.

gelato_cat

That's cool, I'm mostly going to use it for town driving I haven't driven one yet but will obviously do so when I find one I like, before I buy.

Suze

vaio wrote: »

Whilst I appreciate the “buy what I want rather than VFM” sentiment (I have an Audi S4) have you ever driven a smartcar? They are small, slow & noisy.

I would maybe get one if I lived in central Paris but wouldn’t even think about taking one on a motorway

gelato_cat

rizla01 wrote:

There is nothing to stop you from going to a secondhand car dealer and taking a Smart car out for a test drive, just to assure yourself that it's right for you, is there. They don't sell every car that is test driven.

Nope

rizla01 wrote:

Small Fiat - I would avoid like the plague.

I'm with you there.

rizla01 wrote:

You obviously like quirky, but a small convertible would be fun and they hold their money.

If you buy privately and the car has a full service history and is up to date with servicing, Etc then you cannot go far wrong.

Buy from an older more respectable type of person and you will be safer.

There are certain towns near me that I wouldn't buy a car from.

ALWAYS Always, drive the car first.

Ask the owner if it has had any accidents or repairs.

Thanks for the tips

Suze

save-a-lot

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?

10 reasons to buy a Smart over a Panda...

1. because it has more cred than a Panda
2. it has a higher bhp than a Panda
3. ABS and traction control, air bags and trident safety cell
4. the Smart has mechanicals developed by Chrysler and Mercedes partnership
5. 2 seats are ok when you only occupy one seat
6. it costs £40/year for petrol versions and £0/year for deisels for car tax
7. fuel economy is easily equivalent to the Panda
8. you can in fact fit a decent sized food shop into a Smart
9. shop around and there is cheap insurance available
10. a Panda costing £5K will be worth maybe £4.2K in a year, then £2.8K in 2 years... Smarts hold their price well when you come to sell.

after all it depends on why you want the car, if it is for a commute to work and back they are fine, if it is to drive to London from/to Manchester every other day get something else. Driven properly within the conditions of the road and speed limits the handling is spot on - driven hard they are still capable when the bounds of the car is learnt by the driver - like any car.

Find a Smart car forum as mentioned before and have look around at some discussions, register and tell them that you want to buy, maybe you could source your car from a member.

Where abouts in the UK are you BTW?