help to buy a 2nd hand car pleaseeeeee

sinu_e_soide

hi i m a girl and i m not british...so i don t understand anything about cars and i m not in my original country!!BUT...I need to buy a 2nd hand car..cheap but working!!!!.can someone help me?...step by step???'thank uuuuuuuuu

balsingh

What is your budget? What size car do you need? What will it be used for (short local journeys or long motorway trips)?

Quinny_2

In order for anyone to help you,I echo Balsingh's thoughts.

Whatever you can afford,will dictate what you can buy,but don't forget to allow for things like tax and insurance,when considering.

Give us more information,like your approximate location in London as well,as this could have an effect on your insurance premium,and you never know,someone may also be able to point you in the right direction of a used car seller.

Ken.

sinu_e_soide

[hi..thanks for ur help..i m in south east..(which could be cheap lol)..and i d like to spend max 2000 pound...a small car to use during week ends around uk..and..if god helps me also somewhere else!!I know Iknow i m asking too much..but maybe i ll be lucky!!
please don t laugh and help me!!

vansboy

Do you have any friends that use a local independent garage for the service & repair of their cars?

Sometimes the garage will have some contacts/customers looking to sell cars.

At least you'll be in with 1/2 chance of a bit of recommendation.

VB

Jennifer_Jane

When I was in a similar position a few years' back, I did some research on what was the most reliable small car, and came up with the Nissan Micra. Some people are now recommending Skoda. Of course the smaller the engine, the cheaper it will be. Obviously you will hunt around for cheapest insurance, but most car insurance asks for a British licence, so it would be a good (well cheaper) idea to change your licence for a full British one (if you are from a country which drives on the right, then you will need to take the British driving test (check DVLA for this, although I did and they told me to take the test even though I was from a country which drives on the left! So they gave me incorrect information!); so allow for the costs and time of doing all that. There is currently some discussion on this board about Petrol vs Diesel, but as you have a small budget, I assume it would be Petrol.

I, personally, would buy from a dealer rather than elsewhere, as I know nothing about cars and would expect the appropriate checks to have been done etc, and correct paperwork, but you would spend more that way.

Hope there's something here that helps.

Good luck. Driving is unpleasant in this Country, sadly.

Jen x

sinu_e_soide

thank u for everything...i didn t know about many things...like the driving test because my italian licence etc..
so ..do u think is more convinient buying in italy..and having an italian insurance?..or do i still need a british licence and so a new test?..help help help..

anewman

If you want an absolute bargain basement reliable car look around for a skoda favorit. You should easily find a lowish mileage one for next to nothing as noone wants them, despite them being superb reliable cars. They are cheap to insure and relatively fuel efficient.

Ebay is probably not the best place to buy cars from (as it is difficult to view the car etc) but here's some examples of things that have sold.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1994-SKODA-FAVORIT-LXIE-GREEN_W0QQitemZ110113045187QQihZ001QQcategoryZ18275QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1993-SKODA-FAVORIT-GLXI-BLUE_W0QQitemZ200096450028QQihZ010QQcategoryZ18275QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1995-SKODA-FAVORIT-LXIE-FLAIRLINE-GREEN_W0QQitemZ170102760442QQihZ007QQcategoryZ18275QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

If you feel comfortable with doing it, it can be worth haggling when buying a car to get it cheaper. As many cars are available and people can easily walk away, sellers are often happy to accept a little less than their asking price. It also saves sellers the extra cost of readvertising.

Main thing you need when buying a car in the UK is a form called a V5. This shows the registered owner, and transfers the car to your ownership. Do not buy a car without one of these as it could lead to no end of trouble.

As for buying in italy and bringing the car back, it would certainly be a long drive and you would have to look into insurance issues. You may only be insured under the italian policy for a set length of time.

To do a british driving test it would probably be best to approach some driving schools and say you have an italian license but want to take the UK test. You should be able to take a refresher lesson or so perhaps to make sure you know what the test will be like, then take the test. You would need to book the test straight away as waiting times can be up a month or more.

Jennifer_Jane

Sorry, I don't know, but suggest that you try again tomorrow and see if other people can help. Google DVLA and the details come up. Have just done it but don't know how to post (and am tired now). (DVLA - Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority).

Nevertheless, I think for the cheapest insurance a full UK licence is required. Worth a phone call to an insurance supermarket to find out.

Good luck, I know the difficulty of being in foreign countries and not knowing how things are done there. It was difficult enough returning to my homeland.

olly300

You can drive on your Italian license in the UK.

Information on holding a EEC and EEA license in the UK:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/DrivingInGbOnAForeignLicence/DG_4022556

However to avoid problems and be more confident that you are not breaking the law because driving is unpleasant and slightly different in this county particularly if you are driving around London, it is worth contacting a driving school and ask them for some refresher lessons. To find a driving school ask a colleague or a friend if they know a decent driving instructor.

You will probably need about 3 hours and need to ensure that you go on large roundabouts, motorways and A roads if you intent to drive around the country.

BTW I keep getting asked by foreign colleagues what the speed limit is in the country on different roads. And I know some of them have got confused by roundabouts as they either don't have them or go in a different direction.

If you give your approximate location in London someone may recommend a driving instructor.

In addition if you are buying an car to drive around the country you need to ensure you have breakdown cover. So look on the threads on the forum for cheap cover.

nicky1312

cars

can anyone help plz
i bought a car on thurs 12th of april,i have never been happy with it as they are supposed to fix certain items,which have not been done and it was advertised with a cd, which there is none in it,is there any way u can take cars back and get your money back or doesnt it work like that.