Should I buy this car?

Minerva69

Hi everyone. Just been to look at my local Nissan dealer today as I'm looking to get a new Nissan Note 1.6SE automatic. I'm learning to drive but hopefully will be taking my test soon and want to get a car now so I can practice in it.

The dealer has an ex-demonstrator model available with the spec I want, metallic paint (which I wasn't too bothered about). It's a 56 plate and has 3,666 miles on the clock. They are asking £10,800 for it - is this a good price?

For info, the dealer's OTR price for a brand new one is £12,940 and I've been told I won't get much discount on this as I want an automatic. He said the only thing I'm likely to get on a new one is free metallic paint.

Should I go for the ex-demo car or pay the extra for a brand new one, or should I be looking elsewhere? Thanks.

vikingaero

£11,905 for a 1.6 SE Auto from https://www.drivethedeal.co.uk - a saving of £1,436. And that's delivered to your door. My sister bought a Jazz auto from Drive The Deal and it was a great transaction.

Your dealer is being tight because Nissan cars don't exactly fly out of the showroom.

peterg1965

Agree with Viking aero. Ge some new prices from the Internet and go and show them to the dealer. Tell him £10,000 is a good price for the demo.

dnc1781

See autotrader.co.uk
-national search
-nissan note auto

used
0606 S 10k from £9695
0606 SE 8k from £9995
0656 S 6k from £9995
0656 SE ?k from £10250
0756 SE 1k from £10499

new
S from £10433
SE from £11639

DealDrivers_company_representative

You can easily get between 6-9% on brand new 1st owner Notes....it makes no difference what the transmission is at all. Discount is across the range, not dependent on gears!

Has it got metallic paint? If so, it's not that bad a deal but find out its date of registration as it could be anywhere within the 56-plate 6mth period...it's lost its warranty from the date it was registered so weigh that up too in the price.... if its solid I'd hold out for a better deal on metallic as they wear better and so hold value a little better.

Solid paints show every dint & ding

vikingaero

peterg1965 wrote: »

Agree with Viking aero. Ge some new prices from the Internet and go and show them to the dealer. Tell him £10,000 is a good price for the demo.

In my experience, local dealers are pretty dumb about the prices charged by net companies. On 3 occasions they've had to go online and check for themselves the prices that the cars were being sold for. I always get the usual spiel - they might be imports, it's dodgy buying on the net etc!

Funniest and most ironic transaction was buying a Corsa for my auntie. I turned up at my local Vauxhall dealer armed with a Drive the Deal printout and said to the salesman that if he matched it then the deal was his. He went online to a back office to check the deal out, fluffed around, gave me the usual spiel and told me that his best price was £xxx, about £800 more than Drive The Deal and that I'd be forgoing the local service and backup. So I went away and ordered from Drive The Deal. :rolleyes: The email/deposit confirmation told me to contact and pay......... the same local dealer who refused to match their offer! So the same salesman who didn't get the deal had to process my order and hand over the car to my auntie.:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Minerva69

Thanks very much for all the replies, very helpful. I have decided not to go for the ex-demo model at the moment as it seems I will be able to get a brand new one for not much more. I think I was getting too excited yesterday about the possibility of getting my first car and not assessing my options properly!

I also posted on the Honest John site forum asking for advice as I had seen it recommended on here. I wish I hadn't bothered as I have received replies such as why am I wanting to buy a new car anyway and why don't I stop learning in an auto and change to a manual :rolleyes: I even got criticised for wanting a car with ISOFIX child seat mounts Won't be posting there again, I'll stick with MSE!

Crabman

Be aware that Nissan Notes are notorious for depreciating... fast! And they aren't exactly quick to sell so if this really is the car for you (having test driven one of these I don't think it's anything special, my Yaris has better technology) then you can squeeze lots more out of the dealer, extras or money-off.

Take a look at the Honda Jazz...

Minerva69

Crabman wrote: »

Take a look at the Honda Jazz...

Actually this was near the top of my list originally but I got put off when reading the comments on other forums and the Euro NCAP safety test results. I need an automatic car and I believe the Jazz has a CVT gearbox which I was also advised against.

I'm now considering a used Ford Focus, does anyone have any opinions on these?!

vikingaero

The Jazz autobox is as good as any conventional automatic and has 7 speeds for manual control. My sister left her car with me to use for 6 months to keep it ticking over whilst she went travelling and it's a very good car indeed, if a tad noisy. Honest John unfailingly recommends the Jazz in his motoring column time and time again. It's well built and super-reliable. The only fly in the ointment was the Honda mechanic who sent an email to HJ saying that the Jazz needs some sort of engine/valve adjustment at 60,000 miles and can cost up to £600.

anewman

Why buy a new car to practice in when you can just pay a driving school to practice? After the cost of insurance to get you legally on the road - and the hassle of getting someone to supervise you when you want for as long as you want - chances are it's just easier to pay a driving school by the hour, and cost about the same. Either way you're also probably best sticking to the car you know until you pass your test - which will hopefully be first time This isn't to stop you of course it's just my point of view Also be prepared for the possibility of small parking ding repair costs if buying new straight after learning. This is the only reason people tend to recommend getting a banger first off as the bumps won't matter when you send it to the scrap next year.