When would be a good time to buy an 11-plate used car?

forgotmyname

I buy mine with about 120,000 - 130,000 miles. But above average servicing.

Normally i do a low yearly mileage, But on this car i have done more than i usually do. Its now on 170,000 miles.

Less than £1000 in servicing and repairs in 4 years.

A 2 year old car maybe in need of brakes and discs within your 1st year of ownership. Thats general maintenance.

Guest101

Bought a 59 reg earlier this year, so just over 3 years. Price to 'value' ratio was perfect. 7K for a car i'll be running about 7 years.

If i didnt have 3 kids, i'd probably have gone older, but the missus insisted.

Strider590

littlesnuggy wrote: »

need to replace our 03 reg Corsa as it's started to have things go wrong on it (handbrake cable & rear & centre exhaust boxes changed in the last 2 months).!

That's hardly anything major is it?

Your going to lose even more if you go buying another car.......

Ultrasonic

littlesnuggy wrote: »

I'm sure we could keep running the Corsa for another few years but I've been told it will need new brake pads & discs and probably new rear tyres next year, so I think it's time to replace it.

Those are all perfectly normal wear and tear items on any car, which cost peanuts in comparison to to costs of buying a 2011 car. Buy a new(er) car if you want one, but don't try to justify it to yourself on the basis of saving money. You're fooling yourself if you do.

As for your mileage question, look at the condition of the car and the service history. A well maintained car with higher mileage is better than low mileage car that has been poorly maintained.

Herzlos

littlesnuggy wrote: »

Our current car has only done 45k (it had about 8 on when my parents bought it for me in 2004), so we don't do big mileages ourselves.

You're only doing 4000 miles a year? Why do you want a diesel?

At that mileage, you're not going to be recovering the increased purchase price with the fuel savings, and if that's mostly short journeys you'll run into problems with modern diesels which need long runs to prevent filters getting clogged.

At that mileage I'd be looking at a slightly bigger petrol engine; you'll get a newer car for your money, it'll be better to drive, and it really won't cost that much more to run.

Bigger petrol engine because everyone wants the smaller petrol engines for the fuel, tax and insurance savings. This means you can often buy the bigger engined version cheaper than the smaller, the fuel savings are negligable most of the time anyway (you don't need to drive it so hard) and will be insignificant at that mileage, and tax/insurance aren't likely to be much more either, easily less than you save on purchase price.

USM

Why are you buying diesel when you only do 5k per year on average?

WTFH

Yes, doing < 5k a year, don't buy a diesel, you'll spend more keeping the engine in good condition. To get the best out of a diesel you want to be doing >15k a year.

Exactly what brand, model, spec & price car was it you were looking at?
You might find you are only seeing 6 cars because you have an unrealistic idea of their value, or it is a rare model. Try changing the maximum price and increase the maximum mileage.

Horizon81

bob_a_builder wrote: »

"also have a private number plate in mind that could only go on an 11-plate+ car"
how so ?

It'll be something like RW11 SON (spelling R. Wilson)

Guest101

Horizon81 wrote: »

It'll be something like RW11 SON (spelling R. Wilson)

ignore me, got it the wrong way round

Herzlos

Guest101 wrote: »

But why would u need an 11+ car for that reg, you can just buy the car, buy the reg, register the new reg on the new car.

It doesnt have to be 11+ to have RW11.

You can't put a plate on a car older than the plate (so you can't make the car look newer), so if it's a new style '11' plate, the car needs to be an '11' plate or newer. If it was one of the old style ones (pre-70's?) then it'd be fine.