Used car recommendations- <£5,000

Quickblood

tescofan wrote: »

found a car that I like...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201408036314767/sort/pricedesc/page/1/price-to/5500/fuel-type/petrol/radius/50/usedcars/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/make/toyota/model/yaris/postcode/ls29nz/advert-type/Classified/transmission/automatic?logcode=p

This 58 Reg Yaris with pretty low mileage. Before I make an overpriced train trip up, can I just ask the experienced members here- the dealer selling the car is RMC Toyota Northallerton, I assume this is what you call a "main dealer"? Will I need to hire an AA/RAC mechanic to have a look over the car or will it be fine cos its from a main dealer?

Also, will the car come with any form of warranty? If I were keen on (paid) warranty, how much will that cost me, and is the price negotiable?

If the car happens to breakdown, will I have to drive it all the way to Northallerton rather than to the nearest Toyota garage where I live in Leeds?

TIA!!

I was tempted to hire the AA or RAC car check folks to have a look at my car before buying it but googling the reviews for these services really put me off, not many have been positive about them.

You're better off watching some videos on youtube on what to look out for when buying used, have a look at websites like Honestjohn for specific vehicle problems and pay the dealer with a credit card for at least part of the vehicle (£100+) to get their added protection. You should always check a car over properly imho, I wouldn't trust anyone completely but yeah you're probably safer with a good dealer.

Also any questions about the warranty should be asked before you get there, but there is 3rd party car warranty available if you don't like what the dealer is offering.

bigjl

That is a huge amount of money for an oldish supermini.

Some may say the Corsa is old fashioned etc.

But given a choice of a 6 yr old car or a 3 yr old car i always go for the younger.

Also don't expect to get a thousand pound off unless the car is already very overpriced.

Though with small automatic superminis few dealers will be willing to do much of a deal as they are retail gold.

Think about it like this.

In 3yrs time that Yaris is closing in on 10yrs old.

But a 3yr old car is now the age the Yaris would be at the outset.

There are times when spending a little bit more is actually more MSE than spending less.

A £6000 Corsa auto will likely still be worth £4k in 3 yrs.

That Yaris could be worth as little as £1500.

Good luck with the hunt.

tescofan

bigjl wrote: »

That is a huge amount of money for an oldish supermini.

Some may say the Corsa is old fashioned etc.

But given a choice of a 6 yr old car or a 3 yr old car i always go for the younger.

Also don't expect to get a thousand pound off unless the car is already very overpriced.

Though with small automatic superminis few dealers will be willing to do much of a deal as they are retail gold.

Think about it like this.

In 3yrs time that Yaris is closing in on 10yrs old.

But a 3yr old car is now the age the Yaris would be at the outset.

There are times when spending a little bit more is actually more MSE than spending less.

A £6000 Corsa auto will likely still be worth £4k in 3 yrs.

That Yaris could be worth as little as £1500.

Good luck with the hunt.

thanks and I do get where you come from. From what I've seen online, age tends to depreciate the car more than mileage. However bearing that in mind I do not have much more than £5k to play around with.

Murphybear

According to Which 2 most reliable second hand cars are Honda Jazz followed by Toyota Yaris. I have just bought a cheap Second hand Yaris as a runaround for local trips. It's working out well. Had I not already insured another car and therefore not eligible for NCD my insurance would have been £95.

Here's a money saving tip. If meerkats comparison site comes up for cheapest car insurance (it did for mine) then claim a special Safari edition baby Oleg toy, they apparently go for a lot of money on ebay:D

tescofan

Murphybear wrote: »

According to Which 2 most reliable second hand cars are Honda Jazz followed by Toyota Yaris. I have just bought a cheap Second hand Yaris as a runaround for local trips. It's working out well. Had I not already insured another car and therefore not eligible for NCD my insurance would have been £95.

Here's a money saving tip. If meerkats comparison site comes up for cheapest car insurance (it did for mine) then claim a special Safari edition baby Oleg toy, they apparently go for a lot of money on ebay:D

thanks for the tip! will keep the meerkat in mind!

tescofan

just an update: bought a car yesterday! :j

Having thought it out- decided that spending abit more may actually cost less to run, and so found the extra 2 grand somehow!

a 61 plate 1.2L Suzuki Swift SZ4 full Auto with FSH and 19,000 miles on the clock. cost £7,000 with a tank of petrol, 6 month tax and an MOT and service. Not the cheapest I could've got it for I suppose, but I doubt he was going to go substantially below that.

Just hope it doesn't end up being a lemon!