Couple of questions about purchasing a used car

rorylando45

Hi all,

My current car (a crappy old 2002 Renault Clio) has packed in, I took it to the garage but they said it would be upwards of £1500 for repairs and advised it wouldn't really be worth it, so instead I've decided to just buy a new (used) car, and at the same time part-exchange my Clio.

I've settled on a Ford Fiesta and I've found a nearby dealers who has one which looks good, low-ish mileage etc. - I'm planning to go and see it tomorrow (Saturday). However, I have a couple of questions and was hoping for some help:

1. I have enough money to buy the car outright, but what's the best way to pay for it? I have a credit card but the limit is £3,800 and the asking price for the car is £6,500, so I couldn't put it on that. Ideally I would though cos then I would have added protection if something went wrong. Alternatives are cash or debit card - debit card would be most convenient, I have never made such a large purchase by debit card though, should it all work OK or do I need to pre-authorise it with my bank?

2. How and when should I tax the car and get insurance? Like if I'm happy with it, and the test drive goes OK, and I can negotiate a good price - technically I know I should tax and insure it before driving home, but in practice do you think I would be OK for the short (1.5 mile drive home) without either? Then sort it all when I get home? Risky I know, but I'm just not sure how logistically I can arrange tax and insurance whilst still at the dealer?

3. Would anyone advise booking one of those RAC/AA vehicle inspections? I think they cost about £180 or so, but I'm not too clued up on what to check for, and potentially this could save me a lot of money if they notice any issues. Does anyone have any experience of this?

4. Lastly does anyone have any tips?! This will be my first time buying from a dealer, all my previous cars have been from private sellers

Thanks for any help or advice offered!

Quentin

Get your tax and insurance online or by phone before taking it on the road. (Some dealers can arrange 7/10 days free insurance cover for customers)


See what the dealer will charge if you want to pay part on your credit card - maybe just put £100 on your cc if you want s75 protection.

rorylando45

Quentin wrote: »

Get your tax and insurance online or by phone before taking it on the road. (Some dealers can arrange 7/10 days free insurance cover for customers)


See what the dealer will charge if you want to pay part on your credit card - maybe just put £100 on your cc if you want s75 protection.

Thanks. OK well in the world of 3G internet I should be able to sort out tax and insurance whilst at the dealers - if not can always run home and sort it on a proper computer before returning to the dealers.

Regarding your second point, I didn't realise that I would get s75 protection even if I just made part-payment on the card! In that case it is definitely worth doing that.

Ebe_Scrooge

Most dealers will accept a CC payment of £100, which will give you S75 protection as previously mentioned ( they won't accept a CC for the whole amount without passing on the fee to you, typically 2 or 3 % ). Debit card is the easiest way to pay the balance ( and the preferred way for most dealers ). You could pre-warn your bank, but in my experience the bank just ask you to phone them to authorise it if they need to ( I think a message comes up on the card-reader ).

Regarding an AA / RAC inspection, they are pretty good in my experience, and can give you peace of mind. Of course, there's no guarantee that a fault won't develop a few months afterwards, but they are good at picking up minor or imminent faults which any decent dealer will rectify before handing the car over.

Final tips - haggle ! Bear in mind the bottom line is the "cost to change" - so it's no good him knocking a grand off the screen price if he also gives you a grand less for your part-x. There's always room for them to knock something off, despite what he'll tell you Negotiate the best price you can, then you umm and ahh for a couple of minutes, before saying "Throw in a set of mats and a full tank of fuel, and you've got a deal". Dealers will ( almost ) always do whatever it takes to get the sale, within reason ( obviously they do have to make a profit ). As long as they see you're serious about buying it, not just wasting their time, you should be able to do a decent deal.

rorylando45

Thank you on all 3 of your points there! Will definitely be haggling, I love a good negotiation.

Nodding_Donkey

You only need to put £1 on a credit card to benefit from S75

iolanthe07

Nodding_Donkey wrote: »

You only need to put £1 on a credit card to benefit from S75

No. S75 only applies for deals between £100 and £30,000.

Quentin

iolanthe07 wrote: »

No. S75 only applies for deals between £100 and £30,000.

No.


S75 £100 refers to the whole deal, not just the amount charged to the cc (which can be just £1)

Stooby2

rorylando45 wrote: »

Hi all,



2. How and when should I tax the car and get insurance? Like if I'm happy with it, and the test drive goes OK, and I can negotiate a good price - technically I know I should tax and insure it before driving home, but in practice do you think I would be OK for the short (1.5 mile drive home) without either? Then sort it all when I get home? Risky I know, but I'm just not sure how logistically I can arrange tax and insurance whilst still at the dealer?

Thanks for any help or advice offered!

Don't drive your new car without insurance. If you get stopped by the police, it'll get seized, you get a £200 fine and 6 points on your licencd. You have to pay to get the car back from the pound and the new insurance you will need to release it will be horrendously expensive.

Plus if you have a prang, you cause unnecessary problems for the other driver. It's easy enough to get a quote, either online or by phone beforehand, then activate it with a quick call or online when you pick it up.

Tips : get your own HPI check done, don't trust the dealer to do it or his word when he says it's all clear. For £30, safeguarding the £6500 is good sense.

Take it for a test drive. Listen for whining, rumbling noises. Does it brake in a straight line? Does the ABS come on if you emergency brake? Does it change gear easily and smoothly, do, all the electrics work...and so on.

If you're not sure, see if you can take someone with you who knows.

iolanthe07

Quentin wrote: »

No.


S75 £100 refers to the whole deal, not just the amount charged to the cc (which can be just £1)

I didn't know that. Thanks.

rorylando45

Just been and bought it, thank you for all the advice! It all went really well, much less hassle and stress than I was expecting. I think I got a good deal though, so overall very happy. :T