buying a first car- help please

19lottie82

duesouthtwin2 wrote: »

It's a really difficult decision and I like hearing everyone's experience and advice. I am leaning more towards the finance option at the moment

Bear in mind that if you scratch the bodywork, or alloys, and then want to return the car, the dealer will charge you an absolute FORTUNE for repairs (and no, you can't get it done yourself, they WILL notice, and this will end up costing you even more).

My advice would be to go for something cheap, but well maintained and see how you get on. As a new driver you're pretty likely to have a bump (even if it's just a small one with an inanimate object!) within the first year.

Further down the line if you decide you want something newer (and don't mind shelling out the cash), or it isn't economical to repair, then consider a finance deal?

briankoko49

Hi Everyone


I just bought a second hand car and discovered there is a general scam going on. The con basically involves any kind of car with a price range of £1000 to £1500. There are a lot of people now who pretend to be car traders. They look for drivable cars with faults, buy them cheap, somehow get these faulty cars MOTed and sell it on for a much higher price.


BEWARE OF ANY TRADER WHO SAYS THEY HAVE JUST STARTED THE TRADE AND SO DON'T HAVE A PROPER CAR SALES GARAGE.


BEWARE OF ANY TRADER WHO SAYS THEY JUST BOUGHT A CAR OR JUST HAD A CAR IN ON PART EXCHANGE. THESE SO CALLED TRADERS ARE BOGUS, THEY WILL GIVE FAKE NAMES AND ADDRESS.


THEY WILL KNOWINGLY SELL YOU A CAR WITH A FAULT AND WHEN YOU DISCOVER THE PROBLEM AND TRY TO TAKE IT BACK, THE SO CALLED TRADER WILL BE NO WHERE TO BE FOUND.


PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT...................THANKS.

jimjames

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

That's unbelievably insulting. You're the one with a problem, not the previous poster.

If you read the other post you'll see that briankoko49 is the one making things up and exaggerating the situation. Posting in capitals doesn't make inaccurate information any more correct.

duesouthtwin2 wrote: »

It's a really difficult decision and I like hearing everyone's experience and advice. I am leaning more towards the finance option at the moment

Be very wary taking out finance. Not only will you lose a massive amount on depreciation, you'll also be tied to that agreement which may be a problem if your situation changes.

Horizon81

Buy an old banger as a first car. Based on anecdotal evidence it'll end up sideways in a hedge or at the very least with a few dents and dings on it.

By old banger I mean something up to £2k, with a decent service history, ideally from the owner and not from a dealer. Easier said than done, but not impossible. Small and Japanese would be my advice.

BeenThroughItAll

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

That's unbelievably insulting. You're the one with a problem, not the previous poster.

When I mentioned 'having a problem' I was referring to the language used in the previous post. Nothing to do with making things up or inaccurate information.


There was absolutely no need, nor is there ever, for kripel to refer to someone as a 'retard'. It's insulting and unnecessary.

Mobeer

Ideally hunt around friends or relative for a well loved old car. Something with plenty of life left but not worth much. If forced to look beyond that circle, I'd personally look for something that I could live with for say 3 years, so not entirely basic but reasonable. Hyundai i10 for about £3500 maybe?

Bear in mind that insurance will probably cost more than anything else.

bouicca21

One thing to consider is the extent to which you are - or intend to become - a petrolhead. If you are going to learn about engines and oily stuff then an old banger will probably be ok. If like me you just want the thing to go, don't want to learn what's under the bonnet, and can't recognise one kind of car from another except by colour and size, then you would be better off with something a bit newer.

I've just been through the same sort of debate with myself. I soon realised that I didn't have enough courage to take a risk so I've ended up with a 5 year old car from a main dealer and a 1 year warranty. I'm really pleased with it. Fwiw, a mechanic friend said VW and Skoda were the most reliable cars, and "avoid French electrics".

Cornucopia

duesouthtwin2 wrote: »

It's a really difficult decision and I like hearing everyone's experience and advice. I am leaning more towards the finance option at the moment

Actually, a small car makes a lot of sense as a first car, and coincidentally you can get some reasonable finance deals on them.

Have a look at PCP and Lease prices on things like VW Up! and the new Citroen C1 - you should be able to get those for less than £100 per month.

Some of the comments above are not very helpful. If you go with a PCP, for example, you have four options at the end of the term, so even if you think your car will fail inspection, there are other alternatives to just handing it back and paying the penalties.

As long as any repairs are professionally done, they won't "know" and there won't be extras to pay.

forgotmyname

Finance on the first car and the cost of insurance for a new driver
maybe quite a shock to your wallet, dont forget your new car will need
servicing and replacing worn parts before the finance will end.

How will your budget cope with a shock bill for £1000 at service time,
it may not happen but there is a chance that it will and you need to be
aware that a new clutch maybe required at some poing and that a simple
service and some work on the brakes could be £300+

Sisters got a car on the drive that she cannot sell due to the finance being more than its worth, and it also needs quite a bit of work doing to it. So she has to pay for a car she cannot use.

Cornucopia

forgotmyname wrote: »

How will your budget cope with a shock bill for £1000 at service time,
it may not happen but there is a chance that it will...

You'd have to be unfeasibly unfortunate to end up with a bill for £1000 on a car that's still in manufacturer's warranty.