Buying a second hand car from garage/dealership

first78

I'm going to have to think about buying a new car in the new year. I only have a small deposit and would need to either sell or scrap my existing car.

I'm a woman and don't have any male friends who can help me, so I want to understand if there's any room to negotiate on the price of cars on a forecourt and what sort of things you say to get the price knocked down.

I'm going to be looking for a car that is suitable for myself and my two young children. I commute about 40 miles in total per day so don't know if petrol or diesel would be better?

If anyone can recommend any ways to negotiate price, or suggest makes and models of cars I'd appreciate it. I currently have a Skoda Fabia Estate 2003 and would like something slightly smaller.

forgotmyname

Can you haggle, usually yes but there are places where the price is the price, pay it or go away.
On the plus side they are often well priced to start with.

Petrol or diesel, well i do 99% short journeys and a diesel works for me.

AdrianC

40 miles per day is 200 miles/week, less than 10,000/year - so the likelihood of having problems with a modern diesel is high, and the benefit from the extra economy is low.

If you're looking for something smaller than a Fabia - already a small car, a VW Polo underneath - then you're really looking at the "city car" class (VW Up!, Hyundai i10, Toyota Aygo), a high percentage of which are petrol anyway. But something that size is going to be cramped for transporting two young (growing...) children plus their stuff.

As far as negotiating goes - there's no magic. It's just the same as any other negotiation. Do your research, so you know fair values for what you're looking at - and be prepared to walk away if you can't get a deal you're happy with.

What sort of budget are you looking at? Financed? You say "or scrap" - remember that the much-vaunted scrappage deals aren't government-backed, they're just a marketing incentive from the manufacturers, so the deals may be available without scrapping your existing car. Look at the total cost to change.

martinthebandit

If you only have a small deposit you are going to be paying a £100 plus for five years or so at the end of which you will probably be in the same, or similar, position you are now.

You would be much better off putting that £100 plus into a bank account and using it to keep your existing car running. In 5 years time you will still have a roadworthy old car but a much bigger deposit.

wgl2014

Why do you need to get rid of your existing car?
If it needs a bit of work this may be worth doing rather than paying out for a newer car (it may also not be depending on what is wrong)

motorguy

first78 wrote: »

I'm going to have to think about buying a new car in the new year. I only have a small deposit and would need to either sell or scrap my existing car.

I'm a woman and don't have any male friends who can help me, so I want to understand if there's any room to negotiate on the price of cars on a forecourt and what sort of things you say to get the price knocked down.

I'm going to be looking for a car that is suitable for myself and my two young children. I commute about 40 miles in total per day so don't know if petrol or diesel would be better?

If anyone can recommend any ways to negotiate price, or suggest makes and models of cars I'd appreciate it. I currently have a Skoda Fabia Estate 2003 and would like something slightly smaller.

if its not economically viable to continue running your current car, i'd be aiming for a petrol KIA (7 year warranty) or Hyundai (5 year warranty) and get as young a one as you can.

Best way to get the best price is to look for the particular make / model / fuel type / budget / year and then sort by price within the area you're willing to travel.

If your're buying a car with the balance of the manufacturers warranty then this removes any reliance on the selling dealer if there are faults down the line.

Gloomendoom

motorguy wrote: »

If your're buying a car with the balance of the manufacturers warranty then this removes any reliance on the selling dealer if there are faults down the line.

Be careful with this assumption. My wife P/X’d a Kia with a year left on the warranty. It was booked in for a main dealer service but the garage said not to bother as they offered all cars with an RAC warranty which meant that they had to do the service too. This would very probably invalidate the remaining manufacturer’s warranty.

FreddieFrugal

AdrianC wrote: »

40 miles per day is 200 miles/week, less than 10,000/year - so the likelihood of having problems with a modern diesel is high,

Not necessarily. My commute is the same - but it's not 40 miles of urban stop start traffic. It's 40 miles on one long stretch of road where the car is moving continuously for speeds in excess of 50mph for half an hour.

Those conditions are actually pretty good for a diesel. Regardless of the total number of miles.

Must be as I've paid for nothing more than routine servicing the last 6 years.

When I bought my car - used - the price difference between it and the same spec with petrol engine were negligible. Practically the same price.

But I get 60mpg as an average over a year. Wouldn't have got anywhere near that in a petrol equivalent.

AdrianC

My mother has an 8yo 207 1.6HDi, with just over 50k on it. That's not given any grief, either.

But we all know the fact is that the LIKELIHOOD is that that kind of use will cause problems...

FreddieFrugal

AdrianC wrote: »

But we all know the fact is that the LIKELIHOOD is that that kind of use will cause problems...

So if you drive 10,000 miles a year, but those miles are say 95% fast moving open road (as mine are) you're VERY LIKELY to have problems?

You're VERY LIKELY to have some kind of problem with your car eventually regardless of what driving you do!

10,000 miles of open road driving are a heck of a lot better than 20,000 miles around town.



My point Adrian was just to say that the total number of miles alone is not the only thing to consider when choosing an engine.

If the OP's trips are mostly in town then yes diesel is unsuitable.

motorguy

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Be careful with this assumption. My wife P/X’d a Kia with a year left on the warranty. It was booked in for a main dealer service but the garage said not to bother as they offered all cars with an RAC warranty which meant that they had to do the service too. This would very probably invalidate the remaining manufacturer’s warranty.

It would be worth checking the detail yes, however it would be pretty dim of a dealer to negate say, 5 years remaining warranty by overriding the warranty with theirs and not servicing the car as per the manufacturers requirements.