Buying my first car

itgirlinuk

I am in the process of buying my first car. I have a budget of £4000 and I need an automatic. I could increase the budget by £1000, but only if the car is a new car / nearly new car. I am not asking for the moon, just a nice runaround, a small hatchback is all I need. Something like a Corsa or C2 or Clio (Don't know why it all starts with a C )

I considered car leasing, but some views on a different posting, suggest that I buy my car outright.

So, I am now confused. A new car, a leased car, a nearly new car or a used car?? Which one??

Can someone please please help??? I need my car urgently and dont know which line of purchase to pursue.

mrcow

Hi

Please can you just clarify.....when you say that your budget is £4k, do you mean that you have £4k cash to spend on this car, as your post also talks about finance?

Also within that £4k, have you included insurance and tax?

jjames_3

I would certainly buy rather than lease -- 2nd hand values have taken a pounding recently and there are bargains to be had.

I'd steer away from the Clio and C2 and look at the likes of the Seat Ibiza, Toyota Yaris, Nissan Micra, VW Polo, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Getz or Skoda Fabia. The Getz in particular represents excellent value for money as you can buy a nearly-new (brand new but pre-registered) one from a dealer for about £5000. It comes with a 5-year warranty as well.

For £4000 you should be able to get a very good 2-3 year old car which should give excellent service.

As for finance, a straight £4000 loan from an internet bank is the best option, you should be able to get it at around 7%.

ArsenalFC

I would suggest buy. They is no need to buy a brand new car unless absolutely necessary as older car are value for money, half their price in 3 years normally.

The clio isn't a bad car, got 4 stars out of 5 from parkers. I agreed that the yaris and polo should be look into, along with the micra, skoda and fiesta for value, although the yaris and polo looks better than others in my opinion.

The yaris is the best car for reliability, but some people may not like the look. I am currently looking at the polo from 2002 with the round lights for someone, she prefers the polo to the looks of the yaris. Each to their own on this one.

itgirlinuk

Thanks for your views. To clarify few things, I have £4000 to spend on the car and I am not going to take out finance. And the £4000 is for the car and I have set aside money for insurance. Don't know where the tax is going to come from!!! Oh dear! :-(

I like the Yaris and Polo, but as I am looking for an automatic, I wont get a Polo for that price. This is based on what cars are on sale right now on autotrader.

Or do the dealers negotiate on price? I dont know what I have to do to be able to buy a £5000 car for £4000. Is this possible at all?

Sorry about all these questions...I have never done this before and I am worried about the whole process.

vansboy

Hi Again!

The best place for a small automatic, is from auction, within the Motability Fleet section. These are, generally, low, or very low mileage cars, operated by Motability (the UK's largest motor leae fleet) & driven by people who fund the car, with their mobility (disability) payments.

Obviously, I wouldn't expect a first time buyer, to have lots of info on auctions, BUT... is there a local repair garage, that you know - or could be recommended to you. Perhaps they would go to auction with you, to give the car a once over (not that that is the easiest thing to do in auction).

They would be gaining a new customer & you'd need to pay for their time, looking at the car for you.

Have you thought of Astra? You'd certainly be into Y/51 reg in Motability. A 1.6 club gets air con, elecric windows, & reasonable trim at your budget.

Where are you in the country, I'll let you know of the nearest auction centres holding these type of sales.

VB

jjames_3

5k car for 4k? Unlikely. Rule of thumb is to make an offer 20% below the asking price, and you'll probably get the car for 10% below, but a lot depends on the dealer.

So £500 off is probably about as much as you can expect on a £5000 car.

zacspeed_2

1. Buy nearly new - let some other sucker take the depreciation!!!
2. Buy a Honda.

ArsenalFC

With the polo it would depend on the year and spec you want from the car. Year 2000-2002 mk3 you can certainly buy with your budget. However if you want the newer shape from 2002 mk4 it may cost you a little more, being an auto is rarer to find in a small car, also cost a little more.

I would say, set aside upto £4500 for the car you want, maybe polo from 2002 mk4. Have patient and lookout for the ads on a regular basis, which I think you're already doing. Ebay auction is another place you can look into, the majority of the time you can get car cheaper than in the autotrader. For example there was a new shape polo 2002 silver, 55k miles and no one bid on it @£4000. The person then advertise in autotrader for £4700. I would recommend ebay, but you should always ask/take someone who knows a little about car to view or test drive them.

Like I say, i am currently on the lookout to get the polo with air con on behalf of someone. She would of got that £4000 polo had I not advise her against it as it had no air con. Patient is very important, wait for a price that you can afford. There will be plenty of cars up for sale as the summer is just around the corner.

Goodluck with the hunt.

jjames_3

zacspeed wrote:

1. Buy nearly new - let some other sucker take the depreciation!!!
2. Buy a Honda.

Buying a Honda is a good idea, but there are cheaper alternatives.

My second car is a 12-year-old Nissan. Just one exhaust back-box and a battery needed in 5 years, and no sign that it's going to let go any time soon -- still a first-turn starter in the worst of weather and an almost silent engine. Very, very solid cars, and cheap too

I bought a Hyundai last time around because they're sooooo cheap second-hand, had that 30 months no with not a hiccup, but I think I'll go back to Japanese next time, I dunno they just feel more solid somehow, even though the Hyundai seems to be indestructible.

CrazyChemist_2

jjames wrote:

My second car is a 12-year-old Nissan. Just one exhaust back-box and a battery needed in 5 years, and no sign that it's going to let go any time soon -- still a first-turn starter in the worst of weather and an almost silent engine. Very, very solid cars, and cheap too

I wish I could say the same for our Almera

I won't be buying Nissan again because their customer service is rubbish. They just flog me off to the dealer all the time and the dealer refuses to do anything on the car.

DON'T BUY NISSAN!!!