Buying my first car

vansboy

You won't find a Ka auto.

Best ry some showrooms on a Saturday, look at as many as you can, with models you'd consider....

THEN... get them to source a demonstrator car for you, might take a couple of days....

THEN... have a PROPER test drive, booked in advance, so you're not rushing around,. Allow as long as you can in the drive - certainly minimum of an hour,(Vauxhall offering 3 DAYS currently!!) to see how it feels.Don't be bullied by any sales talk - you're the customer, walk away 'till you've had thinking time ...

THEN...once you've a shortlist, ask to try the car again, before you choose, what to go for...

THEN...it's up to you. Get the dealers to come up with their offer & take it from there.

& take someone with you, each time, ANYONE, then they'll make their comments too.

Not easy is it!!??

VB

Sheel

vansboy wrote:

You won't find a Ka auto.

Oops! sorry ,forgot you wanted an auto

itgirlinuk

I went car hunting last weekend with my boyfriend (i did take someone with me, even though he does not know a lot about cars!!)

I found 3 cars I liked:

1. A Nissan Micra, P reg (10 years old), low mileage for £1700 (price negotiable). complete service history, 1 owner, comes with 3 months guarantee.

2. A VW POLO, P reg, 51K miles and 2 owners and some lost service history (doesn't sound great) and comes with 6 months Auto protect guarantee for £2900

3. A Corsa, 2000 V reg, 32K miles, 2 owners and some lost service history (not great!) and comes with 6 months Auto protect guarantee for £3900

I am leaning towards the Micra, as its cheap to buy and insure (yes, cheap insurance is important to me and I do have off-street parking). But I am not sure whether I should buy a 10 year old or a 5 year old car. Isn't the mileage more important than the age of the car?

craigeybabe

I just bought a Hyudai Getz 1.3 CDX pre-registered so it was a lot cheaper than a new car. It is a fab small car absolutely packed with equipment. Depending what you use the car for, I would highly recommend it.

Don't know what your financial situation is but I paid for half of the car up front and got the dealer to give me 0% finance on the on the other half to be paid for over two years.

If you are in full time work then it may be worth your while considering something like this and getting a nearly new car. Hyundai has a 5 year warranty so you know the car is covered for at least that period of time and they are very reliable.

I used to own a Nissan as well and they are extremely reliable also.

Bottom line is don't buy new and go for a company who stand behind their cars with a robust warranty for at least three years.

Feel free to PM me with any questions

ArsenalFC

I would recommend the micra. Im in the process of hunting for one myself to use for work and I want automatic too . It is cheap to buy, insure and very reliable. The fact it is 10 years old isn't a problem. I have seen one on autotrader for £1200, 1997 1.3slx auto with 66k miles (private seller is in london). Try and get a 1996 model onwards as they come with driver's airbag as standard. Lower the mileage is always better and should have some sort of service records. This will indicate whether the car has been looked after. Always beware of cars that dont have any service records as it could have been neglected and return big bills for u.

All micras comes in 16v engine and have timing chain instead of the belt, it means this will not need replacing for the life of the engine. Saving £200-£300 compare to other cars. Although I have heard the chain do break aswell! I haven't found any decent deals for the micra with automatic yet, so may consider getting a manual, it would be cheaper and gives me more choice.

The micra maybe the least best looking of the small car range, but it is the best choice if you are on a budget. So if looks isn't an issue then get a micra. Goodluck with it.

vansboy

Hi Again!!

Glad you've looked at several DIFFERENT makes, always best action !!

At this price range, better to worry about the cars general condition & way it drives, rather than be too concerned about age/miles. A low mileage car, thats done only a few school runs, will have more wear on the mechanical bits, than one cruising the motorway at 70mph all day!

& as your first car, the budget end of the market, can show up some VERY useable vehicles.

Then, when you're ready to trade up, you might even have something worth a few £$£ towards deposit - if it's a 'lemon', you'll not have spent out toooooooooo much, anyway!!


Do make sure you READ the V5(log book). Watch for first owner (especially with the Corsa, or if you wanted Rover 100) being a business sounding name. EVERY chance it was a driving school!!

If you let us know who the owner is, I'll do my best to confirm it for you.

VB

jjames_3

As a general rule, far Eastern cars tend to be more reliable than European ones -- this includes Korean, so the Getz is an excellent buy and will no doubt be one of the great used bargains of the next 10 years or so.

The only thing I'd say about the Micra is the low miles. As has been said, very low mileage is just as bad for an older car as very high mileage. The little Nissan engines are some of the most reliable and durable ever built, and will run to mileages unheard of on a lot of competitors' cars. But they *need* to be worked, and regularly serviced, or they can get sludged up leading to camchain failure. It's rare, but it does happen.

If the engine is quiet, it shouldn't be a problem, but if that chain is rattling, look for another one, there are plenty about. A well maintained Nissan Micra engine should be almost silent at idle when warm, and most of them pretty much are. A few minor squeaks and rattles on startup are common at 10 years old though.

Generally though the Micra comes highly recommended. There are few more reliable cars on the road, they last very well (look at the number of 15-year-old box-shape Micras still on the road!) and the parts are easy to come by and inexpensive on the whole.

As has been mentioned as well, be very careful not to get an ex-driving school car. Superminis are the cars most often used by driving instructors, and Corsas and Micras are two of the most common models chosen. The driving school cars can have expensive problems with transmissions and suspension/steering, although this is less of an issue with automatics. The problem with autos is they tend to be bought by granny who drives them to Morrisons and back twice a week, and although they may look pristine they've never been warmed up, probably haven't been serviced every year and there are things elderly drivers do which are not ideal for a car. Plus they'll never have had an "Italian tune-up" in their lives, essential for any car

itgirlinuk

Thank you all, for all your valuable inputs. I am getting closer to my decision.

I was told by the trader that Micra was owned by a lady and was bought and sold to the trader under her husband's name. I did see her name on the registration too. And they have the log book.

So does this mean, they used it for the school run and is that bad? And is £1700 a good price for the car? I was told they will negotiate on the price. So I am going to ask for £1200 for it and work my way upwards. Is that a good idea?

And does it matter that I have looked at only 1 10 year old micra before I buy it? Should I walk around for other traders?

vansboy

Look at as many as you can - but it'll be a bit like buying shoes - if you're not careful, you'll forget which you liked!!

Whatever 10year old car you buy, it'll be towards the end of it's life.

You only need 1 BIG problem & it'll not be worth fixing, in relation to the cars value.

Think you REALLY need someone with a bit of knoledge, to go with you!!

VB

ArsenalFC

£1700 for that car is too much, you'll get a lower price by buying it from a private seller. Look into a few other micras too as there are some about even with automatic, the trader's one will not sell overnight so u can always go back to them.

Generally speaking school run cars (short trips) are not good for the engine, but the micras have a very reliable engine. Get one with some service records. The £1200 one i saw on autotrader now has a price changed to £1500, strange, maybe the seller mis-price at first. Take a look on https://www.autotrader.co.uk , there are a few micra auto about with your price range and as always, u can negoiate on price.

As most have said, DO take someone with knowledge with u everytime.