I wanna buy a used car

r_holmes22

I am looking for a specific make and model with a fairly specific mileage (30K - 40K). I have come across the following sites:

https://www.allapprovedcars.com
https://www.carsource.co.uk
https://www.desperateseller.co.uk

which have helped identify potential vendors around the country. Are there any others that users of this site might recommend?

Also, I know it is common practice to haggle with the advertised price of a new car, but does the same apply for a used car? I ask because the prices I see for the make/model/age/mileage I am after tend to be significantly higher than suggested in the latest Parker's guide. I appreciate there are differences in price between main dealers, private dealers, and car supermarkets and that there will tend to be little/no room for price negotiations with the latter, but what about the main/private dealers?

Any other advice/recommendations would be most appreciated; this is the first time I've purchased a car.

StockportGerbil

All car prices are subject to negotiation including (I believe, although I don't have first hand experience of it) Car Supermarkets. If this is your first car - you're not going to have one to trade in, so that should get some money off the screen price from bigger dealers. If they're priced more than parkers this could be pointed out in a bid to get some money knocked off.

StockportGerbil

Also have you tried https://www.autotrader.co.uk and https://www.loot.com?

fatboyonadiet

Maybe try the delaerships as they stock used cars, don't buy on the first visit, bring them down most will budge a fair bit especially if they're keen. Or any used dealers that specialise in that one make.

r_holmes22

Thanks all of you for the useful tips. All are appreciated.

In actual fact, I do have a car to trade in, but it's a 1997 Ford Fiesta with 103K on the clock and only a partial service history. I bought it off my parents when they upgraded, so didn't have to go through the process of buying from commercial sources. Can't imagine I'd get more than £200 or £300 for it.

Will see what's available from where and aim to get them down to nearer the Parker's price guides.

Thanks again for for the tips and suggestions.

wazza

may it be new or used always haggle. if buying from a garage used if they cannot bring the price down then ask for freebies. Bought a mondeo from a daewoo garage, the price was fixed but got them to replace all tyres and change the cambelt. on diesel a cambelt change costs £300+. As a rule when i buy used i always change the cambelt unless they can prove it has been changed. Best time to buy is when the new registration comes out and they have surplus part exchange cars to get rid off.

Savvy_Sue

Look on Honest John - there is a superb guide to buying and selling cars on the LH side of the main page. Also worth looking in The Back Room - you'll have to register to post a question but you'll pick up all kinds of info from threads already there.

r_holmes22

Excellent! Many thanks. Appreciated.

r_holmes22

That Autotrader website is excellent! Just what I need. You can search the entire country (or within a specified distance) for independent/franchise dealers selling the exact make and model you are interested in. You can also specify price range you're willing to consider, maximum/minimum mileage etc. If what you want isn't available at present you can set up an alert to inform you when vehicles that match your criteria are added to the database.

I was aware of the Autotrader print publication but had no idea the web site offered this kind of search functionality.

Many thanks for the tips.

Pink.

This thread is more suited to the Motoring and Public Transport board, so I'm going to move it over there.