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Buying help - Starting from scratch
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Basically I have around £2-2,500 to spend on a car, cash. I really don't want a finance agreement or PCP or anything like that, unless I can be convinced it is absolutely essential. I just want to pay for a car with some cash, and then tax it with some more cash, insure it with even more cash, and finally, fuel it some more cash.
Frankly, I've always made terrible decisions in the past when it comes to cars, and I have very little knowledge of the industry so I'm hoping somebody can help before I plunge another few thousand into the chasm.
Brief back story, I've had various models over the years from 1 series, A3s, Corsa's, even an RX8 at one point but essentially never a car that I actually owned. They were always financed or bought with a loan. Last December (2018) my Corsa was written off in an accident with a drink driver, owing £4k in finance still. The settlement payment minus fees and !!!! left £1k worth of finance still to pay, and me without a car needing to get to work. Dicktwat of a boss at the time wouldn't give me any time off to find a car, so I just panic bought my current car as it was the first one that popped up online with 4 wheels and an engine. I had to get some insanely high interest finance company to fund it because I had no cash for a car, and to this day my eyes still water at the amount this thing cost(s) me. Mini rant over - this is no pity post, I'm very aware it was my own fault for buying the car just as it was with all the ones before it. The purpose of this post is just to get some advice and hopefully avoid the pitfalls that I've stumbled into before. In any case, I've managed to settle the finance early and have around £2k to fund a (hopefully more economical) car.
Current running costs:
Tax - ~£330 per year
Petrol - £250-£300 per month
Insurance - Not much point in giving a figure here as obviously this varies case by case, but it's not cheap. I think its 20E group or something (if that is even relevant).
Use case:
Mon-Fri driving to and from work, mainly on A roads and M1 - 50 mile round trip.
Weekends, I don't do much driving - to and from football games on a Sunday, and maybe out to a country park with the dogs here and there - probably average 40 odd miles across the month.
I just want something that will last me a couple of years while I get back on my feet financially, tends to be reliable, and won't cost me an arm and a leg to run.
Many thankings in advance.
TLDR - Please help me find a car for less than £2,500.
Frankly, I've always made terrible decisions in the past when it comes to cars, and I have very little knowledge of the industry so I'm hoping somebody can help before I plunge another few thousand into the chasm.
Brief back story, I've had various models over the years from 1 series, A3s, Corsa's, even an RX8 at one point but essentially never a car that I actually owned. They were always financed or bought with a loan. Last December (2018) my Corsa was written off in an accident with a drink driver, owing £4k in finance still. The settlement payment minus fees and !!!! left £1k worth of finance still to pay, and me without a car needing to get to work. Dicktwat of a boss at the time wouldn't give me any time off to find a car, so I just panic bought my current car as it was the first one that popped up online with 4 wheels and an engine. I had to get some insanely high interest finance company to fund it because I had no cash for a car, and to this day my eyes still water at the amount this thing cost(s) me. Mini rant over - this is no pity post, I'm very aware it was my own fault for buying the car just as it was with all the ones before it. The purpose of this post is just to get some advice and hopefully avoid the pitfalls that I've stumbled into before. In any case, I've managed to settle the finance early and have around £2k to fund a (hopefully more economical) car.
Current running costs:
Tax - ~£330 per year
Petrol - £250-£300 per month
Insurance - Not much point in giving a figure here as obviously this varies case by case, but it's not cheap. I think its 20E group or something (if that is even relevant).
Use case:
Mon-Fri driving to and from work, mainly on A roads and M1 - 50 mile round trip.
Weekends, I don't do much driving - to and from football games on a Sunday, and maybe out to a country park with the dogs here and there - probably average 40 odd miles across the month.
I just want something that will last me a couple of years while I get back on my feet financially, tends to be reliable, and won't cost me an arm and a leg to run.
Many thankings in advance.
TLDR - Please help me find a car for less than £2,500.
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Comments
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Autotrader, local FB groups and marketplace. Buy privately, and sniff-test the vendor almost as much as the car.TLDR - Please help me find a car for less than £2,500.
Don't get hung up on a particular make/model - unfashionable stuff is where the bargains are. Buy on condition, and condition alone...
Then remember that spending money on preventative maintenance is an investment, not a waste.0 -
What car is it to get such low fuel economy?
50 miles each way is 250 miles per week or 1000 miles per month (approx).
£300 will get you around 50-60 gallons of fuel depending on price, fuel type etc - equating to a fuel economy of around 20mpg, mainly motorway driving!
I mean, any typical hatchback (focus, astra etc) will likely beat that!!
A lot of people will recommend some sort of VAG group car with the 1.9tdi diesel engine. Which wouldnt be a bad shout, for 2k you might be able to upgrade to a nicer Passat or audi a4/a6 rather than the usual fabia or golf.
As mentioned above, buy on condition rather than getting hung up on anything else.0 -
What car is it to get such low fuel economy?
50 miles each way is 250 miles per week or 1000 miles per month (approx).
£300 will get you around 50-60 gallons of fuel depending on price, fuel type etc - equating to a fuel economy of around 20mpg, mainly motorway driving!
I mean, any typical hatchback (focus, astra etc) will likely beat that!!
A lot of people will recommend some sort of VAG group car with the 1.9tdi diesel engine. Which wouldnt be a bad shout, for 2k you might be able to upgrade to a nicer Passat or audi a4/a6 rather than the usual fabia or golf.
As mentioned above, buy on condition rather than getting hung up on anything else.
It's an 06 Astra 170ps 2.0l - v thirsty.
I'll have a shop around, thanks.0 -
A lot of people will. I followed that advice when I was last looking for a long-termer, and ended up with a Golf Plus, 70k miles, FSH etc. It lasted me two months of normal driving before the turbo grenaded and left me with a £900 bill. I paid to have it fixed and immediately sold it. It was the first VW I have owned (apart from a 1976 bay window camper) and I have to say I wasn't all that impressed with the build quality. I know I was probably unlucky, but I have to say that the cars I have owned which have done the high mileage/high reliability thing have been Fords.A lot of people will recommend some sort of VAG group car with the 1.9tdi diesel engine.If someone is nice to you but rude to the waiter, they are not a nice person.0
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