Buying a used car from dealership

JustJane101

wow, thank you all. 

I do work with someone who used to be a car engineer, so I will try and bring him along. 

There are a few similar cars with similar mileage and price, however the one I have decided on I’ve actually only found two (engine size, fuel, etc).

i was told by the broker that they had accepted me for finance and that they will go through it all when I get to the dealership, I didn’t even think to ask any questions at the time. Even if I walk away from the deal it will give me a chance to test drive the car and know if it’s the car for me. 

My current car has been amazing for me, and I am keen to stick with Mazda. Just taken it to get checked over and I’ve been told it won’t struggle to get through the MOT, so not sure if it’s worth doing this before Saturday or not. 

I’ll let you all know how it goes! I’ve been hesitant to go for a more expensive car for a while but to be honest I do a 1000 mile round trip (500 miles each way) at least once every 6 weeks, so I’m looking for a bit more comfort and a bit better fuel consumption. The CX3 apparently gets over 60 combined. My current car says it gets 52 combined and I often get 55 out of it, but I tend to cruise on the motorway at 65. 

ontheroad1970

Be careful that they have not -performed a full credit check without your consent.  I wouldn't get a credit check done at all until you have found the car you want and have test driven it.  Multiple credit checks can harm your chances of getting credit once you do find the car you want.  

macman

'Go through it all at the dealership' just means that once they have got you sat down with the business manager and a nice cup of tea, then that is the moment when they start racheting up their margin by flogging you a poor finance deal.
You are under no obligation to use dealer finance, do your own research first and don't sign anything on the spot. 
Negotiate the price of the car and trade-in first: say that you will discuss finance only once that is agreed.

Grumpy_chap

OP, at the start if this thread you described your current car as a complete scrapper:

JustJane101 said:

1) I know PX my current car ( Mazda 2, way over 100k miles) won't give me the best deal, but my current car only has few weeks MOT left, and I know it needs a bit of work. It's over 10 years old and the dealership is a very long drive from my house. Am I stupid to want to PX for simplicty?

Now, it sounds not so bad:

JustJane101 said:

My current car has been amazing for me, and I am keen to stick with Mazda. Just taken it to get checked over and I’ve been told it won’t struggle to get through the MOT, so not sure if it’s worth doing this before Saturday or not. 

However you sell the old car, if it has a full MOT it should realise more than if it only has a few weeks' MOT remaining.  I know, if I ever see a car for sale with very short MOT, I assume it has no chance of passing.  Of course, to get the pass you need to pay £few and if it fails, then a prospective purchaser will know. 

Coveredinbees!!!!

I know it's boring but why drive miles to get a car, if you have any problems you will then have to drive miles to get it fixed. How much money have you actually got saved up for buying this car, the prices are around 10k for a cx3 on auto trader that's a lot of money for a car when you're effectively buying the money to pay for it. Why not get something less expensive that you can pay cash for, being in debt when you don't have to be sucks.

JustJane101

Coveredinbees!!!! said:

I know it's boring but why drive miles to get a car, if you have any problems you will then have to drive miles to get it fixed. How much money have you actually got saved up for buying this car, the prices are around 10k for a cx3 on auto trader that's a lot of money for a car when you're effectively buying the money to pay for it. Why not get something less expensive that you can pay cash for, being in debt when you don't have to be sucks.

I know what you mean - and that's why I've not yet gone for an upgrade. I was close to getting a mortgage in march but Covid messed things up - I'm able to put at least 3/4 of the cash down as a deposit for the car and still have plenty of house savings, but the mortgage i was applying for was sub prime because I have a very thin credit file. Trying to use covid as a positive to build my credit history / file and be in a better place in 18 months time. If I pay £300 a month (it won't be that much) for a car, I can still save £400 a month without cutting back on anything, and even if i have car finance when i apply for a mortgage again i will pass a stress test under affordability and I have no other debts.

Ultimately, i've done many hours research and the CX-3 ticks every box for me, not least the fact i'm under 5 feet and i can actually reach the pedals.