New to me car -Any advice please?

Grumpy_chap

family355 said:

I was just generally wondering whether it's insane to spend 7.5k on a 13 year old car

family355 said:

It's a bmw 1 series,

Absolutely and totally insane!

The 1 series is nothing better than a Focus or Astra but less equipment and a "premium" badge.

family355

L9XSS said:

In my view this is very overpriced. The timing chains can be a problem on this engine variant (particularly the 118d  and 320d) of this year. I would continue your search.

Thanks for your reply, I don't disagree, after my last mot in June 2021 a 15 plate on the forecourt was 7.5k and I thought that was overpriced. Now I need 5 seats/doors and I'm scrambling around blind. Hindsight! 

Is this the cam belt? If so it has been changed. It is the 118d. Was never on my radar as I preferred a crossover suv type but in comparison for half the money drew my attention. 

family355

Martin_the_Unjust said:

family355 said:

Thanks again for your reply, I didn't realise this about less milage and the insurance is worrying. 

It's a bmw 1 series, 2 owners and full service history. The comparables for the hatchback are a kia ceed 2011 42k miles or a seat Leon 2011 42k miles.  My searches include up to 45k miles and automatic which has increased the price with less choice. 

Out of those three my choice would be the Kia every time 

Thank you, can I genuinly ask the reasons for this? I've never had a kia, there's no service history and as you can gather know very little about cars. One friend recommended the dacia, another said they won't touch with a bargepole after theirs. 

family355

Grumpy_chap said:

family355 said:

I was just generally wondering whether it's insane to spend 7.5k on a 13 year old car

family355 said:

It's a bmw 1 series,

Absolutely and totally insane!

The 1 series is nothing better than a Focus or Astra but less equipment and a "premium" badge.

With no malice intended what so ever, have you been on auto trader? I have trawled for months and there's very little that I can afford without a loan. I would prefer to not have debt.

I had an 05 astra (and loved it) without an once of bother but did not like the focus (swapped the astra for a 'newer focus' hindsight again!) Neither of them are available within the 7.5k price/age range with the same spec. 

The reason I said hatchback is to avoid the 'premium badge' comments I got the first time round, I actually don't understand which cars are premium and for what reason?! Kia sportage are nowhere near my affordability with or without a loan. A 59 BMW or 61 kia/seat are hardly worth braging rights I'm sure. I like renult kadjar spec but it's double the price and still 6 years old but is this the better option? 

As also mentioned, im here hoping for someone to send the light bulb my way. What have I missed? I'd much rather pay off my mortgage than pay for a car. Each to their own, I prefer Yorkshire tea bags/twinings than tetley/typhoo/pg tips.

The reality with the car is I need 5 seats/doors and prefer the other bits too, mostly for work but to also for the family. Suzuki swift type seem a great buy but not for me. 

Herzlos

The Renault Kadjar is pretty nice and should be a lot cheaper to run and maintain than a 13 year old BMW. BMW's, being "premium" also come with premium pricing for parts, labour, often have uncommon wheel sizes, etc. The average age of a car in the UK being scrapped is 14 years, so you're looking at an expensive car hurtling towards end of life.

The Kadjar isn't quite so premium so parts will be cheaper, it's 7 years younger so less chance of stuff going wrong, but the crossover/SUV's are popular at the moment so the prices will be a bit higher. Personally I'd pay the extra for the Kadjar if I had to chose between those 2.

Of course, the market is bonkers at the moment so everything seems hugely over priced, more so as it gets older.

There are 34,500 cars on autotrader that are hatchback/suv/estate/mpv, under £15,000 and automatic. Including a few new Kia Picantos (maybe a bit small?) or Dacia Sanderos. My neighbour has had a Sandero for the last 4 years and they really like it.

jimjames

family355 said:

I've all but decided on the renult kadjar, it fits the bill well but have doubts of taking a loan out.

If it's not too late I've just spotted this, I'd be very wary of a Renault Kajar, friend had one and it needed 3 visits in warranty to fix oil leaks/cambelt. That's in warranty so outside warranty it could be a money pit.

Ebe_Scrooge said:

family355 said:

Ebe_Scrooge said:

I was going to say the same thing - what make/model are we talking about?  Although £7500 for a 12/13 year old car does seem a tad on the steep side.  And the mileage would worry me - that's very low.  Either it's been sat unused for many years, or else it's done nothing more than nip to the local high street for shopping once a week.  Neither of which is particularly good for the engine.

I'm not sure what you mean by the "estimate for insurance payout" - is that the value suggested by the insurance website when you enter the reg number?  If so, that in itself would set alarm bells ringing - for most ordinary (i.e.not rare or classic) cars, the insurer's estimate of market value is usually in the right sort of ballpark.

Thank you, this is really helpful. It has done around 3/4k miles per year from the mots. I thought less milage would be good? Less wear and tear. What issues could this cause? 

Re insurance, yes this is when I entered the reg. 

Very low mileage can actually be a bad sign.  

Totally agree. Best car I've ever had was bought at 3 years old with 110,000 miles on it. Ran it for 10 years with no major issues and sold with 200k on clock still running well.

400ixl

Other thing to consider is that some cars have longer warranties than others. Kia (7 years), Hyundai (5 years), MG (5 years) etc.

As an example we bought my daughter a 2.5 year old 5 door Hyundai i20 for under £8k with 20k miles on it. That at the time still had over 2 years of manufacturer warranty left and internally has more space than a 1 series BMW.

On small SUV's the MG ZS might be a decent option, they are proving to be pretty reliable, far more so than the Kadjar which has a pretty poor history.

I have a Mercedes and we also have 2 Hyundai's in the house, the materials used on the Mercedes may be better (less hard plastics) but the build quality is actually better on the Hyundai's. So don't think a badge is going to be making for a better car. 

photome

Martin_the_Unjust said:

family355 said:

Thanks again for your reply, I didn't realise this about less milage and the insurance is worrying. 

It's a bmw 1 series, 2 owners and full service history. The comparables for the hatchback are a kia ceed 2011 42k miles or a seat Leon 2011 42k miles.  My searches include up to 45k miles and automatic which has increased the price with less choice. 

Out of those three my choice would be the Kia every time 

Out of those three my choice would be the Leon

I have owned both a Leon and a Kia ceed…the Leon is a much nicer car

we have also had both in our company car fleet..Leon’s hardly miss a beat the Ceeds were often in the garage

ontheroad1970

400ixl said:

Other thing to consider is that some cars have longer warranties than others. Kia (7 years), Hyundai (5 years), MG (5 years) etc.

As an example we bought my daughter a 2.5 year old 5 door Hyundai i20 for under £8k with 20k miles on it. That at the time still had over 2 years of manufacturer warranty left and internally has more space than a 1 series BMW.

On small SUV's the MG ZS might be a decent option, they are proving to be pretty reliable, far more so than the Kadjar which has a pretty poor history.

I have a Mercedes and we also have 2 Hyundai's in the house, the materials used on the Mercedes may be better (less hard plastics) but the build quality is actually better on the Hyundai's. So don't think a badge is going to be making for a better car. 

Be careful to check that the servicing is in line with manufacturer requirements or else the warranty will be void.  Doesn't have to be main dealer servicing, any VAT registered dealer using manufacturer approved parts will do.  

knightstyle

It might be worth going round the dealers in person and ask if they have anything coming in soon, ask about motability cars coming to the end of their agreement, these are normally well looked after and serviced.
Plus if you go for an older car check the date code on the tyres and insist on replacements if 8 years old no matter what tread is on them.