Buying Used Car - What do I need to do?

jaspencer

Our car is looking like it may need to be replaced.

So if we do need to get it replaced are there any good guides / threads on a reasonably stress free way of choosing and buying a decent and cheap car?  I have tried to find something but my search skills are clearly not up to it.

Ebe_Scrooge

First off, does the car need to be replaced?  As a general rule of thumb, if you've been happy with the car and it needs some repairs, it's very often worth getting it repaired.  Even if the repairs cost several hundred pounds, if the car is otherwise sound then ask yourself if you could buy an equivalent used car for the several hundred the repairs would cost.  It's a balancing act - if it's the case that "The suspension needs sorting, that'll cost £300, but I suspect the gearbox and the engine will also need serious attention in the near future", then it may be worth looking to get a new car.  It's always a judgement call, and there's always an element of "better the devil you know".  Buying a "new" car carries the risk of buying someone else's hidden/potential problems.

If you decide you do want a new car, consider whether you want to buy from a dealer or privately.  Private sales will be cheaper, and are a better bet for the cheaper end of the market.  If you buy a £1000 car from a dealer, that's a £600 car with a £400 markup on it.  You do get almost no comeback from a private sale though, it's pretty much "sold as seen".  A dealer will be more expensive, but you have more comeback if anything goes wrong, and most will offer a warranty - even if it's only 3 or 6 months on an older car.

Whichever route you choose, make sure you inspect the car carefully.  Ideally take along a knowledgeable friend if you're not mechanically-minded, or even consider a professional inspection from the likes of the AA or RAC (not cheap, and may not be worth it on an older car, but it's worth considering).

Give the car a good test drive.  Even if you know nothing about mechanical things, as a driver you can see if there are any warning lights on the dashboard, you can check that the gears all work properly, there are no odd noises or smells coming from the engine, the suspension doesn't squeak and rattle, all the electrical stuff (windows, radio, aircon, etc.) work as they should, etc. etc. etc.

If buying privately, an HPI check is well worthwhile to check there's no outstanding finance on it - a dealer will normally have done an HPI check themselves.  A look at the car's MOT history online can give a clue as to how the previous owner looked after it.  Did it pass every MOT first time, or with only a minor item?  Good, the previous owner probably looked after it and replaced stuff as and when it needed doing.  Lots of failures on every test?  Likely the previous owner took the approach "Stick it in for the MOT, repair what needs doing, that'll do for another year".

All these are broad generalisations, but you get the idea.

If you Google for "Used Car Checklist" you'll find any number of helpful guides - here's just one by way of example: https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/buying-and-selling-guides/buying-a-used-car/

Hope this helps.

jimjames

Ebe_Scrooge said:

If you buy a £1000 car from a dealer, that's a £600 car with a £400 markup on it.  You do get almost no comeback from a private sale though, it's pretty much "sold as seen".  A dealer will be more expensive, but you have more comeback if anything goes wrong, and most will offer a warranty - even if it's only 3 or 6 months on an older car.

Totally agree about the "do you need a new car". 

In terms of the car from a dealer, at the lower end of the market the warranty may be non existent or not worth the paper it's written on and the dealer may be no help at all. You might have rights to reject/repair the car but you would need to go to court to enforce it if they aren't prepared to accept it. Also check if a private seller is actually private, some low end dealers will pretend that to avoid responsibilities. If the owner's address isn't on the V5 then be very wary. So many excuses are given why that isn't the case but many will be dealers trading without comeback.

Grumpy_chap

jaspencer said:

Our car is looking like it may need to be replaced.

So if we do need to get it replaced are there any good guides / threads on a reasonably stress free way of choosing and buying a decent and cheap car?  I have tried to find something but my search skills are clearly not up to it.

As others said, question one is "do you need a new car?"

If the answer is"yes", then start by defining:
How many miles per year?
How many people?
How much luggage?
Budget - cash / monthly?

Stubod

..all starts with your budget really??

jaspencer

Ebe_Scrooge said:

First off, does the car need to be replaced?  As a general rule of thumb, if you've been happy with the car and it needs some repairs, it's very often worth getting it repaired.  Even if the repairs cost several hundred pounds, if the car is otherwise sound then ask yourself if you could buy an equivalent used car for the several hundred the repairs would cost.  It's a balancing act - if it's the case that "The suspension needs sorting, that'll cost £300, but I suspect the gearbox and the engine will also need serious attention in the near future", then it may be worth looking to get a new car.  It's always a judgement call, and there's always an element of "better the devil you know".  Buying a "new" car carries the risk of buying someone else's hidden/potential problems.

<Snip to allow posting>

Thank you for some great points about the buying process.

The answer to the do we need a new car question is "perhaps".

The repairs aren't the issue, but there has been an issue with the acceleration failing - around four times in the last year or so, but sporadically.  This is spooking my wife who is the main driver.

If the garage can't come up with an answer then we may need to get rid of it.  If the garage can answer and it's fixable then we'd like to keep it until it dies.

jaspencer

Grumpy_chap said:

jaspencer said:

Our car is looking like it may need to be replaced.

So if we do need to get it replaced are there any good guides / threads on a reasonably stress free way of choosing and buying a decent and cheap car?  I have tried to find something but my search skills are clearly not up to it.

As others said, question one is "do you need a new car?"

If the answer is"yes", then start by defining:
How many miles per year?
How many people?
How much luggage?
Budget - cash / monthly?

We have a Saab Estate at the moment which is probably too big for us. 

On the budget - the car was bought for £7000 about ten years ago and while we have that money I would like to limit this car to £4-5,000 unless there's a good reason to lift the budget.

The main purpose for the car is to get my wife to work - it's 22.5 miles door to door each way, four times a week - some country road but mostly dual carriageway.  Apart from the odd long journey it's a run around after that.  Not sure of the mileage but probably 20,000 a year.

The maximum is usually two people, but there is a large dog that comfortably fits in the current boot.  We don't currently have a luggage carrier, but we would be prepared for that if it meant that we could pay less for the car, and get better reliability and lower running costs.

Safety in crashes is an issue as my father in law used to attend motorway crashes and has passed on these worries to his daughter. 

Ibrahim5

Stubod said:

..all starts with your budget really??

Not necessarily. I often don't have a budget in mind. I think it annoys some car salesmen and makes them think I am not serious.