Where to buy my next car?

Yazmina

So I've dropped the idea of an automatic gearbox now. I've narrowed down the choices to the two smallest SUVs, Nissan Juke and Renault Captur. I've done test drives in both and I prefer the controls in the Juke and the looks of the Captur. Both have high driving positions, which is good because I am 5'3".

The next question is best to go to buy one. The online sellers are the cheapest, and provide 3 months warranty. The nearest car supermarket only gives 90 day warranty with roadside assistance (this just sounds worrying...). The main dealers clearly give the best warranties, but I bought my current 2014 Skoda Fabia from a supermarket, I didn't think about warranties at the time and I've not had any major problems with it.  Did I just get lucky? 

Am I better off getting a dealer's warranty, or save money with somewhere cheaper, and just do my own HPI check?

I'm not considering any small, independent dealerships. 

CliveOfIndia

Yazmina said:

The online sellers are the cheapest, and provide 3 months warranty. The nearest car supermarket only gives 90 day warranty

That's the same length of warranty, surely (give or take a day or two).  Do check carefully what the warranty covers - and, perhaps more importantly, what it doesn't cover.

Yazmina said:

The main dealers clearly give the best warranties, but I bought my current 2014 Skoda Fabia from a supermarket, I didn't think about warranties at the time and I've not had any major problems with it.  Did I just get lucky?

When you buy any used car there's always an element of uncertainty.  Some brands - Skoda included - do have a decent reputation for reliability.  But of course, there'll always be the odd lemon in the mix.  The most important thing is to make sure you have a decent test drive, check the maintenance history, and buy on condition.  You should be able to identify any major faults, though of course you can never be 100% sure.  Or get a professional inspection - both the RAC and AA offer this service (even if you're not a member), or if you happen to know a local independent mechanic, they may be willing to give it a once-over and just charge for their time.

It's possible to buy a third-party warranty from numerous insurers, but again it pays to read the T&Cs thoroughly - all too often, they exclude far more than they actually cover.

Yazmina said:

Am I better off getting a dealer's warranty, or save money with somewhere cheaper, and just do my own HPI check?

Warranty is different to HPI - HPI checks that there's no outstanding finance and that it's not been an insurance write-off or repair.  It's well worth getting an HPI check, though the majority of kosher dealers will have done their own HPI anyway - just check to make sure.

Yazmina said:

I'm not considering any small, independent dealerships. 

Why not?  As long as they're an established business with a good local reputation, there should be no need to worry.  And often they'll have lower prices as they have lower overheads than the big main dealers.  Just do your own due diligence, the same as you would when buying from any trader.

TheBanker

CliveOfIndia said:

Yazmina said:

I'm not considering any small, independent dealerships. 

Why not?  As long as they're an established business with a good local reputation, there should be no need to worry.  And often they'll have lower prices as they have lower overheads than the big main dealers.  Just do your own due diligence, the same as you would when buying from any trader.

I've had a few cars from independent dealers over the years. As the poster above says, so long as they're established and have a good reputation there's nothing much to worry about. Just don't place too much weight on Trustpilot or Facebook reviews as they're easy to fake - ask around friends and colleagues to see if anyone's used them before. Be wary of 'dealers' that appear to be operated from someone's home or a public car park! Worth noting that the finance companies do a degree of due diligence on their dealers, so if the dealership offers finance through an established lender this can provide a small degree of comfort, even if you don't intend to use finance to purchase the car. 

If you're paying for the car outright you can also put a portion on a credit card (not debit card) to get an extra layer of protection though Section 75. 

Actually the car that caused me the most problems was from a Ford main dealer, which was part of a national chain. None of the ones from independents have given me any grief. But I am sure someone else will post in a moment with the exact opposite experience! 

WellKnownSid

I would second independent dealers over supermarkets.

My son works for a main dealer.  All of their manufacturer approved cars go through a rigorous process.  Sometimes cars don't make the grade - they generally get passed on to the local car supermarket... 

fatbelly

Definitely worth doing an HPI check, wherever you buy from

baser999

As for deciding which car to buy, check out owners forums beforehand as that may give you some idea of any potential problems across the range.

facade

The Juke and the Captur are pretty much the same car as they share chassis and a lot of components.

The Juke is assembled in Sunderland and the Captur in Spain. A quick search suggests minor electrical problems affect the Captur.

Personally, I wouldn't touch a car built in Spain or Sunderland, but I'm just biased based on previous bad experiences.

To be fair, my Sunderland built Nissan has been very reliable- apart from going through springs like an elephant goes through sticky buns, if it had been built properly it would be a really great car.

mgfvvc

WellKnownSid said:

My son works for a main dealer.  All of their manufacturer approved cars go through a rigorous process.  Sometimes cars don't make the grade - they generally get passed on to the local car supermarket... 

I've bought at least one manufacturer approved lemon. The after sales support didn't inspire confidence either. When I was working at Ford, back around the turn of the millennium, I was warned off the main dealer opposite their head office in Warley.

WellKnownSid

mgfvvc said:

I've bought at least one manufacturer approved lemon. The after sales support didn't inspire confidence either. When I was working at Ford, back around the turn of the millennium, I was warned off the main dealer opposite their head office in Warley.

I know the one you mean

I remember doing some crazy antics in the snow one year with my mate in his Escort - he wasn't bothered, like other Ford employees he just replaced his car every six months, never needed to pay for a service, and it gave the local dealers an endless supply of heavily-ragged nearly-new cars...

Yazmina

Thanks for your replies. So there's no best answer. I just need to find one I like and do whatever's necessary... 

WellKnownSid

Yazmina said:

Thanks for your replies. So there's no best answer. I just need to find one I like and do whatever's necessary... 

Find whatever's nice and the icing on the cake is if you have some provenance... one owner from new (or nearly new), stack of invoices in the glove box, four tyres from the same brand (not Okee-Kokee 3000's), and a set of Bosch wiper blades would give me a nice warm feeling.

A 90 day warranty won't be worth the paper it's written on - so you will be dependent on the selling dealer for any immediate issues that crop up.  As mentioned - a professional inspection can be worthwhile - just plugging in a scanner can reveal a multitude of hidden issues.