Buying used car under 2500 GBP (RAC Approved dealer)

MEM62

HillStreetBlues said:

MEM62 said:

The reality is you may not get much better protection from a dealer.  At £2.5k level I would only be looking at private sales.  It is way to low to consider buying from a dealer.   

You do as CRA 2015 applies with a dealer, even better if you can pay on credit card, that's one of the reasons you get some dealers passing themselves off as private sellers.
You can get more car for your money, most of my cars (always cheap) come from private sellers, but you can also get a total lemon with no recourse.

That only works if the dealer cares about his reputation or is worried about the consequences of ignoring his obligations - some don't.  Your assumption relies on the dealer being honest and reputable.  There will be plenty of cowboys in the £2500 end of the market.  A £2.5k is a cheap car.  It will be older and more likely to have issues.  He is not making much on it so how much do you think they can afford the throw at dealing with any issues.  Not a lot is the answer and he will try every trick in the book to avoid his responsibilities and protect his margin.        

HillStreetBlues

MEM62 said:

HillStreetBlues said:

MEM62 said:

The reality is you may not get much better protection from a dealer.  At £2.5k level I would only be looking at private sales.  It is way to low to consider buying from a dealer.   

You do as CRA 2015 applies with a dealer, even better if you can pay on credit card, that's one of the reasons you get some dealers passing themselves off as private sellers.
You can get more car for your money, most of my cars (always cheap) come from private sellers, but you can also get a total lemon with no recourse.

That only works if the dealer cares about his reputation or is worried about the consequences of ignoring his obligations - some don't.  Your assumption relies on the dealer being honest and reputable.  There will be plenty of cowboys in the £2500 end of the market.  A £2.5k is a cheap car.  It will be older and more likely to have issues.  He is not making much on it so how much do you think they can afford the throw at dealing with any issues.  Not a lot is the answer and he will try every trick in the book to avoid his responsibilities and protect his margin.        

Don't disagree that some dealers don't, but some dealers do, whereas private sellers there is none (unless there is goodwill).  Some is always better then none.
Chose a dealer that takes a credit card, then what the dealer does or doesn't do doesn't matter, as you can go directly to the cc company.

ontheroad1970

HillStreetBlues said:

MEM62 said:

HillStreetBlues said:

MEM62 said:

The reality is you may not get much better protection from a dealer.  At £2.5k level I would only be looking at private sales.  It is way to low to consider buying from a dealer.   

You do as CRA 2015 applies with a dealer, even better if you can pay on credit card, that's one of the reasons you get some dealers passing themselves off as private sellers.
You can get more car for your money, most of my cars (always cheap) come from private sellers, but you can also get a total lemon with no recourse.

That only works if the dealer cares about his reputation or is worried about the consequences of ignoring his obligations - some don't.  Your assumption relies on the dealer being honest and reputable.  There will be plenty of cowboys in the £2500 end of the market.  A £2.5k is a cheap car.  It will be older and more likely to have issues.  He is not making much on it so how much do you think they can afford the throw at dealing with any issues.  Not a lot is the answer and he will try every trick in the book to avoid his responsibilities and protect his margin.        

Don't disagree that some dealers don't, but some dealers do, whereas private sellers there is none (unless there is goodwill).  Some is always better then none.
Chose a dealer that takes a credit card, then what the dealer does or doesn't do doesn't matter, as you can go directly to the cc company.

Expectation should be tempered however - if it's on the border of being scrapped - which quite a few cars will be at that part of the market at a dealer, then longevity of the car will be tempered legally.  You should always buy on condition no matter where you purchase from.  Chances are that at that price will get something better privately than at a dealer where you have to factor in their margin as well as other things.  Yes you have to be careful, but so should you be at dealers that sell cars at this end of the market

Investor_ISA_DCA

Would you then say that if one can increase their budget for say, 6000 GBP, then only sure way to have no headache is to go for a used and approved KIA? They are the only ones that seem to offer cheap used and approved cars and are offering them directly via KIA dealership. DISCLAIMER - I am neither a fan, nor affiliate of KIA

HillStreetBlues

There is never a sure way to have no headaches in buying used cars, life would so much easier if there was.
To try and lessen the risk of headaches as above post, check condition also get a FSH with receipts showing work done.

Investor_ISA_DCA

What's up with the used cars and used car market in general? I wonder if it was any better before wide availability of credit and "cheap" car finance. That's a rhetorical question though.

caprikid1

"One trouble with a private listing is if it breaks down on the way home little you can do about it unless you been lied too."

The problem is that traders that play in the £2500 market will know full well how to avoid court and paying repairs

Even as a non mechanic there are lots of tools on the web you can use to look at a car, my 16 year old knows how to check the MOT history , when it was last sold etc. All of these will give an idea of how well a car was maintained.

I always believe buy the seller first then the car, if you trust the seller and get a good feel about them , then look at the car next. 

Why are they selling it ? Have they much history, what is the price like in comparison to others ? Too Cheap ?

HillStreetBlues

caprikid1 said:

Even as a non mechanic there are lots of tools on the web you can use to look at a car, my 16 year old knows how to check the MOT history , when it was last sold etc. All of these will give an idea of how well a car was maintained.

Online MOT has certainly made buying a used car much easier, it's the biggest tool a non-mechanic has at their disposal.

Ditzy_Mitzy

Investor_ISA_DCA said:

What's up with the used cars and used car market in general? I wonder if it was any better before wide availability of credit and "cheap" car finance. That's a rhetorical question though.

Price wise, things were a lot better fifteen or twenty years ago, although much of the recent increase seems to be down to the scrappage scheme removing large numbers of old but viable cars from the market.  I used to pick up ten year old stuff for £500-£1,000 in those dear, dead days - family hatchbacks and what have you, not just any old rubbish.  Supply of second hand cars outstripped demand, everybody wanted new cars, fleet buyers were spending money like it was going out of fashion and prices were low.  It was less common to buy second hand with borrowed money back then, too, which knocked even more off on the forecourt  Good times.  Good times don't roll forever, though, and stock loss, increased use of borrowing in the second hand sector and a decline in living standards have driven prices back up.  

Cheap credit works both ways.  Pre-crash it was all going across main dealers' desks as new sales, which then created the oversupply of second hand cars.  Plus ca change...  

peter12345678910

If it is RAC or AA checked, it is not a bad thing. But take somebody with you especially if you buy private as they may notice something that you may not notice; sometimes it is difficult to look at something critically with somebody watching you with their fingers crossed.

Keep an open mind, open the Bonnet, have a peep under the car, look at the general condition. Test drive the car, and make sure the dealer is close to where you live.

Car make and design is your provocative, as you are paying for it.