Buying car with approx. a £3k budget?

B0bbyEwing

Been getting on 10 years since we've had to buy a car & in that time the second hand market has gone completely silly. If the car we were having to replace was in pre-accident condition then they're going for around what we paid for it about 8 years ago, yet it's obviously older than it was & has done more miles. Absolute daft.

And so there is the problem - struggling with what to buy.

Looking at 'newer' cars (ours was an 07 plate) & there just seems any amount of horror stories with absolutely everything. I know all cars will have their own issues but it just seems an absolute nightmare with 'newer' cars. I use the term newer loosely because I know that 3 years old is 'old' to some people, as daft as I think that is. Say getting in & about 2012 onwards.

Diesel is unnecessary but not ruled out. I know most say you need to do about 500k miles per year but I do about 6k per year on my diesel just fine. It doesn't have a DPF that's all. So it's probably a petrol that we'd be looking at, though doesn't have to be (old car was a petrol, or is - still have it for now).

Bit of town tootling but at the same time it will also be semi frequently used in long 60mph zones with the requirement to actually be able to overtake something. OH has already ruled out your traditional town tootlers like Yaris, Swift, C1s etc.

Question is, do you stick with what is now an 'old' car (say no newer than 2010) but knowing that you'll be paying over the odds these days?

OH will be coming from a 1.6 MK5 Astra. Had a 1.6 gutless MK4 Golf before that & while liked both she grumbled the Golf lacked any get up & go (and boy did it! Going up hills was painful). Hasn't ruled out replacing with another MK5, perhaps 1.6 again or the 1.8, even though tax on these is a bit much for what they are I think. She was looking at the MK6 & MK7 but like I say - horror stories, such as with the 1.4T we were looking at. I know it depends on how the car has been looked after but with buying second hand you'll almost always never have a clue, unless buying off someone you know, which we're not.

May be able to stretch a little over £3k but that's exactly what I say - a little over, not "if you can go to £5k then....". Cars until now have always been in the £1k-£2k bracket because I refuse to pay 10s of £1000s for a car and bar a few cars here & there that budget has served us fairly well, although as I've said - I appreciate things are different now vs when we last bought.

Mildly_Miffed

B0bbyEwing said:

Been getting on 10 years since we've had to buy a car & in that time the second hand market has gone completely silly. If the car we were having to replace was in pre-accident condition then they're going for around what we paid for it about 8 years ago, yet it's obviously older than it was & has done more miles. Absolute daft.

Once stuff reaches the bottom of the depreciation curve - about 2/3 of typical scrapping age - value is in condition, not age.

Very low annual mileage is rarely a good thing for a car.

Looking at 'newer' cars (ours was an 07 plate)

So was a decade old when you bought it in 2017, and near the bottom of the depreciation curve.

there just seems any amount of horror stories with absolutely everything. I know all cars will have their own issues but it just seems an absolute nightmare with 'newer' cars.

At a decade old, reliability is almost entirely in previous use and maintenance.

I use the term newer loosely because I know that 3 years old is 'old' to some people, as daft as I think that is. Say getting in & about 2012 onwards.

Diesel is unnecessary but not ruled out. I know most say you need to do about 500k miles per year but I do about 6k per year on my diesel just fine. It doesn't have a DPF that's all.

Everything Euro 5 diesel (2009 on) will have a DPF. They wouldn't have met the particulate limits without.

So it's probably a petrol that we'd be looking at

Early 2010s was peak diesel-buying time, though. "DPF is not for everybody's use" hadn't filtered through to public conscience, and VED was CO2 based. The market was also moving heavily towards SUVs.

but at the same time it will also be semi frequently used in long 60mph zones with the requirement to actually be able to overtake something.

No reason to rule out a DPF, then. That sort of use will keep it regenerated.

Question is, do you stick with what is now an 'old' car (say no newer than 2010) but knowing that you'll be paying over the odds these days?

"No newer than 2010" means a 15+yo car, just 3 years newer than the one you bought 8 years ago. Buy on condition ALONE, not mileage, not badge or reputation.

Cars until now have always been in the £1k-£2k bracket ... I appreciate things are different now vs when we last bought.

Yes, you're ignoring inflation.

Inflation alone takes 2017 £1,000 to £1,300 no, so £2,000 to £2,600.

You're complaining about a real-terms increase of just 15% - at a time when new car prices have increased much more sharply than inflation, and vehicle life expectancies have also increased, together with several years of very low new car sales over the Covid period affecting used supply.

daveyjp

Search Autotrader for cars in your budget and buy the one which meets your requirements and looks 'honest'.  I wouldn't worry about badge, but would go for something as simple as possible. 

Desmond_Hume

B0bbyEwing said:

Been getting on 10 years since we've had to buy a car & in that time the second hand market has gone completely silly. If the car we were having to replace was in pre-accident condition then they're going for around what we paid for it about 8 years ago, yet it's obviously older than it was & has done more miles. Absolute daft.

And so there is the problem - struggling with what to buy.

Looking at 'newer' cars (ours was an 07 plate) & there just seems any amount of horror stories with absolutely everything. I know all cars will have their own issues but it just seems an absolute nightmare with 'newer' cars. I use the term newer loosely because I know that 3 years old is 'old' to some people, as daft as I think that is. Say getting in & about 2012 onwards.

Diesel is unnecessary but not ruled out. I know most say you need to do about 500k miles per year but I do about 6k per year on my diesel just fine. It doesn't have a DPF that's all. So it's probably a petrol that we'd be looking at, though doesn't have to be (old car was a petrol, or is - still have it for now).

Bit of town tootling but at the same time it will also be semi frequently used in long 60mph zones with the requirement to actually be able to overtake something. OH has already ruled out your traditional town tootlers like Yaris, Swift, C1s etc.

Question is, do you stick with what is now an 'old' car (say no newer than 2010) but knowing that you'll be paying over the odds these days?

OH will be coming from a 1.6 MK5 Astra. Had a 1.6 gutless MK4 Golf before that & while liked both she grumbled the Golf lacked any get up & go (and boy did it! Going up hills was painful). Hasn't ruled out replacing with another MK5, perhaps 1.6 again or the 1.8, even though tax on these is a bit much for what they are I think. She was looking at the MK6 & MK7 but like I say - horror stories, such as with the 1.4T we were looking at. I know it depends on how the car has been looked after but with buying second hand you'll almost always never have a clue, unless buying off someone you know, which we're not.

May be able to stretch a little over £3k but that's exactly what I say - a little over, not "if you can go to £5k then....". Cars until now have always been in the £1k-£2k bracket because I refuse to pay 10s of £1000s for a car and bar a few cars here & there that budget has served us fairly well, although as I've said - I appreciate things are different now vs when we last bought.

The horror stories re. the VW 1.4TSI are pretty much limited to the twin charger from the Mk5. The Mk6 and Mk7 just use a standard turbo, despite still using the same 1.4T branding. 

B0bbyEwing

MM - get the impression you seem to think I'm a low mileage hunter. I'm not. The wife is. She still gets hung up on 100k being 'high miles' like my mother does. I try to explain a 20 year old car on 40k miles is not necessarily the thing to be searching for. But anyway yeah - I'm not on the lookout for something exceptionally low.

I rule out a DPF because if it doesn't have one then it can't go wrong Plus while I say I'm driving in a 60mph zone, I have a tendency to get behind the annoying "it's a limit not a target" people who insist on driving 40 in that 60 - hence the requirement for the car to be somewhat decent at overtaking. Doesn't have to be Ferrari but does have to be able to move a bit. My car isn't so bad, the wife's car was so so, so long as the other person didn't then put up a fight whereas her Golf it was just a case of tough luck, sit there until the person turns off.

Out of curiosity, when is "the bottom of the depreciation curve"?


Davey - have been searching A.T The annoying thing is I keep getting results from areas that I'd rather avoid (having tried them previously against other peoples warnings not to & then found out why I was warned against them). Just looking fairly locally for now.

fatbelly

The last car I bought was £4350 (last month) so I'm not much above you. You are looking for an honest car with known history. If you want value you will be looking at functional but non-trendy cars and I think 2012-on with <100k miles is quite realistic.

I had a quick look for you on Autotrader and saw some nice cars. If acceleration is really important to you, then you can add that in as a filter but it will cut your choice considerably.

Mildly_Miffed

B0bbyEwing said:

Out of curiosity, when is "the bottom of the depreciation curve"?

When it stops being worth less simply because of being a year older...

Trite, yes, but the only accurate answer.

For most cars, it's probably around 10yo.

paul_c123

There's a big difference between a 2010 car and a 2013 car, its when a lot of cars start to show their age. For £3000 I'd stick with 2014 or newer; and 80k miles or less. There's not much out there, they're going to be basic cars but there's good ones out there in that price bracket if you manage your expectations.

Arunmor

You might have more luck looking at Copart (or similar) for older stolen recovered or older write offs with minimal damage.  But you need to be careful.

ButterCheese

A car of that age is always a bit of a lottery, so find one in your budget and then look at its history.  Even well maintained cars can need things replacing.  There is no magic car that is cheap to buy and won't cost you anything.

My advice would be, find a car you like, ensure it has full service history.  Ensure that things like cambelt, waterpump, alternator belt, battery etc have been replaced at the recommended intervals.  Check as many parts as you can for dates etc and if they still have factory stamps on them which could suggest they haven't been replaced. 

A car doesn't need to break down to cost you money.  But you can get stung if, like me, you buy in a rush and don't check the history, and then have to spend £3k on parts in 3 years! 

The diesel thing - it's not an issue unless you ignore the DPF light and/or guidance.  I did a  lot of short trips but always ensured I went on a longer run if I'd been pootling around town all week.  Or if the DPF light came on, a 20 minute drive had it cleared.  It's more about constant driving above 30/40 mph than it is about motorway speeds.  Extended (uninterupted) journeys get the DPF and exhaust system hot enough to burn off the soot.  It was an issue in some older cars as the DPF sensors didn't always tell you that you needed to clear it, so they'd clog up and catch fire. I also used DPF cleaner in every other tank, and especially if I was doing a 3hr+ journey to give it the best chance.

But it's still a lottery.  I had no problems, but other similar cars had issues with Adblue system clogging etc.

B0bbyEwing

Thanks. 

Regards the DPF - I see a lot of "take it for a blast up the motorway" 

But that's the reason I don't bother risking it and never have. I don't want to have to create special journeys just to accommodate a car. A car is to get me where I need to go, not to require being taken out like a dog.