Best way to go about buying a 'newer' car?

fatbelly

If you are thinking of using the bulk of your cash on a city car and then using finance for the motorway car, then I think 2k could get you something with a few years' life that would do the job

The citigo/mii/up was introduced in 2012 and early versions are seen at 2-3k

Picanto/i10 from the same era were usually well looked after and at that price point that is key

If you find a well looked after C1/108/aygo, or Suzuki or even a Chevvy Spark, go for it

Mildly_Miffed

fatbelly said:

If you find a well looked after C1/108/aygo

I'd look out for the older C1/107/Aygo.

A much simpler car, and - for the money - you'll get a far better one. That sort of money is right at the bottom end of the newer 108 etc. Go for as few toys and gadgets as possible - when Toyota had their big recall, VERY few Citroens were affected, some Peugeots, almost all Toyotas - because it was all the higher-spec cars...

QrizB

fatbelly said:

The citigo/mii/up was introduced in 2012 and early versions are seen at 2-3k

As a city car, and assuming the OP can charge at home, you might want to consider an early Leaf. There are several on eBay for £2-3k. Most seem to have battery ranges of 50-60 miles but that should be fine for a runaround.

B0bbyEwing

QrizB said:

fatbelly said:

The citigo/mii/up was introduced in 2012 and early versions are seen at 2-3k

As a city car, and assuming the OP can charge at home, you might want to consider an early Leaf. There are several on eBay for £2-3k. Most seem to have battery ranges of 50-60 miles but that should be fine for a runaround.

Electric is a 100% no. 

I'll not be getting one of those until there's literally no other choice. 

Goudy

The Fiat Panda isn't a bad choice for a city car.
Stick to the 4 cylinder petrol engine (69hp 1.2 FIRE) manual from 2012 onwards.
They are (dry) cam belt engines but cheap and easy to service and really robust.

There's little to worry about apart from all the usually used car things, but check the sump pan and rear axle for rust (both cheap enough to sort though).

It has a bigger boot that the C1/107/Aygo at something like 225 litres with the rear seats up. (C1/107/Aygo less than 200 litres) and are much cheaper and more practical than a 500.

Base POP models are pretty spartan and lacks air con. Most Easy's had it and all Lounges.
They were cheap to start and they did sell a lot, so finding one locally within budget shouldn't be too difficult.

Parts are cheap and they really are designed to look after them yourself easily.
You can get everything from ebay or a specialist parts supplier very cheaply(with a decent discount if you join the Fiat Forum, the forum is also very good for tips and advise).

£3k should get you into a nice car with less than 50k or 60k on the clock, but it will all depend on spec and condition.
They do pop up for sale on the forums from time to time as well.

Herzlos

B0bbyEwing said:

But unsure really what's the lowest end price wise that someone would bother with financing/loans

That's really up to you. Most dealers will be able to provide you finance on anything. They may have a minimum amount but you can always take out a larger finance package and pay a chunk off when you get home. 

You can usually get a better rate on new cars than used, and with finance incentives it's often possible to get a new unregistered car for less than a 1 year old car.

You're also likely to get a better deal taking out the finance (either car finance or just a loan) from your own bank than from a dealership. 

Goudy

There are other, often cheaper ways to borrow a few thousand then car finance or a bank loans.

You could look at borrowing some of the money another way, like a money transfer credit card.

It sounds like you have some money for a car but perhaps are looking at cars in the next price bracket up.

So you might have £2000 and are looking at £4000 cars.
In this case you could use a money transfer credit card to borrow the other £2000.

You'd pay a fee, often 3% or 4% and as long at you didn't miss a minimum payment, you often get 12 to 18 month interest free.

So borrowing £2000 over say 12 months would cost you £60 to £80. (£174 a month to clear in in 12 months)