Budget car buying - being too critical?

B0bbyEwing

In need of a car & the price bracket I'm looking at you guys would call budget/scrap (£3k-£3.5k tops but people then take that as a target whereas I mean it's TOPS as in last resort, as in I'd like to spend less than that since it is possible to get a fairly conditioned car for less, despite what some may say). 

Now I'm naturally a critical & untrusting person anyway stemming from the people I deal with via work. Everyone seems to be out to scam everyone else (with some exceptions) so I just assume everyone is a scam artist & that's regardless of car price. Again, I know there's exceptions & not everyone is this way.

So I've seen a few in recent weeks but I find myself talking myself out of them because of various things.

Found one locally which is really at the top end of my budget but on face value it seemed ok but then I do app checks on it.

Says V5C changed in May '25. Will that be when the garage took it in or will that be when the previous owner had it & the garage has taken it in since then - in which case the previous owner only had it 5mins = red flag.

This app also tells you previously seen adverts. 

First entry - March '25, second entry - April '25 reduced by £100.

So I'm taking that as someone bought it in May based on the April advert & they've quickly got rid of it. Traded it in maybe & now the current garage has it.

This puts me off massively - why bother taking in a car for 5mins & then get rid?

And this is just an example of where I'll dismiss a car without even going to see it in person.

There's another, again unfortunately very top end of budget (so I'm even more likely to be critical as it's more money to lose)

V5C - Jan '24, so not amazing but not too bad. Makes me think the previous example - guy got rid after 5mins.


Looking at the previous adverts - Sept '25 is listed & before this it goes Nov '23, Oct '23, Oct '23 (2 days prior) where it dropped £1k from the first Oct listing to the Nov listing.

Maybe it's because I keep cars for a long time but it makes me wonder why people are getting rid so quickly.

There's other cases where I'll dismiss as well but this is a little different to the above & typically tied specifically to FB Marketplace adverts where my reason for dismissing is based on the seller, not the car. 



Would you entertain cars that seem to be up for sale frequently? Likely to be something perfectly innocent or in your experience is that a red flag to avoid also?

twopenny

Can't help with all the analysis and second guessing. Seems an impossible way to find a car of that age and price range.

I've always bought cars for last 40yrs under £3000 until the last which was 4 because of the general state of affairs now.

Look online at cars from  known dealers and look, a lot.
Sit in some. Low mileage should mean less wear and tear. Old and not been used soft parts may have disintegrated.
Check the MOT history and mileage per year.
Has it had serious work done?
What are the advisories? Anything expensive?
Ask on here about the model and research any difficulties the model may have. Ie eco cars can have expensive service etc.

Takes about 20mins.

I know people who do this at auctions. 

I always ask for small things to be put right. Last car had splitting tyre and the boot struts had rusted. Both replaced.

Ditched a good offer because it was filthy inside and hadn't been cared for. If what you can see isn't good then what you can't won't be either.

Car before this was bought temporary, 25,000 miles and serviced every year - price £325. I had to redo some paint work badly done. Took 2 weekends. 
Kept it for 7yrs

If it's dealers dropping the price can be because they want to move old stock of low value to replace by better more profitable.

darrensurrey

Ok, as someone who enjoys playing the bangernomics game, my budget is from £1k to £2k. At £3k, I would be more wary and there's probably something wrong with that car so just forget it. It might be that the problem is noticeable when driving so people turn up, try it, walk away or something a buyer noticed upon driving away and just demanded a refund. Whatever the case, the dealer doesn't want to fix it so it will eventually drop to the right price that means someone can spend the difference on fixing the problem.

If you need a car now, then find another car.

That said, cars at these prices will never be perfect. It's the degree to which you're willing to put up with stuff. I mean, even a 2015 £15k car that was originally £50k RRP is going to have problems/issues.

You just have to accept that when you buy a banger/shed, it will either require annual elbow grease or a £2k-3k budget to keep it on the road. You might only pay £200 to fix things one year so save that money for the next year's maintenance bill!

I like bangernomics because this year my banger has cost me about £2k to sort stuff out including a voluntary belt replacement which is still cheaper than getting finance on a new car and I'm not driving a new boring, gutless car which might cost £150pm but an Audi TT!

daveyjp

If your top budget is so low don't go near any garages.  Its private sale territory.

ButterCheese

B0bbyEwing said:

Would you entertain cars that seem to be up for sale frequently? Likely to be something perfectly innocent or in your experience is that a red flag to avoid also?

Up for sale frequently could just mean someone has said they'll buy it, it's been taken off sale, and the customer has backed out/found something else.  So has been re-advertised.  Some people happily do that and lose a £250 deposit.  Or it could be more sinister, but a check-engine light or unusual response when driving would normally give that away.

You should always buy on condition and service history.  If it isn't written down then it hasn't been done, unless it's obvious (like new tyres).  Don't be scared to inspect it thoroughly, or pay the AA £250 to do it if you think that is worth it.  But at the 3 grand mark, you run the risk of paying a decent price but then shelling out another 2 grand for belts, clutches, sensors, bushings and bearings etc that may not have been changed since the car was new.  That is, if you don't know much about cars and don't know what to look for

Mildly_Miffed

...or perhaps the person who's had it since Jan 2024 decided they still needed it this spring, and took it off the market. Maybe it was a second car, and their main one died or they simply decided a second could be useful for a few more months?

Stop over-thinking! It's a low-end shed. If it looks good, drives well, and the MOT history isn't too horrible, it'll probably do the job just fine.
How long for will depend largely on your attitude to maintenance.
If you regard the MOT as all the service it needs, with a begrudging oil change, and anything more than a bulb is an outrage, then head for financing something new...

Herzlos

It's hard to tell exactly what's happened with any particular car. Though I guess if you're doubting it now you'll doubt it even worse once you own it, so I'd potentially just look at something else unless it's particularly special. 

Does it have an unusually high number of owners meaning that a few people have potentially got rid of it in short order? Does the seller and their story seem reasonable?

Can you get an independent mechanic to have a look at it before you buy?

What conditions the car in? Is the price suspiciously good? Is there a service history that'd hint at any repairs?

B0bbyEwing

Mildly_Miffed said:

...or perhaps the person who's had it since Jan 2024 decided they still needed it this spring, and took it off the market. Maybe it was a second car, and their main one died or they simply decided a second could be useful for a few more months?

Yeah that's quite possible. I just know I'm quite critical & possibly overly critical.

A relative of mine scours FB Marketplace for bargains where he thinks they don't need much to be put right. He does the work on it & sells it on. Typically things like Ford Connects & the like where builders will buy them & not give 2 hoots over how many owners it's had. This obviously adds on another owner & if it was ME looking to buy then I'd see it as having been bought last month & up for sale again this month = red flag, even though the reasoning behind it (because I know him) is legit. 

So I do appreciate that there's the possibility of me being too critical. 

daveyjp said:

If your top budget is so low don't go near any garages.  Its private sale territory.

 I've been looking at private sales actually but there lays another 'problem' which MM will say is over-thinking

99% of the adverts I'm seeing locally are from people who have names that aren't typically English. Now I know that'll likely have an ism thrown my way but it's really not the case. 
See, I've been there before, against the advice of friends/family/co-workers who all said stay away & I threw that same ism at them. Can't be as bad as you're saying.
EACH & EVERY TIME it was way more hassle than it was worth. Always an issue, an absolute problem to deal with. So now I heed the advice & steer clear if it's not a 'typically' English name. 

I've only ever had the issue on the buying side of things but I've spoken with others who've been on the selling side of those people as well & again they say they're just a nightmare to deal with. Not to say 'typically English' people are perfect but that these people I'm talking about are just more of a hassle than standard.


I saw a car the other day as a potential so did some digging. Female owner, English name. On the surface seemed ok but then I checked their profile & thought hang on, why has this woman sold SO MANY vehicles. Not impossible, women are in the motor industry, but certainly anyone would have to concede it's not 'the norm'. So I checked out her partners profile. Lo & behold the page was full of motor related stuff, things for sale etc & he looked like someone you'd cross the road from for sure.

So either this is a wheeler dealer (like my relative I just mentioned) who's using his wifes page to advertise because she looked infinitely more approachable or he's a trade seller who's advertising privately via his wife. Either way, that & the 1 look at him I got told me to avoid.

I then started looking at ANY advert, even of cars I wasn't interested in. This showed me that there are some seemingly decent sellers - who appear English & don't look like they'll cave your head in, but locally at least it's the minority.

Which is weird because when you walk around the area it's the reverse, these people are the majority, not the minority.

paul_c123

Have you considered looking elsewhere than Facebook Marketplace?

B0bbyEwing

paul_c123 said:

Have you considered looking elsewhere than Facebook Marketplace?

Yes. Have done FB Marketplace, eBay & AutoTrader. Not saw anything that tickled my fancy on the other two really.

Although it's getting towards the stage of saying sod it & if the car seems in decent condition & the price is acceptable then just buying it to have something that'll get us A-B, even if it's not a make-model that we'd ideally have.

Have a car currently but how long it'll last is anyones guess as it only cost a few £100 & that's exactly the kind of 'quality' it is as the next MOT could go either way. I've known the car years (previous owner) & am surprised it got through the last MOT as clean as it did.