Negotiating purchase of car

chickenmush

Just after a simple piece of advice…

I'm looking into buying a used car, advertised for sale in my local area. It's an old car (03 reg, so 23 years old). It's a Toyota Yaris, belonging to an elderly gentleman, with MOT due in 11 months and 79,000 miles on the clock (so low mileage for a car that old). Alongside a few other questions I want to ask the owner, would there be scope to negotiate on the sale price of £895? In my head, that sounds fairly reasonable, but keen to know thoughts of others as I'm generally rubbish at this sort of thing!

paul_c123

It depends what the car is actually worth. For a car that old, but with 11 months MoT and not too-high mileage, it will all be down to its condition. It might be worth £1800 but he wants a quick sale; it might be worth £150.

There is a good chance at that end of the market, if you try to negotiate you will get a hard "no" and be blocked from further communications.

lincroft1710

Don't ask. View car and if you like it, then ask if they would accept £x (either most you are willing to pay or a lower figure that the vendor can make counter offer). What else is available for around £895?

eschaton

It sounds really good if the condition is reasonable. But I’d check the MOT, if it’s advisory free then it sounds a great deal but if it’s got a list of advisories then that changes things.

Check here: https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk

For negotiating, all you can do is make an offer and see what he says but like others say it could be priced to sell.

Desmond_Hume

Looking on Autotrader, the £895 seems a great price already. You’re going to have to be careful here. If the owner is on the ball, your low offer could shut you out permanently.

Based on what I’ve seen, pay the £895 and accept you’ve got a decent bargain and the seller can be happy they got what they wanted.

flaneurs_lobster

If you do want to offer a lower amount then having cash in hand (literally) might make a difference.

twopenny

With a car that old you need to look for rust, wheel arches and under the doors. There may be some information on the MOT.

Also he may have the paperwork for when it has been serviced which is a good indication it's been looked after.

Expect small things like seals to need replacing at some time. That's what tends to perish with wear but no big deal.

My neighbour sold one at that price and it was so well cared for it was mind boggling.

caprikid1

Question number 1. - Why are you selling ?.

An £895 car with less than 100K on the clock and 11 months MOT = Snooze you loose !

chickenmush

Thanks all for the various pieces of advice!

I used the MOT checker (hadn't even realised you can do this - thought you could only check tax status!). Rather than 11 months MOT and 79,000 miles, it turns out it's got 7 months MOT and had done 88,000 miles as at date of MOT in Feb 2026, so don't know why the inaccuracies - unless he's been trying to sell it for some time (red flag?). There are in fact a number of advisories on the MOT (corrosion and wear to tyre and suspension). Tempted at the moment to offer a bit less but also can't help feeling a little cautious regarding condition. Don't want to miss out if he wants a quick sale.

flaneurs_lobster

If those dates are accurate then that car's done 9,000 miles in 4 months, pretty impressive for something that's 23 years old.

Mildly_Miffed

It's a £900 used car with a long ticket. If it's not actively shagged, buy it.

On a 23yo car, I couldn't care less if it's got 80k or 90k. Low mileage can be a problem, rather than a benefit, but assuming that's relatively evenly spread, either's fine.

7mo ticket, 11mo ticket… Again, meh. A test is £50.

What are the corrosion advisories? They could be nothing, they could be a showstopper. Usual places kill these - rear subframe, rear arches, front crossmember, sills.
Tyre? Meh. Tyres wear out. They're cheap.
Suspension? Meh. Suspension wears. It's usually cheap enough, depending on what it is.

@flaneurs_lobster - I think the OP means they were told it was 11mo/79k, but it's actually 7mo/88k, not that it WAS 79k at the test and is now 88k.