how to buy a car?

thepinkladez_2

ok this probably sounds a bit dumb but need a bit of help! i am looking to buy a vw lupo and ideally only want to spend between £1000- £2000. can anyone advise on how to get a good deal ( as i have been to a few garages before i settled on a lupo and i seemed to be completly ignored or they would only speak to hubby! - no good when i am on my own this week!)
so far i have looked on autotrader and ebay anyone else recommend any good sites or magazines?
i have bought a 1 week parkers thingy to check price of car etc (you can change milage etc to see new price etc).
how much can i expect to get off a car in the garage? will it make a difference that i will pay cash and take it immediatley? what things do i say etc to get them working for me?
sorry to sound sooo rubbish but i hate doing this kind of thing as i feel like they just look at me like im a silly girl :mad: ( i am 26 but i do look about 16 which really doesnt help!!)
any help much appreciated!

movilogo

From your post, it appears that you not only look about 16, but probably speak like 16 yrs old

Your best bet will be taking someone with you eg. your hubby.

Sorry, nothing personal against you.

thepinkladez_2

movilogo wrote: »

From your post, it appears that you not only look about 16, but probably speak like 16 yrs old

Your best bet will be taking someone with you eg. your hubby.

Sorry, nothing personal against you.

thank you for your particually helpful post! i love when someone so helpful feels the need to put someone else down!

I can not take my husband with me, and why should i have to? I am an adult women wishing to buy a car, i do not need to take a man along. i am purely asking for a little bit of advice, i am out of my depth when it comes to cars and im sure many other women will agree with me, car garages see us coming and think they can take us for a ride!

davetrousers

Sometimes cars on the forecourt aren't ready to be driven away so you might not be able to drive it away the day you buy it. Also if you did you would probably be driving it without road tax.

You might get a better deal towards the end of the month as salesmen are trying to meet their sales targets. The downside can be that you might feel like you aren't getting a full months road tax out of this but you can use this to negotiate a tank of petrol (or half) which is worth more than 1 month's worth of road tax.

Have you found a suitable car (or cars) in autotrader or anywhere yet?

thepinkladez_2

thank you for some helpful advice.

didn't even consider that the car might not have tax etc!

yes i have seen these two in autotrader:

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/VOLKSWAGEN+LUPO/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146,N-197-4294961521-4294967159/advert.action?R=200802301507434&distance=278&postcode=nn14+6tl&channel=CARS&make=VOLKSWAGEN&model=LUPO&min_pr=&max_pr=&max_mileage=

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/VOLKSWAGEN+LUPO/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146,N-197-4294961521-4294967159/advert.action?R=200744297975513&distance=82&postcode=nn14+6tl&channel=CARS&make=VOLKSWAGEN&model=LUPO&min_pr=&max_pr=&max_mileage=

Like the top one as its a diesel and the cheapest!but its 200ish miles from me and i cant get hold of them yet!
the bottom one is more ££ as its a garage but its closer and called them today and so far they have been quite helpful!

Hintza

thepinkladez wrote: »

thank you for your particually helpful post! i love when someone so helpful feels the need to put someone else down!

I can not take my husband with me, and why should i have to? I am an adult women wishing to buy a car, i do not need to take a man along. i am purely asking for a little bit of advice, i am out of my depth when it comes to cars and im sure many other women will agree with me, car garages see us coming and think they can take us for a ride!

If you are out of your depth then you really should take someone with you.

But if that is not possible then you must do as much research as possible to discern true value and potential problems. The trouble you have is you are not spending a lot of money and anything you do buy will have very limited warranty. So probably best getting AA/RAC to check it over.

As for price check autotrader and ebay to see what they are selling for and add a bit if you buy from a dealer especially if they are offering a warranty.

Hintza

Can you stretch the budget?

This one HERE looks good value and a few years younger

thepinkladez_2

i could do but ideally want to buy as cheap as possible so that i can add the additional money i have into a family car fund! does look very nice, i will keep an eye on it. ideally want a green one as i have always had quite normal colour cars and i fancied something a bit funky!

jeannieblue

Well, tricky this, I'm female - but, men come in handy! No salesman should brush you aside because you are female, I would walk out if treated in that way or not treated seriously.

But you really have to think about the way you act, if you go in with a confident air they will treat you differently than if you go in all coy. But it is important to have someone with you who knows about cars and if have no one, then as previous poster suggested, get AA/RAC inspection done.

You do tend to get what you pay for in the sense that if you buy something real cheap - it probably is....

I recommend you do your research and although, in my mind, colour is important to us ladies, its still gotta be mechanically sound, worth the money and the best deal on the market! 200 miles or so away is not alot if you get what you want at the right price. No one likes to be stitched up. Just take your time and have a good look round.

Come back on thread for advice from the guys now and again. They seem to know their stuff - well, most of them.

Good luck