Advice buying a used car
I am wondering if anyone can help
I lost my husband 2 years ago. I have no close family to advise me and relied on my husband for everything.
I want a car but don't know whether to buy a cheap, used car, or whether to spend a little more. A neighbour said he knows a car going for £650, but he's not knowledgeable about cars. I don't know what sort of amount to spend (the less the better! Or is it? I just want one to get me to the shops)
I'm wondering where others would pitch it. Should I spend a few hundred, or 2 - 3000?
What on earth do I check for if I go and buy a used car? I have no one who can help so it'll be a risk to take but are there a few things I can easily consider? Thank you
I lost my husband 2 years ago. I have no close family to advise me and relied on my husband for everything.
I want a car but don't know whether to buy a cheap, used car, or whether to spend a little more. A neighbour said he knows a car going for £650, but he's not knowledgeable about cars. I don't know what sort of amount to spend (the less the better! Or is it? I just want one to get me to the shops)
I'm wondering where others would pitch it. Should I spend a few hundred, or 2 - 3000?
What on earth do I check for if I go and buy a used car? I have no one who can help so it'll be a risk to take but are there a few things I can easily consider? Thank you
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Comments
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Yes.
Condition, condition and condition...Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...0 -
That was a bit of a vague question I put. I just looked on auto trader and their advice and it's not that simple.
What is too much mileage though? There's a car with good history, but 81,000 miles.0 -
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I would look a\t good makes and unpopular models. If you want a small car, the bug-eyed Micra was never very popular and cheap low mileage models are plentiful.
http://www.autotrader.co.ukJe suis sabot...0 -
write your self a list of points:
How much can you comfortably spend.
How many miles do you cover
Do you carry passengers
what running and insurance costs can you afford
Do you really need a car or will a car club do?
You do sound very unsure of your needs and this makes it difficult to offer advice.0 -
I am wondering if anyone can help
I lost my husband 2 years ago. I have no close family to advise me and relied on my husband for everything.
If you dont have a trusted person to offer advice, if the car is advertised online, you could post a link on here.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Renault-Modus-dci-Diesel-2005/122686666847?hash=item1c90b1f85f%3Ag%3AYP0AAOSwa3ZZpcFa
On ebay, look for 100% feedback.0 -
Cars for only a few hundred pounds will be pretty much at the end of their lives and will be prone to various things going wrong. A lot of the time these might be small things that could be a DIY job but if you needed to take it somewhere to get sorted it's going to add up so it would be worth learning how to do the odd minor job.
Also something major could go wrong and you'll need to replace the car anyway. Basically with a banger it's best to get one with 12 months MOT and be prepared to replace it the next year if you can't get it through again - if you can get it to pass then that's a bonus.
Buying a banger is probably the cheapest form of motoring though - just look up the bangernomics thread on here.0 -
That was a bit of a vague question I put. I just looked on auto trader and their advice and it's not that simple.
What is too much mileage though? There's a car with good history, but 81,000 miles.
General rules of thumb:
1) The fewer previous owners the better.
2) Service history. There are plenty of cars, even older ones, with full service history. With an older one it isn't likely to be main dealer but receipts of regular servicing and repairs will suffice.
3) Check the MOT history online at https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/ It'll show what it has failed on in the past which will give you an idea of its condition and how well it has been looked after. One which regularly fails on things like worn brakes, tyres and bulbs indicates it hasn't really been looked after. Avoid stuff which has failed on corrosion.
4) Avoid low mileage cars as it usually means lots of town driving or lots of time being stood, neither of which are good for a car. You want one that has done at least 7-8,000 miles per year so a 10 year old car wants to be at least 70,000 on the clock. Higher mileage, averaging say 15,000 miles a year may seem like it should be something to be avoided but it usually means it has done long journeys most of its life which is a good thing. Again, with the caveat of point 1.
5) My rule, be wary of cars between 70-80,000 miles. This is the mileage where things like suspension, brakes and clutches need changing.
6) Most cars need cambelts, if they have one, changing from 60,000 miles up to 125,000 miles. If the car is between those mileages find out what mileage it should have been done by and ask for proof of the cambelt being done. if there is none use that as a bargaining chip and ask for £200 off at least.0 -
thescouselander wrote: »Buying a banger is probably the cheapest form of motoring though - just look up the bangernomics thread on here.
It can be if you are lucky, not sure that a novice should take that route.0 -
Mercdriver
it's a Ford Fusion, 13 years old...0
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