Looking to get a car for a few months.

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Marsupial
Marsupial Posts: 14 Forumite
in Motoring
I'm looking to get a very cheap car (below £500 if possible) for a few months. The reason I only want the car for a few months is because I'm looking at getting a mortgage, need a car to look at potential areas of interest, and would like to buy a more expensive car after I've gotten the mortgage, and have a better idea of how much I can afford on a more decent car.

Could anyone:

Recommend a reliable dealer? (Live in Surrey near London.)
Recommend any companies for temporary insurance?

Thanks. :beer:
«1

Comments

  • neilmcl
    neilmcl Posts: 19,460 Forumite
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    Can't advise on dealers but forget about temp insurance over that sort of period, it'll be too expensive. You'd be better off taking full insurance and either cancelling it when done, or transfer your "new" car on to it.
  • worried_jim
    worried_jim Posts: 11,631 Forumite
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    Just pop your postcode into auto trader, set the maximum distance and price and off you go. Dealers don't sell reputable cars for £500. You will need to insure for a year and if you sell the car before then cancel the policy and you may get a small refund.

    I've had loads of great cars for £500- good luck!
  • BeenThroughItAll
    BeenThroughItAll Posts: 5,018 Forumite
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    No such thing as a reliable dealer when you're buying a £500 shed.
  • forgotmyname
    forgotmyname Posts: 32,552 Forumite
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    A £500 car from a dealer = thats £400 profit and £100 for the car itself, or it could be £490 profit and £10 for the car.

    Got any no claims? Your insurance maybe £2000 on your £500 car.
    Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...

  • System
    System Posts: 178,093 Community Admin
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    You're not going to get anything from a dealer. Best looking on "Stuff for Sale or Free in XXX" or "Cheap Cars in XX" pages on Facebook. I've been quite amazed at how decent a motor you can get for £500 or less on those pages. Yes its going to be 12/13/14 years old and probably well north of 100,000 miles but certainly something reliable with a good chunk of MOT on is possible.
  • agrinnall
    agrinnall Posts: 23,344 Forumite
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    Hire a car on the days when you need to travel to look at areas.
  • foxy-stoat
    foxy-stoat Posts: 6,879 Forumite
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    +1 for hiring a car, you can get one for a few hundred a month, way cheaper than risking a £500er plus insurance + tax for only a few months.
  • bertiewhite
    bertiewhite Posts: 1,904 Forumite
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    I got one of my best cars from a proper car auction (not ebay) - a Rover 414 with 80,000 miles on the clock. It cost me £350 after commission and lasted 3 years with just tyres and an exhaust to replace.

    Quite often, the proper car auctions are full of cars that dealers have taken in part ex and can't be bothered to put on the forecourt whereas ebay can be full of cars that private sellers can't shift elsewhere.
  • neilmcl
    neilmcl Posts: 19,460 Forumite
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    bertiewhite wrote: »
    I got one of my best cars from a proper car auction (not ebay) - a Rover 414 with 80,000 miles on the clock. It cost me £350 after commission and lasted 3 years with just tyres and an exhaust to replace.

    Quite often, the proper car auctions are full of cars that dealers have taken in part ex and can't be bothered to put on the forecourt whereas ebay can be full of cars that private sellers can't shift elsewhere.
    But for every one decent runner for under £500 I'd bet there will be at least 10 dodgy ones at that price point at auction. I think you were lucky.

    For someone with not much car ownership experience, which I assume the OP is, then going down the auction route for a banger might not be the best idea.
  • bertiewhite
    bertiewhite Posts: 1,904 Forumite
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    neilmcl wrote: »
    But for every one decent runner for under £500 I'd bet there will be at least 10 dodgy ones at that price point at auction. I think you were lucky.

    For someone with not much car ownership experience, which I assume the OP is, then going down the auction route for a banger might not be the best idea.

    Not in my experience - 4 out of 4 bangers that I've had from auctions (the Rover, Escort, Peugeot 306 then a Partner van), I would have been happy if they'd lasted the year out but they each did better than that.

    The OP states that they want to pay £500 pounds for a car to last a few months and asks about dealers - I am saying if he goes to a proper car auction he'll probably get the same car as he would at a dealer but without the mark up as was pointed out in post #5
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