UK drivers: Buying a first car (second hand)

[witness]

Don't buy an old car!

There's nothing wrong with old cars. Most modern cars will survive at least 12-15 years with larger engines easily doing more than 200k miles.

The main thing with older cars is to ensure that you have a genuine service history that covers all servicing and repairs for the full lifetime of the car.

Of course, some people try to get rid of their cars when they know that something big will need doing soon, but you just need to factor that in when choosing how much to offer for a car.

Never pay dealer prices for second hand cars, the warrantees that they offer are usually worthless and very rarely cover the parts that go wrong.

If your budget is £5000, look around for a suitable car, take your time and don't pay more than £4000 for a car with a dealer price listing of £5000. That way, even if you need to spend £1000 on repairs within the first few months, you won't be disappointed.

I bought my current Volvo V90 3.0 with full history for £4000 when the book value was close to £7000. I knew that it had issues, but £600 later I had a car that I've had for almost 2 years (30k miles) without a single problem. And I saved over £2000.

 

[SpookTheHamster]

There is not a single part on my car that costs more than £100.

I would never buy a new car, or a car younger than 15 years for that matter.

Rich.

There are lots of parts on your car that would cost more than £100, if I was still at work, I'd look them all up for you.

I'd never buy new, but after the amount I have to spend keeping my 30 year old car running, I'm going to stick to <10 years from now on.

 

[bgd]

If you want reliability then go for Japanese first, Korean second. Article on the BBC website (which I now can't find) rated the most reliable makes based on customer feedback. First was Honda, second Toyota and last Renault. Nissan had dropped down the list but all other majors were up there.

 

[robbieduncan]

While you're shopping around for insurance, check out http://www.confused.com/. They compare a few different comanies (Churchill, Norwich Union etc), and it's all free. Very useful.

A lot of companies have started opting out of Confused though which is very annoying. For the younger drive the Admiral group are pretty good on price. I am currently insured with Bell (part of the Admiral group) who were £200 (over 20%) cheaper than the next nearest quote which was from Elephant (also part of the Admiral group). I have managed to get £14000 out of Elephant as a claim in the past so it's not that bad.

In terms of groups they are numbered 1-20 with internal subdivisions which have letters. 20 is the highest cost. There is about 1 current car in group 1! Anything enjoyable will be in a higher group.

If you want a reasonably quick car which is cheap to insure I'd suggest at Xsara VTR. Group 13 iirc. I had one and it was quick (for what it was), handled reasonably well and comes with decent standard equipment. You should be able to get one for a lot less that £3000.

Example Xsara for sale

You can look up the insurance group database here. A Xsara VTR (1.8, not the slower 1.6) is only group 11! Amazing

 

[thworple]

Don't be put off by people saying "don't buy an older car".

Although it can be a bit of a minefield, you can uncover some real gems. My dad has been a car salesman for 40 years, and has unearthed a range of cars for myself and my friends, that have for the most part been extremely reliable.

Several tips:-

1)If you are buying a car less than 3 years old, it will be fast approaching the need for its first MOT, so make sure its sound, and has had its annual services since new. It should also still be under its factory warranty, so make sure you enquire about this when purchsing.

2)Buying a car older than 3 years becomes more difficult. The most important thing is to purchase a car that has FSH (Full Service History) so that you can trace back any problems the car may have had in its entire history.

3)If its 3 years or older, make sure it has a long MOT (8months or over is a good start). Otherwise you could question why the seller is getting rid of it with the MOT due so soon.

4)Take a mechanic/car expert with you when viewing cars. They'll know what to look for on specific models, in particular wear and tear in the body/engine.

5)When shopping for insurance DON'T go getting too many quotes from as many people as possible. Details are regularly shared between insurers, and if you have had a lot of quotes, companies begin to think you are a higher insurance risk and adjust your quotes accordingly. (My mother works in vehicle insurance) The best bet is to pick 4-5 insurers and get quotes from them.

Generally speaking Tesco is one of the cheapest insurers to go for, but I would try Endsleigh and Norwich Union.

Out of the cars I've had, the Vauxhalls have been the most reliable, with the exception of old Cavaliers and Vectras, the engines are built to last. I've liked the Japanese cars I've had, although they weren't great at handling (I rolled my Nissan!!!). I'm not a huge Ford fan, and Renaults are fairly reliable, but have got terrible build-quality!

Trouble is, that I'm sure lots of people will tell you different things. Good luck though!