Buying a Car: Recommendations Please

[Raistlin]

Evening All

I've got about £2k to spend (max), and need to buy a car with it. Although life is throwing bills at me at the moment, so the less of that I have to spend the better really.

I need something reliable, fairly roomy (I'm a tall lad), and capable of running up and down the motorways between here and North Devon without too many dramas.

I've had deisel cars before, and I'm not adverse to the idea of a deisel car again.

I'd prefer something with a decent sized engine, mainly because they seem to find the longer journeys easier than small engined cars do.

I've got no real problems with any sort of make/manufacturer, although I've never been a fan of Fords and I'd like to avoid anything like Proton/Kia. I'm quite a big fan of the more recent Astras (expecially the larger deisel engined ones) and I've always loved VW Golfs (also don't mind Passats).

If it could be 'fun' then that would be cool, but I'll sacrifice fun for the sake of getting mobile again. Something with a bit of 'go' to it would also be good, but the same applies. Whatever it is I would really like it to have air conditioning, and a CD player would be nice but not essential.

The main concerns are reliability, price, room inside, and a good strong engine. Beyond that I'm not too bothered.

Suggestions/thoughts?

[danielf]

Originally Posted by Rob m

I need something reliable, fairly roomy (I'm a tall lad), and capable of running up and down the motorways between here and North Devon without too many dramas.

Seeing we've got absolutely nothing to go on regarding your location (it could vary from John O'Groats to South Devon) you might want to express this as a mileage range.

Also, I'd advise against deisel cars. Diesel works much better in my experience

[Raistlin]

Approximately 300 miles in total

.....and yes, you're right, Diesel would be far betterer

[Rob]

Ok diesel is probably the better option for economy over larger distances especially where performance of acceleration etc is less of a factor on motorawy type runs (lots of twisty turny roads benefits from the acceleration and throw around ability that petrol can be better suited).

But you need to factor in servicing costs. Diesel should be capable of lasting longer, but older diesels had frequent oil change needs. Think too whether you might need other garage attention for the remainin mechanics of an older vehicle.

As a motorway cruiser larger vehicles are generally more comfortable. The larger family cars of Astra / Focus size I would consider a minimum. But perhaps even think about the next size up of the Vectra / Modeo?

Sticking to a main brand like Ford, Vauxhall will result in most garages, especially the independents being able to do the servicing, and als sensible costs for parts. You'll need to strike a balance between the car's engine size and insurance premiums.

Shame I've just sold my Renault Espace. Might have been a tad bigger than you envisaged, but it was an excellent motorway vehicle, and there was soooo much space

[Peter_]

Look for as new an Astra diesel as possible the are usually plenty of ex company estates with full history available.

[Raistlin]

Thanks guys, good thoughts.

I need to find a friend that knows about cars as well, I can 'kick the tyres' but beyond that I know nothing

Any more thoughts from anybody?

[Wayfair]

Just a couple of things.

Even though you don't know a lot about cars, always go with the gut instinct, if it just feels wrong walk away.

Always insist on a minimum of 11 months mot, you will find loads of good tips for buying cars here.

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/buying-advice.html

The AA or RAC also do a good vehicle inspection service, tis pricey but saves buying a lemon if you have just spent all the spare cash you have.

[altis]

Mrs A has just gone though exactly the same exercise with a similar amount in the piggy bank. Unfortunately, the second-hand price of small, economical cars has just kept on climbing recently and options are very limited at £2K.

First, we checked out the fuel consumption figures from the data available here:
http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/downloads/
It's available in XLS format so it's a fairly easy job to resort by fuel cost. Be warned though, the older tables use very out-of-date fuel prices so it's difficult to compare between years. If you can wait until I get home later today I can PM you some tables that I've rehashed to allow you to input the fuel prices.

Also bear in mind the insurance group of the car you're looking at. Mrs A eventually settled on a Y-reg 1.9 diesel Polo with just over 100K on the clock that cost her a staggering £1800. Not until she started arranging insurance did we realise that for some reason this is up at Group 5.

[Kymmy]

For that price I'd look round for a Volvo, they go on for ever, the later cars have good engines that are long lasting, powerful and not to bad fuel wise especially on motorways..

[Raistlin]

Thanks guys, more food for thought

[Maggy J]

Originally Posted by Kymmy

For that price I'd look round for a Volvo, they go on for ever, the later cars have good engines that are long lasting, powerful and not to bad fuel wise especially on motorways..

And the Volvo that ran into the back of me and wrote off my Nissan SLR had only superficial damage..it was like being hit by a tank...

[alferret]

I'm in a simular position as you are, what I have found through my quite exaustive search that the best styling, best return for fuel, cheapest tax band and low insurance is the Vauxhall astra 1.7Dti. It has an Isuzu engine which is virtually bullet proof and if you can find the Eco4 version you will be paying £35 VED. High 40's urban, mid 70's extra urban and combined low to mid 60's.
Expect to pay around £1800 for a good condition Dti with tax n test with less that 100k miles.

[Raistlin]

Thanks alferret, I've been looking at the Astra diesels and (having driven quite a few) I think I'm leaning that way if I can find a good one.

What sort of age car are you looking at with the figures you're suggesting above?

[alferret]

Originally Posted by Rob M

Thanks alferret, I've been looking at the Astra diesels and (having driven quite a few) I think I'm leaning that way if I can find a good one.

What sort of age car are you looking at with the figures you're suggesting above?

You can find a 2000-2002 maybe a high miles 2003 for that sort of money on autotrader but they are few and far between and be prepared to travel, for me they always seem to be in excess of 100miles from my location, I always do a national search.
You could always try gumtree as another source for the elusive Dti.

Originally Posted by Rob M

Evening All

I've got about £2k to spend (max), and need to buy a car with it. Although life is throwing bills at me at the moment, so the less of that I have to spend the better really.

I need something reliable, fairly roomy (I'm a tall lad), and capable of running up and down the motorways between here and North Devon without too many dramas.

I've had deisel cars before, and I'm not adverse to the idea of a deisel car again.

I'd prefer something with a decent sized engine, mainly because they seem to find the longer journeys easier than small engined cars do.

I've got no real problems with any sort of make/manufacturer, although I've never been a fan of Fords and I'd like to avoid anything like Proton/Kia. I'm quite a big fan of the more recent Astras (expecially the larger deisel engined ones) and I've always loved VW Golfs (also don't mind Passats).

If it could be 'fun' then that would be cool, but I'll sacrifice fun for the sake of getting mobile again. Something with a bit of 'go' to it would also be good, but the same applies. Whatever it is I would really like it to have air conditioning, and a CD player would be nice but not essential.

The main concerns are reliability, price, room inside, and a good strong engine. Beyond that I'm not too bothered.

Suggestions/thoughts?

A nice VW Bora diesel will sort you out, a 1.8 or 2.0 litre diesel will serve you well.

I've got a Vauxhall Signum for sale but it's a bit above your price range Rob, that's a 2.2 turbo diesel and a flying machine.

---------- Post added at 07:48 ---------- Previous post was at 07:23 ----------

Originally Posted by Rob M

Thanks guys, good thoughts.

I need to find a friend that knows about cars as well, I can 'kick the tyres' but beyond that I know nothing

Any more thoughts from anybody?

1. Check all the paper work, check the log book with the address of the property you are viewing the car at, if it's not the registered address walk away.

2. Compare the chassis number with the one on the log book.

3. Look for any imperfections on the bodywork, run the edge of a pound coin in between the door lines to see if all the gaps are equal.

4. Never view a car in the rain, it hides a multitude of problems on the bodywork.

5. Check all body panels, take a magnet with you and hover the magnet over all the car, if it loses pull there's filler in the bodywork

6. Look down the body work from back to front and front to back, everything should be in a straight line, if not it's been repaired.

7. Check the spare wheel compartment, if it's been rear ended the hard way there will be signs of repair.

Under the bonnet.

1. Feel the bonnet if it's warm then it's been run prior to you coming to view the car, always test and start a car from cold, this way if it's got any problems like rattles you'll here them from cold, look for any signs of blue smoke when you start it up, if it's a diesel let it warm up then hard rev it, black smoke on a diesel is OK blue smoke is when there's problems.

2. Take the oil filler cap off and check for a milky residue, if there's a residue there the head gasket has gone.

3. Check the Oil to make sure that's clean, if the head has gone the oil will be like it is on the oil filler cap.

4. Have a good look round the back of the engine for oil leaks, many oil leaks occur round the back of the engine and near the oil filter.

5. Ask for all service history MOT's for mileage verification (if there is any).

6. Check all tyres for uneven wear, if there's wear on the inside and none on the outside the tracking it out, make sure the tyres are a good make, if it's got budget tyres on haggle the price for a set of decent tyres.

Interior.

1. Check the odometer for the mileage readings, if the numbers aren't in a straight line it's been tampered with.

2. Check the steering wheel if it's smooth with no pattern it's a sign of a high mileage car.

3. Check the clutch, brake and accelerator pedal, if they are smooth it's another sign of high mileage.

4. Check the drivers seat, if that's got signs of wear it's another sign of high mileage.

5. Check the one key does all the functions, multiple keys could mean a plethora of issues.

Sorry it's long winded Rob but when your buying a used car you've got to do all these checks, a decent seller won't mind you doing all the above checks.