Advice buying used car

[Smilie]

Im looking to buy a used car (1st car)
and wondering if any here can give me some good advice (as i have had alot of differant help/advice from therse forums)

im thinking of getting a VW Polo (perferably 02 version)
or 206 if i cant find 1 good enough
any advice on differant car??
maximum budget is £5000 (+£1000 for insurance)

just want to know what i should look out for
ill be looking at trade car centers
as approved cars are too expensive
and dont know enough to check cars to buy private
(would still get some1 who knows more about cars to test drive it with me)

just wondering what kinda mileage per year would u consider average??
anything i should look out for??

Hi there, when buying a used car always look out for the tell tale signs.

1. Dents or scratches on the body work.

2. Look at the steering wheel and the foot pedals to make sure they are not worn, this is a classic sign that it's done high mileage and been clocked.

3. Ask them for any service history, take it on a test drive and really give it some stick round the corners and listen for any knocking noises.

4. Always check the engine bay, if it's been steamed cleaned they are hiding something, if it's just got normal traffic dirt in there they are not hiding anything.

5. Take the oil filler cap off and see if there is a milky residue there, if there is the head gasket has gone, walk away.

6. Always check the VIN number under the bonnett with the log book and make sure the car is not a cut and shut or a stolen one with a different VIN number.

7. The average milage for a car nowdays is 14,000 miles per year, don't be worried if it's done over that as long as the service history is up to date you'll be fine many cars nowdays can run well into the 300,000 mile area with the service history kept up to date.

8. The best bit bargin with them, if they want £3,000 go in with a really daft offer of £2,500, never pay the full price whats on the screen, if your going to a dealer you can really hit them because they want rid of that car, every day it's costing them money to keep it on the pitch.

Great info Nidge!

Here is a great site that will tell you what a used car is worth and give you common faults that effect a certain type and model.

http://www.usedcarexpert.co.uk

Here is what it says about the 2002 polo--> http://www.usedcarexpert.co.uk/produ...ageHistory=cat

and the 206---> http://www.usedcarexpert.co.uk/produ...ageHistory=cat

This is the site that will give you a price guide http://www.parkers.co.uk/

Results for the 206-->> http://www.parkers.co.uk/pricing/use...&buyorsell=buy

[ikthius]

nidge has some great advice.

• also look out for paint work that looks slightly different e.g. different shades and shiney/metalicness.
• make sure the gaps (to doors, lights etc) are all the same distance apart, if not something has been replaceed
• open doors and boot and look for spot welds, if there are some covered up, and this area not look the same all over, something like a panel has been replaced
• ask the people who are selling, if the car has ever had any parts replaced, of damaged, they are required by law to tell you the truth
• lift the rubber seals round windows, look for paint jobs.
• if a main dealer, they have huge markup on cars, so knock them down.
• go into a dealer a few times, show interest in a car, but only buy on last day of month, you get more off it then, plus you could haggle for freebies.

ik

[idi banashapan]

my advice to you is very very simple... do NOT, under ANY circumstances (and I want to make this absolutely clear...), EVER go to a backstreet dealer, where they only have one or 2 garages they sell from. Especially if they don't do the work on their cars themselves. This means THEY have to pay someone else for the work to the car, meaning they will do it as cheaply as possible. It also means that if anything goes wrong with the car, they will try their damndest to put it down to 'wear and tear', meaning that most of the time it is not covered by the poor warranty they offered you.

Buy the car from a main dealer. You may pay more, but the car and cover will be kosher, plus you get more chance to knock money off!. If you DO feel the need to buy off Mr. Smith down the road or 'Smith's Used Cars' down a back road, get the RAC out to check the motor over first. And TELL the dealer you will be doing that. If they flinch at the idea - walk away. The RAC check costs about £100, but it could save you thousands, quite literally. Be sensible about it.

[ZrByte]

Originally Posted by Nidge

Hi there, when buying a used car always look out for the tell tale signs.

1. Dents or scratches on the body work.

2. Look at the steering wheel and the foot pedals to make sure they are not worn, this is a classic sign that it's done high mileage and been clocked.

3. Ask them for any service history, take it on a test drive and really give it some stick round the corners and listen for any knocking noises.

4. Always check the engine bay, if it's been steamed cleaned they are hiding something, if it's just got normal traffic dirt in there they are not hiding anything.

5. Take the oil filler cap off and see if there is a milky residue there, if there is the head gasket has gone, walk away.

6. Always check the VIN number under the bonnett with the log book and make sure the car is not a cut and shut or a stolen one with a different VIN number.

7. The average milage for a car nowdays is 14,000 miles per year, don't be worried if it's done over that as long as the service history is up to date you'll be fine many cars nowdays can run well into the 300,000 mile area with the service history kept up to date.

8. The best bit bargin with them, if they want £3,000 go in with a really daft offer of £2,500, never pay the full price whats on the screen, if your going to a dealer you can really hit them because they want rid of that car, every day it's costing them money to keep it on the pitch.

I would just like to point out that number 5 isnt always true, though I would still walk away if I found mayo on the underside of the filler cap.
Some very sound advice there though

This is a good resource for car reviews http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm

Based on personal experience I wouldnt go near a 206, far too faulty. Then again you will always get good cars and bad cars accross a range so you could be lucky and get really good one.
I have been lucky like that myself with my current car, a Renault Clio Mk2 Ph2, these supposedly have the French trademark of poor electrics but asside from the odd bulb blowing I havent had any trouble... touch wood!!!

[Smilie]

thanks for the advice guys

ill be looking into the recommended sites

ill post a update when i do buy the car
but it might be some time
as im not in a hurry and will take my time finding 1

[carlingman]

Originally Posted by Smilie

thanks for the advice guys

ill be looking into the recommended sites

ill post a update when i do buy the car
but it might be some time
as im not in a hurry and will take my time finding 1

If you can have a scoot round your local car dealers as usually they will have ex motability cars come in after they are 3 years old etc.

For example down with us they have a lot of 2003 cars with OAPS using them to collect there pensions once a week and the odd shopping trip and you can pick them up with full service historys with only 12k to 20k on the mileage for well within your budget.

I bought one of these some time agao which is my current second car a Ford Escort 1.6 Finesse with alloys and air con all electrics, cd player etc on an x reg 2000 plate bought nearly 3 years ago with 14k on the clock and a FSH with the original ford seat polythene on the back as they had never used the back seats and picked that up for £3995.

Its sailed through 3 MOTs and not yet had a service or any money spent on it other than 2 new tyres and a new back and middle section exhaust.

It would have only been the back box but as it was the first change since manufacture it was one piece and even though the middle section was fine it was one piece and the back box had gone so they had to replace the two sections.

It has never failed to start first time and runs like a dream and as it is my second car has still yet to do 30k.

[Smilie]

need some help again
still havent brought a car yet waited cause i realised that my insurance
will be atleast £100 cheaper if i brought the car after my birthday (just passed)

so im really looking for 1 now
looking at this VW polo http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/www...00636248542879

quite abit over my initial budget but should be ok if the insurance isnt well overboard
and the dealer is willing to drop the price alittle
as a VW polo was my 1st choice (Yaris actually but too hard to find in my budget) i am willing to pay abit more

so before i look into it any further
i want to make sure what my insurance will cost me
any1 know which model that car should be
when choosing the car model on online insurance quote??

looking at tesco.com
(cheapest online i think with 10% off 1st year + cashback and value cover)

theres quite a few 2002 polo 1.4 to choose from
the closest 2 i think are :
POLO 1.4 (02-04) 5DR SE 16V 1390cc 5DR (cheaper) and
POLO 1400 (75 BHP) SE 5DR 1390cc 5DR

i think its the (02-04) version as the model
is the newer version which came out in 02
but im not 100% sure
any1 know which 1 it is?? or if its a differant 1??

also
i see a see a polo 1.2 (55bhp) engine nearby for sale which is alot cheaper
but what do people here think about going for the lower spec engine??

thanks for any advice
really appreciate all the help

Originally Posted by Smilie

need some help again
still havent brought a car yet waited cause i realised that my insurance
will be atleast £100 cheaper if i brought the car after my birthday (just passed)

so im really looking for 1 now
looking at this VW polo http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/www...00636248542879

quite abit over my initial budget but should be ok if the insurance isnt well overboard
and the dealer is willing to drop the price alittle
as a VW polo was my 1st choice (Yaris actually but too hard to find in my budget) i am willing to pay abit more

so before i look into it any further
i want to make sure what my insurance will cost me
any1 know which model that car should be
when choosing the car model on online insurance quote??

looking at tesco.com
(cheapest online i think with 10% off 1st year + cashback and value cover)

theres quite a few 2002 polo 1.4 to choose from
the closest 2 i think are :
POLO 1.4 (02-04) 5DR SE 16V 1390cc 5DR (cheaper) and
POLO 1400 (75 BHP) SE 5DR 1390cc 5DR

i think its the (02-04) version as the model
is the newer version which came out in 02
but im not 100% sure
any1 know which 1 it is?? or if its a differant 1??

also
i see a see a polo 1.2 (55bhp) engine nearby for sale which is alot cheaper
but what do people here think about going for the lower spec engine??

thanks for any advice
really appreciate all the help

For a first car you need a cheaper insurance quote, so it usually makes sense to go for a smaller engine.

If you are not going to do motorway miles, then a 1.2 is going to be just fine.
I have two cars, a 1.8 litre Vauxhall vectra and a 1.4 litre Renault Megane Scenic.
Both have good qualities, but overall the megane is cheaper to run, cheaper to insure and cheaper to tax. So my advice is go for the smaller engine.

the 1.4 SE is going to be in Group 4 insurance accoridng ot the parkers guide..... http://www.parkers.co.uk/pricing/use...&buyorsell=buy

1.2 55BHP http://www.parkers.co.uk/pricing/use...&buyorsell=buy

[Smilie]

well i wont be using it much for motorways
and mostly to get to work (only about 5-10mins of dual carriage-way)
so wont be going at 70mph much

but with the 1.2 engine
would i get problems if i have a few passengers onboard or heavy load??

[Graham M]

Originally Posted by Smilie

but with the 1.2 engine
would i get problems if i have a few passengers onboard or heavy load??

Depends entirely on the weight of the car Chassis + The People travelling in it I've thrown quite a lot at my 1.3 Suzuki Swift so far and considering its age (12 years), it's done really well

[ZrByte]

Originally Posted by timewarrior2001

If you are not going to do motorway miles, then a 1.2 is going to be just fine.

Thats not really true, it all depends on the car I suppose but I have never found a 1.2 or a 1.0 for that matter that was poor on the motorway. The cars with engines that small have much smaller and lighter chasis so in power to weight ratios it is the same if not more powerfull then a 1.6-1.8 in the next chasis size up (Focus, Golf, Astra etc).
My Clio 1.2 Is actually a very good motorway cruiser though it can be a little vulnrable to side winds at times. Though Mine is the 75bhp model so yours will perform much more similar to most 1.0 engines since it is 55bhp wich as I said above is still fine for the motorway.

---------- Post added at 09:06 ---------- Previous post was at 09:00 ----------

Originally Posted by Smilie

well i wont be using it much for motorways
and mostly to get to work (only about 5-10mins of dual carriage-way)
so wont be going at 70mph much

but with the 1.2 engine
would i get problems if i have a few passengers onboard or heavy load??

I wouldnt think so, Managed to load my old 1.2 8v 33bhp corsa up so much that I couldnt even see out of the back window and mine still managed fine on most roads, though it did struggle on hills when it was loaded like that. Still thats not really a bad thing, I was helping a friend move home from uni and so the was loaded with some pretty heavy stuff, weights, PC + monitor, TV Small fridge etc. Plus this wasnt exactly a shallow hill, this was the road wich crosses the Penines.
The struggling in that car could have also been down to the mileage, 176,000, and the age, 12 years old when I did that trip. Apparently a normal car can easily lose 1bhp off the engine per year its used wich would mean mine had allready lost at least 12bhp off its allready pretty weak 33bhp engine.

[handyman]

Originally Posted by Smilie

well i wont be using it much for motorways
and mostly to get to work (only about 5-10mins of dual carriage-way)
so wont be going at 70mph much

but with the 1.2 engine
would i get problems if i have a few passengers onboard or heavy load??

I have one of these . Its a 1.1 handles 90 on a motorway comfortably.

Has no problem with country roads and does 50mpg. It is £40 per year to tax and very low tax group. Plus for the same price as your polo you could have a brand spanking new one with cd/mp3 , abs ebd all round disc brakes.

According to parkers /glass's guide it depreciated less than any other car in 2005 :-)

http://www.carselect.lloydstsb.com/T...=0870+850+4205

[Graham M]

This is my car, it has a neat 1.3 Engine, its an M-Reg and comfortably holds its own at speed.