buying my first car

B

blondebimbo

Guest
what should i do ? i dont know what to look for or who to ask
what checks should i do?
 
just want a starter car for 1 or 2 grand would love a nissan micra but dont know where to start. defnitely needs to be reliable
have been payin for drivin lessons for years now but really need to be drivin every day to build confidence and unfortunately dont know anything about buyin cars. worried so much about being sold an overpriced banger especially as my budget is tight. would love to pass my test before christmas and then worry about getting a more expensive car then.
 
mrs Cu had a daewoo matiz for 5 years which gave her virtually no problems whatsoever. Sold it earlier this year for just over €2000 in a private sale. bough it secondhand for around €8000 with under 1,000 miles on the clock and sold it after the 5 years with over 40,000 miles. Only thing that went was the lever for moving the drivers seat back and forward and it cost around €11 to purchase and install yourself.
 
for that money, you can't expect the car to be as new, but you should still find quite a decent motor that will be presentable, reliable and go through a couple of NCTs for you without too much bother.

There's a dizzying array of cars out there so what type/make/size really depends on what you like yourself - a lot of learners like smaller cars as these are a bit easier and lighter to drive as well as being cheaper. There are some pointers to help you avoid buying someone else's problem.

* Look for a car which has at least some sort of service history - a stamped service book will show it was looked after by previous owners. Neglected cars tend to go wrong more as they get older

* Look for a car that has done 10,000 miles a year or less - divide the total mileage by the age of the car to work that out. Lower miles is an indication that the car hasn't worn out as much as a higher mileage car.

* Ask the person selling the car if it has ever been in an accident or was ever an insurance write-off. Sometimes accident damage is not very well repaired and can give rise to rust or excessive wear in things like suspension or steering

* don't be too impressed by shiny paint, loads of extras or the fact that its a beemer, GTi or whatever. This is all lovely but won't help you if the car breaks down. Try to look past non-essential features and the 'name' of the car to the actual state of it's engine, gearbox, suspension etc.

* ask a friend or relative (and who might actually know something about cars) to come and look at a car with you. When things are being explained, two heads are better than one and you'll get a better measure of the car.

* buying privately is cheaper than going to a garage, but while a garage will usually give you some sort of guarantee, private sales are 'as seen' and its up to you as the buyer to make sure you are happy with the car's condition. Don't buy at an auction as these are for the trade/mechanics.

* If some problem on the car is pointed out to you - i.e. noisy gearbox, squeaky brakes/suspension, that's great to know but if you buy that car, expect at some point to have to pay more money to have this fault (and maybe a few others) fixed.

* similarly, it would perhaps be better not to get a car with a short NCT because you don't know what it might cost to get it through even if the owner says nothing will be required (if that was the case - why don't they get it NCTd?!)

* ask the owner how long they kept the car, how many miles they travelled, the sort of driving they did, any major work they got done on the car and why they're selling it to get a measure of their honesty by their replies.

* Be very suspicious if the owner wants to show you the car in a car park or will bring the car to you. They might also say they 'are selling for someone else', and don't produce a registration certificate etc. - the car could be nicked!

Good luck with your hunt!
 
If I was you I'd speak with family and friends locally who've bought cars already. Nearly all localities would have somebody selling cars in a small way who's reliable. I think this would be less risky than buying private
though a little more expensive.

You could start by getting a copy of buy and sell and checking carzone.
this will give you an idea of whats available and what you can expect to pay.

When you decide what car to buy get a couple of insurance quotes so you will know what to expect to pay for that.

Good luck with it.
 

This is an excellent post. Is there any chance of it being added to the "Buying a second hand car" Key post or being added as a key post by itself?
 
Thats great advice above! I would advise not to buy a car first time by private seller unless you have someone with experience to check it out with you. You cant go wrong with micras..they seem reliable enough,economical and a great starter car. I had a civic (got robbed), then an opel tigra (died basically) but now i drive a starlet as theyre so reliable. You'll get a late 90s/early 2000 micra id say for your budget! Check out the various car websites for some useful tips too or www.carzone.ie theyre great for just seein whats out there for your money and has useful buyer reviews too.
 
Paulone said:
* Look for a car that has done 10,000 miles a year or less - divide the total mileage by the age of the car to work that out. Lower miles is an indication that the car hasn't worn out as much as a higher mileage car.
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Good post however I disagree with this point. Short journeys tend to put more wear and tear on an engine. City driving puts more stress on clutch, brakes, and puts up more engine hours.

What to look out for is how the car feels - smooth brakes & acceleration, no knocks in suspension/steering, car ride, clutch not slipping etc...

Only reason to look at mileage is to assess if car is clocked or not. Me I would be happy to (and do) drive a high miler..
 
blondebimbo said:
just want a starter car for 1 or 2 grand..... would love to pass my test before christmas and then worry about getting a more expensive car then.
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I wonder what other AAMers think of this philosophy? Would the OP not be better off spending say 3-4K on a younger motor that may prove a bit more reliable, hold onto it for two or three years? Really cheap cars have always let me down in the past; you get what you pay for.
 
do you really think theres no reliable car available for 2 grand which will drive for a year or 2 ? My plan was to get my license without the worry of crashing or scratching an expensive car. My test is due before x mas
 

My thoughts would be that unless a car has a very good reliability reputation, I would be a bit wary of buying anything with 80K+ on the clock.

Recently my personal approach has been to buy only cars with a reliable reputation, at 3 years old and sell 2 years later - I'm convinced that this combines the best value/reliability.

Still, for a first car it can be difficult to part with more than a couple of grand - an old Micra, Civic, Colt, Yaris or the like should be a safe enough buy at any age.
 
Buy a japanese car, they are not cool, but hardly ever break down
 
Just to throw an idea out...

Buying cars is such a minefield, particularly in that price bracket, where even if you buy from a dealer to try and protect yourself from cowboy private sellers (who are in fact dealers), you'll find it difficult to be sure of getting a good one.

Anyway the idea is to buy a car you already know: maybe a friend or relative who's trading up? I know there's potential for it to backfire (relative sells car, which due to nobody's fault expires in clouds of smoke the next day!), but if you can get past that I think there are huge advantages: seller gets more than they'd get for a trade in, buyer gets one for less than they'd pay a a dealer, but more importantly they know a lot about this history of the car (especially if it was bought new by the seller).

There are just so many stolen, previously crashed, clocked and otherwise dodgy cars out there to make this worthy of serious consideration.
 
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