Good 2nd hand car for approx 2k | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Sat 19 Sep 2020 16:37

Good 2nd hand car for approx 2k - Barry Jenkins

Hi,

I am looking to buy a 2nd hand car for about 2k just for me and I will not be carrying much kit. I was made redundant and normally had a company car so have not brought a used car for a few years. I have a family but we have a family car (Citoren C4) so this will mainly be for my new work driving collecting and delivering COVID tests. Any ideas of a good reliable car would be appreciated.

Thanks

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Sat 19 Sep 2020 18:04

Good 2nd hand car for approx 2k - badbusdriver

The trouble with a budget that low is that there are no ‘dead certs’. Your best bet is to look for privately owned cars, ones where the seller has owned it for a number of years (i.e, not a trader pretending to be a private seller to get out of their obligations). Make full use of the MOT history website, this, while not definitive, can give an indication of how well the car has been looked after. Also, at this price, unless high miles, any car is going to be getting on, so have a good look for rust.

For the car itself, the main thing is to keep it simple. Naturally aspirated petrol engine and manual gearbox. Don’t be looking at diesels as any saving on fuel costs can and will be completely wiped out should anything go wrong.

I’d probably start by looking at these, in no particular order, Honda Jazz 1.4, Toyota Yaris 1.3, Ford Fiesta 1.25/1.4 and Vauxhall Corsa 1.2/1.4. You could go up a size and look at the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Mazda 3, Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra. A couple of MPV(ish) options I’d suggest are the Nissan Note and Ford Fusion.

But as said, judge each car on its own. See what’s available locally. And remember, you are unlikely to find an entirely trouble free car at this price, so don’t set your expectations too high!.

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Sat 19 Sep 2020 18:38

Good 2nd hand car for approx 2k - nellyjak

My vote would go for a manual, petrol Toyota Yaris...reliable little beggars that just seem to keep going.

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Sat 19 Sep 2020 19:37

Good 2nd hand car for approx 2k - Barry Jenkins

Yes they look fine found few near me;

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Sat 19 Sep 2020 19:08

Good 2nd hand car for approx 2k - Barry Jenkins

Hi,

Great advice. I did have Honda Civic and Jazz as a possible already so a good match hopefully. I feel a bot more comfortable with a good dealer but like you say if a car has been owned by one person for a long time they probably have looked after it. I also planned to stick to manual petrol too. Maybe I should push the budget to 2.5-3K, might give me better options. So it really is just for me to commute fairly locally to work in the main.

Thanks

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Sat 19 Sep 2020 19:28

Good 2nd hand car for approx 2k - badbusdriver

Dealers need to make profit, simple as. The lower the price, the less there is to put right anything that needs doing, hence it gets bodged or ignored in the hope the punter doesn’t notice. A genuine private seller isn’t trying to make money from you, just sell their car.

Even at £2.5-3k, chances are a privately owned car from someone who’s had it for several years is going to be a better bet than one from a dealer.

But if you must buy from a dealer, be aware that any ‘warranty’ you get on a £3k car isn’t going to be worth the paper it’s written on. There will be small print which excludes anything pricey which goes wrong. Also, if you see any cars you like at dealers, before you do anything else, look at reviews for said dealer on Google, Autotrader or wherever. If there are lots of bad ones, steer clear regardless of how much you like the look of the car.

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Sat 19 Sep 2020 19:28

Good 2nd hand car for approx 2k - SLO76

Plenty of good advice given already but much also depends on what’s available locally. Where roughly do you live? I’ll take a look for a few worthies nearby.

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Sat 19 Sep 2020 20:13

Good 2nd hand car for approx 2k - Barry Jenkins

Hi,

I live in Wellington in Somerset, so I will look more at private dealers as well. I did an initial search of 35 miles up to 2.5k which came with some possibilities which I have just book marked. But I would look further afield and up to 3k.

Thanks

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Sat 19 Sep 2020 22:10

Good 2nd hand car for approx 2k - SLO76

I prefer buying privately at this money. You get more for your money and you get to meet the current owner face to face at their home address rather than listening to a dealers lies. You get little security from a dealer at this end of the market anyway with most warranties not worth the paper they’re printed on.

www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/hyundai-i10...l

Great wee cars, only concern is the mention of a replaced cam belt when it’s a chain driven engine, possibly her garage has ripped her off but I’d certainly walk away if it’s needed a new chain as it would mean it’s been neglected.

www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/2008-mazda2...l

Tend to be owned by old folks so unlikely to be abused.
www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/ford-fusion...l

www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/suzuki-alto...l

www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/toyota-coro...l

Edited by SLO76 on 19/09/2020 at 22:16

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Sun 20 Sep 2020 10:53

Good 2nd hand car for approx 2k - pd

I agree on the car suggestions but not so convinced that private sellers are always wonderful. In my experience they are just as/more likely to happily knowingly stitch someone up as a dealer knowing the buyer has zero comeback. They also have an annoying habit of thinking a car pulling to the left "it's done that for years" or similar acceptable. On top of that too many think their car is worth forecourt prices.

Judge the car on its own merits and just add who the seller is into the mix as one of the bits ofdata to use when judging it.

Edited by pd on 20/09/2020 at 10:54

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Sun 20 Sep 2020 12:48

Good 2nd hand car for approx 2k - Andrew-T

I agree on the car suggestions but not so convinced that private sellers are always wonderful. In my experience they are just as/more likely to happily knowingly stitch someone up as a dealer knowing the buyer has zero comeback.

No sellers are 'always wonderful', but at least with a private seller you have a chance of judging how genuine he/she is. A dealer selling a cheap car will expect to make a profit of about a grand to cover possible quick fixes, and he is unlikely to know much about the car's history either.

That's another thing - history. Make sure the car comes with some.

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Sun 20 Sep 2020 12:29

Good 2nd hand car for approx 2k - FiestaOwner

Great wee cars, only concern is the mention of a replaced cam belt when it’s a chain driven engine, possibly her garage has ripped her off but I’d certainly walk away if it’s needed a new chain as it would mean it’s been neglected. www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/2008-mazda2...l

This car's the 1.4 diesel. Think it does indeed have a timing belt.

I like that shape of Mazda 2. However two and a half grand for a 12 year old 3 door Mazda 2, that's a private sale, sounds way over the top.

Edited by FiestaOwner on 20/09/2020 at 13:14

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Sun 20 Sep 2020 22:21

Good 2nd hand car for approx 2k - Barry Jenkins

Ok that's very helpful, looks like its likely to be a Honda, Toyota, Ford or Vauxhall!

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