Sorry to pull the female line but this one of the things I hate - car buying (having been ripped off before).
My car has just been written off after a motorway accident (not my fault).
I need to buy this month or first week of new year.
I have a budget of up to at a stretch 6K. Will only get about £1K back for written off car.
I do a fair bit of motorway driving currently around 2000 miles per month (up to 40000) so would like a diesel. (intend to drive it into the ground)
I find smallish cars - fiestas, yaris, clio uncomfortable on long drives and after my crash would find them a little flimsy.
Have armed myself with parkers guide and what car but find it all quite confusing. Please can someone give advice on:
Type of car to go for
Best time to buy
How to research
Anything else i need to know
I find the whole car buying thing awful and the carsalesmens attitudes tend to stink and I have no knowledgeable male or female to help. I would be grateful for your help.
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Sorry to hear of your accident Dazzle, and welcome to the forum!
Bear with us as you may find that this thread fils up quite quickly with a few conflicting opinions, but ultimately there will be some good ideas here somewhere!
My own advice would be nothing smaller than a Focus, Astra or Golf sized car, but I personally would go for something the size of a Mondeo or Vectra.
I'm not sure exactly what your other priorities apart from comfort and strength are so I'll start with a couple of suggestions and then once we've pinned it down to something I would suggest going into more detail;
Volvo S60 - Extremely comfortable and well made cars, the only problem is for £6K you'd be getting one that was already well and truly run-in.
Mondeo TDCi - It's a standing joke in this forum that someone will always recommend one of these, but ultimately, it does also suit your needs. You would get a younger Mondeo than a Volvo for the same money.
Skoda Superb - Very comfortable apparently (I've never been in one though) and good for the long distance runs, the diesels are well known to be amongst the most economical and reliable in their class if servicing is done properly.
There, that's 3 ideas to get the ball rolling, if they're bigger than you were looking for then it won't be hard to think of something smaller that also fits the bill, I'm thinking Octavia or Focus diesels are pretty good.
Let us know what floats your boat, also, check out the car-by-car breakdown at the top of the website, it's very good.
Blue
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Hi Dazzle
We've had a wide range of cars over the years but have finally settle don smaller cars.
I bought a Yaris diesel which is very economical and quiet.. and secondhand there are lots available. Ideally get a T3 or if you want aircon .. a T Spirit.
At your price it will be a old type model.
Criticisms: bit naisy on potholes, above 75mph windnoise. More expensive to buy due to reputation.
Pros: easy to drive, cheap to insure and tax (£35) . Toyota garages are very good on the whole and maintenance is not expensive.
VERY reliable. Last well.
Nice adjustable bootspace makes shopping easy.
madf
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Go with Blue's suggestions.
Madf - I think the o.p. said she had ruled out the Yaris.
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Sorry to pull the female line
Yes!, and so you should be!, what's your chromosonal make up got to do with cars?
;-)
Anyway, that aside, whatever cars you eventually go and look at, I would suggest that in the quest to avoid being ripped off, the condition of the car is probably of at least equivalent importance to exactly what make and model of car you get. As such, I would recommend you shell out and get a candidate car independantly inspected by the likes of the AA or RAC prior to purchase.
One of the advantages to a VAG diesel (PD type) is that you avoid the potential problems of common rail fragility, but you do expose yourself to increased costs from frequenct cam belt changes, and the lubrication history of the car is vital - they need special oil - doubly special oil if used on the longlife servicing regime. If the oil used has not been correct, then serious (expensive!) engine wear is the result.
Number_Cruncher
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VAG diesel (PD type) is that you avoid the potential problems of common rail fragility increased costs from frequenct cam belt changes, and the lubrication history of the car need special oil - doubly special oil if used on the longlife servicing regime. If the oil used has not been correct, then serious (expensive!) engine wear is the result.
Please explain all the jargon. Or are all these things any ordinary brain will take in very easily, are they? Especially relevant to a questioner who starts by emphasising that that they are "female".
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>>Or are all these things any ordinary brain will take in very easily, are they?
I don't see anything hugely difficult there. Perhaps I should have said Volkswagen Audi instead of VAG, but everything else is plain English.
Number_Cruncher
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everything else is plain English
OK. Try it on a female relative, who should have have an advantage, as you are from a Engineering/Mechanical family.
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OK, SWMBO who is a non-engineering library manager has just read the passage, and only had bother with the interpretation of VAG.
Number_Cruncher
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thanks jbif - yep haven't got a clue what your talking about!
Don't need the car for anything more than work and getting about - no dog, kids or extreme sports other tahn shopping to be considered.
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Thanks Number cruncher - I do have my cars regularly serviced. thanks for the reminder about inspection.
Never thought of Skoda - there is a dealer near me so will have a look.
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One of the advantages to a VAG diesel (PD type)
I'm talking about Volkswagen diesels - so that's relevant to Blue's suggestion of a Skoda
is that you avoid the potential problems of common rail fragility
Common rail diesels have been known to fail spectacularly, there's some debate about how and why and how many, but if they break, it's a serious assault on your wallet. VW group diesels use an alternative technology, PD.
, but you do expose yourself to increased costs from frequenct cam belt changes,
One of the side affects of PD technology is a heavily loaded cam belt - you'll need to pay more in servicing costs to have the belt changed at the required interval, thus eating into the fuel costs savings over a petrol
and the lubrication history of the car is vital - they need special oil
Well, that speaks for itself surely.
- doubly special oil if used on the longlife servicing regime. If the oil used has not been correct, then serious (expensive!) engine wear is the result.
Again, there's nothing troublesome there.
I hope that clarifies.
Number_Cruncher
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You're asking for quite a lot for your 6K maximum.
You doing more than 24K miles / year - so driving it into the ground could be difficult, because you are always going to need reliable transport.
I think the advice given above - to look at the mondeos / skodas etc is good - perhaps a Honda Civic diesel. the Civic is not too wide, Mondeos are wide. Is this significant to you ?
In your research, I recommend that you not only look at how much the car is to buy - but also cost of servicing (include the inconvenience to yourself - such as distance to dealer), cost of an extended warranty (even if you don't want one - the cost is an indicator of your risk ), cost of tyres etc. As NC recommends above, get it inspected before you buy.
For each car your are considering, take a look at the car-by-car guide here.
Be prepared to haggle on price.
Do take a look at some private sales.
Good Luck
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I have had Mondeos as company cars in the past so not a problem. Honda civic looks like a good option too.
Point taken re price I only have 6K in cash so may have to look at finance too.
Do you have a view on car leasing - is that an option to be considered?
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Hi Dazzle - Just a small point, but in my view an important one. Once you have got to the stage of identifying a car you would be happy to buy. Put the deal on pause and spend an hour or two on the national car buying website /s . Put in the search boxes details as near as possible to the the car you are considering and you will get loads of similar vehicles coming up. This will very quickly give a view as to whether "your" car is good value or not and may help you to negotiate more effectively if you still feel your original choice is the one you really want.
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Skoda Octavia/Superb ......you can't go far wrong.
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>>Do you have a view on car leasing - is that an option to be considered?<<
If you're self-employed then it's a good deal. With your mileage though, it could be expensive. It can be useful to look at leasing prices - it will give you an idea of running costs for each different car.
I would think you would get a car for your purposes within your 6K budget. I wouldn't recommend adding monthly payments on top of your big fuel bill - unless you are offered very low interest charges.
You mentioned that you had a skoda dealer nearby - I would take the above advice and look at what they're offering. They can be good - especially if the dealership is still separate from other marques within the Volkswagen group.
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Dazzle,
a good friend of mine went from company car to private and had been used to BMW's, 40K plus miles a year and diesel power. After a lot of test drives and research he went for a Skoda Superb TDI deisel and has never regreted it. The car is smooth, comfortable, economical and after a year and a half utterly faultless. The dealers are happy, friendly people who will not mess you about, and if as you say you have one nearby then I would say the superb ticks all the boxes for you. Let us know what you end up with!
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Hi dazzle
Why not read the section on HJ , re buying (used) cars?
Lots of condensed wisdom, systematically laid out. No diss to the BR's, but you're bound, by the mere nature of question/response nature of a forum, to get a fragmented & partial view which may be even harder to consolidate into a good overview for yourself. Try also the What Car? sources - magazine/online (I hope that suggestion doesn't get me striped off!).
Armed with this context, you might then ask for specific vehicle/model recommendations & buying 'tactics' which BR's (and the Car-by-Car Reviews) are most useful for.
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Thanks - have read the HJ section on buying used cars. And am going to look in the Skoda garage which without this forum wouldn't have even thought of - even tho I drive past it every day.
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compromise on car size and you could get a new Panda 1.3 Multijet Diesel for £6,300 (web based dealer) would give you a 3 year 60,000 warranty and much better fuel consumption.
This engine doesnt have the VW/Skoda cambelt design, it uses a chain instead which is not scheduled for replacement in 150,000 miles.
I would get a calculator on the difference in fuel consumption, then add on the several cambelt renewals that the VW/Skoda engine design cant go without, it *has* to have them or its wrecked unlike the Fiat.
Regards
Edited by oilrag on 02/12/2007 at 18:35
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I hear that the interval for VAG diesel cambelts has been reduced from 60k to 40k. I had mine done 28k ago at 60k and it looked almost new, so I'm not sure I need a new one at 100k. (Had the waterpump done as well).
Dazzle - you need a diesel for the mileage you're doing, and I can certainly recommend a VAg model, perhaps a Golf, Seat Leon or Skoda Octavia. Or try an older Mercedes or BMW, or Audi A4. Look for an ex-company car with FSH and highish mileage - if it looks good, drives well and has a good service hsitory it'll be fine! You'll get a newer car this way.
AA or RAC inspection worth the money.
Good luck!
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dazzle, if you are thinking of a vag pd diesel try a bora. probably cheaper second hand than a skoda. jag.
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