Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car

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Tue 27 Sep 2011 09:42
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - Mat10

Hi
Really struggling as dont know much about cars.
I have £3000 max to spend.
Would like 50+ mpg combined.
Insurance group 7 or less.
Tax £150 or less.
9Obhp or more so it doesnt strain at 80mph on the motorway and has abit of power behind it.
Diesel.
5 doors if poss.
For mix of motorway and short journeys - maybe 8000 miles/year.
Low servicing/parts would be an advantage.
Been looking at Toyota Yaris 1.4 D-4D T3 (i know less than 90bhp), Ford Focus 1.6 Zetec, Vauxhall Astra 1.7 SXi, VW Golf 1.9, Seat Ibiza 1.9.
Out of these cars which fits my needs the best and are there any others i should look at?
Probably looking to keep for next 2/3 years.
Thank you in advance.

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Tue 27 Sep 2011 10:35
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - Mike H

Usual answer I'm afraid - at 8,000 miles you should be considering petrol not diesel. Maintenance and potential problems on older diesels, plus potentially a higher purchase price, might kill and supposed savings.

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Tue 27 Sep 2011 11:09
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - Mat10

Thanks very much for the reply Mike H. All the advice ive been given so far has been to go for a diesel as they are more fuel efficient, cost effective etc. (the 8000 miles may be a little conservative - probably be more like 10000-12000 if that makes a difference, sorry). Ive now looked at some petrol cars after reading your reply and though the cars have less mileage on them(maybe 40,000 compared to the diesels 100,000), the fuel consumption is only between 30-40mpg for a similar purchase price as the diesels. Is it the maintenance costs of the diesels the thing that swings it then? Also, any advice on the best car in that price range, 2-3k? Thanks.

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Tue 27 Sep 2011 13:48
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - madf

If I was ignorant about cars, I would not buy a sub £3k diesle as a> bits will be worn and 2> a knowledgeable person could assess the real state of the car.

With no knowledge, you'll buy a pup.

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Tue 27 Sep 2011 15:00
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - Mat10

Ok thanks for your input madf. I would take someone with me who knew what to look for when i bought the car.....just want to know what models to look for as a starting point as the ones ive been looking at (original post) are obviously unsuitable. So any ideas/thoughts on what models i should be looking at?? Cheers

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Tue 27 Sep 2011 15:08
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - pugswhdi

I think that spening around £3k on a car is quite a difficult position to be in, especially if you have your heart set on specific criteria. £3k is too much of an investment to lose should a serious fault on the car develop yet £3k is unlikely to offer you any more confidence in what you are buying over a £1500 car.

Try your best to find someone who does know what they are doing when buying cars and if you do not know anyone seriously consider paying for the advice, it will be money well spent.

Don't get too hung up on bhp, fuel consumption... as anything remotely modern will do 80mph all day long and as you are anticipating a low annual mileage fuel will not be the major consideration.

You've a mix of medium and small cars in your original list and you might want to think about adding fiat panda and honda jazz or civic to your list.

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Tue 27 Sep 2011 16:25
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - Mat10

Thanks alot pugswhdi!! Really helpful advice, much appreciated! Will add those cars to the list.....and you'd go for petrol versions of the original list?....or.....

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Tue 27 Sep 2011 16:32
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - jamie745

Everything said here is generally sensible but i have owned a 1.6 Focus zetec and in zetec trim it crashes about a bit on a firm ride and its quite a heavy car for a 1.6 engine.

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Tue 27 Sep 2011 16:54
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - madf

If you don't care about image and want more for your buck (in terms of car value rather than size) go for something with.:

no image

high depreciation

low running costs.

A Kia Rio or a Daewoo soemthing fit the bill.

You can get 40mpg on long runs and reliability as well ann a 2005 - 6 model. with 50k miles on the clock.

Look at what yopu can get..

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201136414693126/sort/priceasc/usedcars/postcode/st87dr/page/1/radius/1500/keywords/rio?logcode=p

or

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201137414759720/sort/priceasc/usedcars/maximum-age/up_to_5_years_old/make/daewoo/page/1/radius/1500/postcode/st87dr?logcode=p

Unwanted , unloved and cheap and good value.. And reliable.

With £3k to spend, look at Autotrader in your area.. It will open your eyes.

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Wed 28 Sep 2011 00:08
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - Avant

Any £3,000 car is something of a gamble: Japanese petrol-engined cars are generally reliable and so may be less of a gamble.

Depending on the size of car you need, I'd suggest the Honda Jazz or old-shape Civic, Toyota Yaris or Corolla, or Nissan Almera. If you realy want a diesel the problem being that ageing diesels are prone to very expensive engine failure) the 1.9 TDI in Skodas, VWs and SEATs is a good bet. A SEAT Ibiza or Skoda Fabia will be cheaper than a VW Polo or Golf of similar vintage.

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Wed 28 Sep 2011 00:14
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - jamie745

I think 3k is enough to get a decent set of wheels with, if you cant do that now then we have serious problems. I dont buy into the theory that any car over 3 years old or less than £8k is plankton.

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Wed 28 Sep 2011 00:20
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - Avant

I hope nobody would be so thoughtless as to say they were: that's all a lot of people can afford who nonetheless need a car. But buyers need to be very careful if considering a sub-£3k diesel.

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Wed 28 Sep 2011 00:23
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - jamie745

Under £3k on a diesel yes, its probably done high mileage and diesels arent the tank-like reliable buy they used to be due to the greenwashing. Im not even 30 and even i remember people going 'oohh my diesel Volvo has done 400,000 miles it has, never goes wrong' how quickly its changed...

Another group of cars i'd urge people to be wary of is automatics with very low mileage. Like 10 years old with 20k on the clock, chances are its been used in town ALOT and that 1st to 2nd gear has the wear of a 150k car by then.

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Wed 28 Sep 2011 02:26
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - Mat10

madf - thanks again! Yeah i've been looking on autotrader, just maybe not at the correct cars......ive seen my dad get his cars for a few hundred pounds or a grand and he's had problems with them so i thought i'd use my whole £3k budget which should give me something better....or so i thought. And yes, have to be honest, i do care abit about the car looking good/image....i guess something will have to give as it always does.

Avant and jamie745 - thanks alot for your posts, very helpful, good advice! There is only myself so i dont need a family car but do need 5 doors. When you say 'ageing diesels', how old do you mean? - i've seen some 04-06 diesels, so less than 7 years old but most have done over 100k miles.

Right, back to the search...

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Wed 28 Sep 2011 02:34
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - jamie745

Nobodies ever credited me with good advice before, its like a big hug! :)

By old i probably mean in the 7-10 year old bracket. DPF's became widespread roughly around 07-08 so in my view you'd be better off with a 56 plate without it than an 08 plate with it.. At that age 100k is about right, they're generally bought by people doing 15k ish a year, especially the mainstream cars, Focus, Astra etc. But the flip side is most of them couldve been fleet cars in their first 3 years and well maintained.

If i saw a very good condition 6 year old Focus diesel i know i wouldnt instantly refuse to part with my money for it. Put it that way.

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Wed 28 Sep 2011 03:23
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - Mat10

Haha, well big hug it is then! :-)

Right ok. So if they were a fleet car, abit of extra mileage might not be that bad?

Funny, i did see an '06 Focus that looked in good condition but came on here to get some advice before going to look at it...now you've said that ive been back on the web to look at it and its gone. Typical.

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Wed 28 Sep 2011 08:58
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - madf

I drive a Mark 1 Yaris diesel 5 door. They ARE very relaible and free from modern complications. There are ones around in your price range with under 100k miles but 5 doors and full service history and under 100k is rare.

I travelled 40 miles to buy mine.. so you would have to be prepared to travel to find one. The rear seat folds to give more space.

57mpg around town and £30 tax.

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Wed 28 Sep 2011 10:59
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - pugswhdi

Just to confirm that I don't think that cars less than £8k are older than 3 years old aren't any good. At the moment I can't imagine buying newer than 3 years or spending as much as £8k (the money might be the dominant factor here!) but you need to be buyer to avoid someone else trouble, £3k is still a lot of money.

Now that I know you care about image looks... the other car i would seriously consider is a 3 series BMW. Specifically the E46 model and the economical, easier to insure 318i. They are generally as reliable as the japanese cars that I and others have mentioned and also very, very (did I say very)common which means that there are loads to choose from and stacks of good independent specialists to look after one for you once you've bought it.

Do not be tempted to look at a diesel 3 series - stay petrol!

Edited by pugswhdi on 28/09/2011 at 11:01

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Wed 28 Sep 2011 20:12
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - Mat10

ps. the previous MK2 question was about the Yaris madf.

Haha, thanks pugswhdi! Ive checked out the BMW's and would definitely consider but i've looked at the insurance and its another £100+ on top so they may be out. Not ruled out though if i decide on pushing the boat out :-) With them, should i look for a certain mileage or any work done so far on the car?

Is it better that work has been done on cars so that you dont need to do it when you buy it, or does it mean it may not be a wise buy as more could go wrong?

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Wed 28 Sep 2011 18:08
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - Mat10

What are the MK2 ones like??? Are they as reliable? Do they give the same mpg? Im fine with travelling to buy one.

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Thu 29 Sep 2011 21:35
Various - Advice needed - buying 2nd hand car - brettmick

I have bought tonnes of cars, from £50 to £23,000....

Best advice is to keep looking until you find something good (then BUY IT before someone else does) and consider the unusual.

Best buy? Perhaps an 10 year old Corolla I drove 80 miles to buy. 1 owner, FSH, 21k miles on the clock. All the bells and whistles and £2k - back in 2001. Overpriced but worth every penny.

Cheapest? In 1995ish I paid £50 for a 14 year old Polo with 40,000 miles up that had a siezed water pump - took a gamble as £50 was what the scrap man would give him. £65 to get it running and gave me a year before it was sold for £200.

Favourite? In 1991 I bought a mk1 RWD Cavelier in bright yellow with one panel brighter than the rest, but no rust, 45,000 miles and £350 with one family owned from new. Sold it to a friend when I went to uni - mistake...

If I had £3k now and was doing less than 10k miles I would buy a petrol Almera, Mazda 323 (seen on autotrader a 2002 1.6 GXi (aircon etc) with FSH and 29k miles http://www.thegaragewarwick.co.uk/13716/index.htm ) one of which we owned for 6 1/2 trouble free years. Less fashionable but very able. Otherwise a Corolla or Civic, but these are more money.

I have never considered Ford or Vauxhall at this money because there are so many of them and so many of them are complete DOGS. I once went with a friend looking at Caveliers and we saw nothing decent - went less fashionable (Nissan Sunny) and it was easy to pick out a good one. Just don't buy something too rare as the parts might hurt.

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