Cheap car buying - do's and dont's

[funkyrobot]

Good point. Something undesirable. As I mentioned above, not bothered about what it is as long as it is safe and doesn't cost the earth to run.

[Alex]

Buy Japanese.
Buy boring.
Long MOT.
Service history a bonus.

[Chicken Chaser]

I disagree with Gumtree. It does have it's dodgy sellers but because its free, you see people using it like a local free ads which no longer exist. At that end of the market there is certainly is some good buys to be had on it. Alternatively walk around your local decent estate and if there's anything you like the look of, drop your number through the letterbox asking them if they wish to sell it!

[funkyrobot]

I've been looking for something cheap, Japanese and with a long MOT around my area. Can I find anything? Nope.

The nearest decent vehicle I can see is about 60 odd miles away. Madness. Everything else near me has around me has MOT's finishing in the next month, December or February.

I've only looked in detail on Ebay at the moment, so I'll give some other avenues a try.

[funkyrobot]

What about this Honda?

https://www.gumtree.com/p/honda/2001-Honda-Accord-...

Seller originally told me it was sold as he thought I wanted to come and steal his catalytic converter.

Only issue I can see with this was an corrosion related MOT failure in June:

'Offside front Subframe mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded floor plan'.

Does this mean it's rusting badly?

Thanks.

[ClaphamGT3]

Bizarre I know but look at places like Mumsnet and other social media mothers groups. Very often, small family cars that have been replaced are offered here as an easy option before WBAC. Picked up a couple of great au pair cars this way.

Lots of good advice re buy on condition, look at the previous owner, check expensive consumables still have a fair bit of life in them etc. also, at this price point, arriving with a roll of notes and being ready to back your own judgement and make an offer there and then can get you a good deal even on a low sticker price; after a day or two of "woz ur best price innit bruv" phone calls at 11.00pm and space cadets feeling affronted that their time's been wasted because of a couple of rust scabs on a wheel arch or because the last service wasn't at the local main agent, someone rocking up with cash and saying "I know that you've advertised it for £1k but, for xyz reasons, I'm seeing it as an £800 car. I have the cash here and will take it now if you're minded to accept" Is a merciful release

[Captain Answer]

As others have said, MOT needs to be 6 months plus. Japanese and "not in a bracket" tho that said I seem to keep ending up with Fords that want fixing!

Stay local, unless your a tard like me and enjoy a train ride and driving 4 hours home in cars you've seen "too cheap" online after a few shandies on e-bay. Done that one twice now, good for a giggle and not had my fingers burned yet.

Siffting through the usuals of Ebay, Gumtree, local FB groups etc is useful but can be time consuming and rule out anything you don't like the look of either through the pictures or their spelling and grammar!

Next step is get them on the phone, a nice opener I like to use is "ringing about that car you've got for sale" if they go "which one?" you know you are dealing with someone who is trader but possibly not a legitimate one or private. Probe them about anything you are unsure of and about the history etc. Ask about viewings etc, ask for their address and number etc.

Some cars move fast, don't be afraid of getting over and viewing it ASAP and leaving a deposit.

Fire up their address on google street view, if it looks like some where you don't want to go then don't.

Have a good look over the car, its interior, underneath, under bonnet, paperwork - take a test drive and seal the deal if its "the one" and walk away if its not

[funkyrobot]

Thanks again. I'm bearing all of the advice given in mind and am trying to find something local.

So far, I have found a 2.0 petrol Focus (03 plate) which needs brake pads (short MOT), an L reg Volvo 850 estate which has a newish MOT on and a Volvo S60 D5, with short MOT.

Really struggling to find much local that has anywhere near a year's ticket on. This is despite the fact that my car had a service and MOT before selling. I guess people just don't care when the car is around £1000.

[ClaphamGT3]

Never buy anything with a short MOT or "mot just expired - easy fix but I don't have time"; there is invariably a bigger problem than is being presented

[C70R]

Pieman68 said:

Put simply, buy the best condition that you can for the money. Forget about names/models etc. and just buy on the basis of any history (if you're lucky) and condition

Japanese is never going to get your pulse racing, but tend to be fairly bomb proof. Micra is a good shout depending on size of vehicle you require. I ran an Avensis for 2 years that I bought for under a grand. Large, relatively comfortable and never missed a beat - but bland as you could imagine!

This is the best advice on this thread.

Also, if you're on a tight budget, consider your cost of purchase as a whole. I seem to recall you mentioning that you were going to hire a car for the day(!) to go and speculatively see a few options. I'd be cadging lifts from your mates/OH if possible, and paying the petrol costs. If you're on a super-tight budget, every little helps.

Buy something unexciting and Japanese (Avensis, Primera, Micra, Civic etc.) with good history and in good condition. "Cheap" car buying is only cheap if it doesn't throw up huge bills (as per the E39 thread we crossed paths on).
Be patient, wait until something comes up close to you (no use spending your budget to travel all over the country!), and try not to be too picky about things like colours, brands, options.

If you need a guide on likely condition, look for things like service history (doesn't need to be dealer, just regular), matching tyres, recent/long MOT (with few advisories), presentation for sale (if they can't even be bothered to clean it properly to sell it!) and where you're buying from (think old people in bungalows, rather than council estates).

Edited by C70R on Tuesday 11th October 16:09

[Captain Answer]

funkyrobot said:

Thanks again. I'm bearing all of the advice given in mind and am trying to find something local.

So far, I have found a 2.0 petrol Focus (03 plate) which needs brake pads (short MOT), an L reg Volvo 850 estate which has a newish MOT on and a Volvo S60 D5, with short MOT.

Really struggling to find much local that has anywhere near a year's ticket on. This is despite the fact that my car had a service and MOT before selling. I guess people just don't care when the car is around £1000.

Will this be an "only" vehicle or do you have another car in the house? I only ask as personally if I am relying on a car for work, nursery/school drops etc I wouldn't be looking at anything older than 2000 plate unless I had a backup car for the kids etc.

Focus might be worth a look over, had a few of them myself. You'll have things wearing out but they are piece of piss to work on, parts are cheap too, you can get a haynes manual for a few £££ and lots of ford forums around with helpful folks on. I recently bought my GF a similar age Fiesta on this basis as couldn't find her a Japanese motor that was cheap enough to insure for her as a new driver.

Notice you said Lincolnshire on another post, depending on how rural I can imagine this is a pain. Gen offer but if you wanna go look at some motors one sat/sun then drop me a PM.

Edited by Captain Answer on Tuesday 11th October 16:15

[marcusgrant]

OverSteery said:

Try to buy from somebody who is:
- over 55
- lives in a large detached house
- has owned the car for 10+ years
- only has a serviced at the main dealer.

this

my first car, second car and a temporary car when I had a crash were sub 1k, plus a few others I've bought/sold with my dad.

Just bought from older people who've owned them for years with full service history and little miles. Never had any problems expect the back boxes which I had to do on all of them.

You can't be fussy mind! Rover 200, fiesta and then a lovely green primera

[funkyrobot]

Captain Answer said:

Will this be an "only" vehicle or do you have another car in the house? I only ask as personally if I am relying on a car for work, nursery/school drops etc I wouldn't be looking at anything older than 2000 plate unless I had a backup car for the kids etc.

Focus might be worth a look over, had a few of them myself. You'll have things wearing out but they are piece of piss to work on, parts are cheap too, you can get a haynes manual for a few £££ and lots of ford forums around with helpful folks on. I recently bought my GF a similar age Fiesta on this basis as couldn't find her a Japanese motor that was cheap enough to insure for her as a new driver.

Notice you said Lincolnshire on another post, depending on how rural I can imagine this is a pain. Gen offer but if you wanna go look at some motors one sat/sun then drop me a PM.

Edited by Captain Answer on Tuesday 11th October 16:15

Thanks for the offer.

The car I'm after will be the second in our household. I don't need it for work as I walk and it will be mainly used as a runaround for evenings and weekends.

I would like it to have some level of reliability as I will be travelling with my family in it (myself, fiancée and 2 year old).

I sold my 57 plate Mazda last week as it wasn't being used a lot. I thought I'd get rid whilst I had some value left in it. The replacement is to go alongside our Polo.

[funkyrobot]

marcusgrant said:

this

my first car, second car and a temporary car when I had a crash were sub 1k, plus a few others I've bought/sold with my dad.

Just bought from older people who've owned them for years with full service history and little miles. Never had any problems expect the back boxes which I had to do on all of them.

You can't be fussy mind! Rover 200, fiesta and then a lovely green primera

I really like the Primera's.

Believe me, I'm not fussy.

[anonymous-user]

Patience is the biggest thing in addition to what's already been said. It's easy to get frustrated and buy something that's not right, but hold out and something will turn up.

When it does, move on it quickly, because plenty of other people will if you don't.

That's how I got my Mondeo, which to be fair was nearly double your budget but has turned out to be a really good buy. My usual shed purchases have not usually been quite so good due to impatience!

[funkyrobot]

Thanks.

Found a 2.0 litre petrol Accord estate. High mileage at 170,000, but just had mot. Its an 04 model. Looks nice, but its miles away from me. £800.

[Captain Answer]

funkyrobot said:

Thanks.

Found a 2.0 litre petrol Accord estate. High mileage at 170,000, but just had mot. Its an 04 model. Looks nice, but its miles away from me. £800.

Just about run in then. Definitely don't work out how much a return train is and go get it unseen and enjoy a bit of a road trip home

[Jobbo]

Don't ignore used car dealers, though always ask where they sourced the car. Many of the ideal sellers described above won't be selling privately, they'll trade in and their part-ex will go to a local trader who has a relationship with them.

Don't buy in crap parts of town. You can waste a lot of time looking at dross which doesn't live up to the photos. And nearly get punched when you point out the air-con doesn't work (maybe that's just me, but it was a blatantly clocked ex-taxi so plenty of other reasons I ran away from that one).

[funkyrobot]

Jobbo said:

Don't ignore used car dealers, though always ask where they sourced the car. Many of the ideal sellers described above won't be selling privately, they'll trade in and their part-ex will go to a local trader who has a relationship with them.

Don't buy in crap parts of town. You can waste a lot of time looking at dross which doesn't live up to the photos. And nearly get punched when you point out the air-con doesn't work (maybe that's just me, but it was a blatantly clocked ex-taxi so plenty of other reasons I ran away from that one).

Thanks. I was initially ignoring them as I didn't see the point in buying a cheap car from a dealer.

Makes sense to speak to some though if I find something good. I'll ask the question of where they got it from.

[anonymous-user]

That's good advice too, it's how I found my Mondeo, was traded in against a brand new one at the local Ford dealer but they obviously could retail something that was ten years old, so passed it on to a local dealer they have a relationship with.

Basically it's all about the right car, the source really doesn't matter at this end of the market. Yes you might have to pay a bit more for the right car, but it will pay for itself over time by not being a crock. Hopefully