Nightmare trying to find a used car
Discussion
Just a bit of a moan and wondering if I'm out of touch or something..
My Octavia is no longer economical to repair so I'm trying to find a replacement for around the £5-7K mark, seems a reasonable budget to me.. but it appears most things for sale are absolute dross at the moment, and everyone, be it dealers or private sellers, are trying to hide things wrong with the cars.
Some have gone as much as 50k miles between a service (full service history though
) or another the clutch was slipping quite badly and they tried keeping that quiet. One of them had knackered shocks and a snapped spring, yet had a clean MOT the week before...
These are just run of the mill cars, (insignia/fiesta/vw CC) so not like I'm trying to get an M3 for cheap or anything (and I don't search by the lowest price either) ideally I'd like a hot hatch but the few I've looked at have been just as bad.
Getting to the point I'm thinking of just getting something approved used and accept having to have finance again, just to save the hassle.
Anyone else finding similar, or am I just really bad at finding a car?
My Octavia is no longer economical to repair so I'm trying to find a replacement for around the £5-7K mark, seems a reasonable budget to me.. but it appears most things for sale are absolute dross at the moment, and everyone, be it dealers or private sellers, are trying to hide things wrong with the cars.
Some have gone as much as 50k miles between a service (full service history though
) or another the clutch was slipping quite badly and they tried keeping that quiet. One of them had knackered shocks and a snapped spring, yet had a clean MOT the week before...These are just run of the mill cars, (insignia/fiesta/vw CC) so not like I'm trying to get an M3 for cheap or anything (and I don't search by the lowest price either) ideally I'd like a hot hatch but the few I've looked at have been just as bad.
Getting to the point I'm thinking of just getting something approved used and accept having to have finance again, just to save the hassle.
Anyone else finding similar, or am I just really bad at finding a car?
I had to get 2 cars for my sister and nephew recently, and yes lots and lots of crap. Cat N or S and not declared, low mileage cars that must have been driven in chain mail for the wear on steering, gearknob and seat, it's a cheap fix etc
Finally got sorted with a declared cat N that was well repaired and a mechanic friend was selling his wife's car as shes had a brand new bmw and didnt care at all about her old astra elite.
Finally got sorted with a declared cat N that was well repaired and a mechanic friend was selling his wife's car as shes had a brand new bmw and didnt care at all about her old astra elite.
I'd never dream of using a dealer at that price point for a start.
The rest need weeding out via questions before you go to view.
You need to be ruthless. Location and name are enough for my initial filter before I've even asked a question. After 4 or 5 questions I'll know whether it's worth a visit and I'll know if it's worth buying within a minute of walking up to it.
It's either that approach or buy the cheapest available at a decent discount. Make sure it's cheap enough that you can put it back to a decent standard without being out of pocket.
The rest need weeding out via questions before you go to view.
You need to be ruthless. Location and name are enough for my initial filter before I've even asked a question. After 4 or 5 questions I'll know whether it's worth a visit and I'll know if it's worth buying within a minute of walking up to it.
It's either that approach or buy the cheapest available at a decent discount. Make sure it's cheap enough that you can put it back to a decent standard without being out of pocket.
I don't normally use dealers to be fair, but private stuff has been that bad, that I figure it couldn't be any worse...
I automatically filter out the usual locations, and I'm more than happy to travel (two of my best cars came from Scotland
)
Problem is the people selling aren't interested in dropping their prices despite the numerous issues pointed out, and some of them have been up for ages.
I should probably work on the questions I'm asking, as I've always struggled with that. but even still its difficult with some of the blatent lying that I can't always call out without seeing the car in person.
I never remember having this many issues to be honest. I could grab something decent for £3k a few years back and it'd be great.
I automatically filter out the usual locations, and I'm more than happy to travel (two of my best cars came from Scotland
)Problem is the people selling aren't interested in dropping their prices despite the numerous issues pointed out, and some of them have been up for ages.
I should probably work on the questions I'm asking, as I've always struggled with that. but even still its difficult with some of the blatent lying that I can't always call out without seeing the car in person.
I never remember having this many issues to be honest. I could grab something decent for £3k a few years back and it'd be great.
Demented said:
Getting to the point I'm thinking of just getting something approved used and accept having to have finance again, just to save the hassle.
I guess you haven't yet figured out that "approved used" is just marketing guff. Just cover all the crap you can't shift with "APPROVED USED", "200 POINT CAR CHECK" labels, put the price up by a grand and give the tyres a quick run round with a tin of black paint and brush and you'll have all the clueless people flocking to you to buy it, because well "it says it's been approved in the window, and says it's had a 200 point check too, so must be a good one and the dealer would never lie, right?" Tisy said:
I guess you haven't yet figured out that "approved used" is just marketing guff. Just cover all the crap you can't shift with "APPROVED USED", "200 POINT CAR CHECK" labels, put the price up by a grand and give the tyres a quick run round with a tin of black paint and brush and you'll have all the clueless people flocking to you to buy it, because well "it says it's been approved in the window, and says it's had a 200 point check too, so must be a good one and the dealer would never lie, right?"
Oh I'm under no delusion that it means the car is great, I'd do my due diligence like I would any car, but equally the warranty helps cover me for a lot of problems, unlike a private seller or even an independent can be problematic with their supposed 'warranty'. I've had a few approved used cars, and if I've had any problems either before or after purchase its always been quickly sorted out to be fair, although it could be argued it shouldn't have been needed at all being approved by a dealership..
Demented said:
Just a bit of a moan and wondering if I'm out of touch or something..
My Octavia is no longer economical to repair so I'm trying to find a replacement for around the £5-7K mark, seems a reasonable budget to me.. but it appears most things for sale are absolute dross at the moment, and everyone, be it dealers or private sellers, are trying to hide things wrong with the cars.
Some have gone as much as 50k miles between a service (full service history though) or another the clutch was slipping quite badly and they tried keeping that quiet. One of them had knackered shocks and a snapped spring, yet had a clean MOT the week before...
These are just run of the mill cars, (insignia/fiesta/vw CC) so not like I'm trying to get an M3 for cheap or anything (and I don't search by the lowest price either) ideally I'd like a hot hatch but the few I've looked at have been just as bad.
Getting to the point I'm thinking of just getting something approved used and accept having to have finance again, just to save the hassle.
Anyone else finding similar, or am I just really bad at finding a car?
Be prepared to (I normally have 4-5 lined up on the same day) travel, ring & get copies of the history etc do your checks (Vcheck/MOT History etc) that way when you go to view your preferred options.My Octavia is no longer economical to repair so I'm trying to find a replacement for around the £5-7K mark, seems a reasonable budget to me.. but it appears most things for sale are absolute dross at the moment, and everyone, be it dealers or private sellers, are trying to hide things wrong with the cars.
Some have gone as much as 50k miles between a service (full service history though
) or another the clutch was slipping quite badly and they tried keeping that quiet. One of them had knackered shocks and a snapped spring, yet had a clean MOT the week before...These are just run of the mill cars, (insignia/fiesta/vw CC) so not like I'm trying to get an M3 for cheap or anything (and I don't search by the lowest price either) ideally I'd like a hot hatch but the few I've looked at have been just as bad.
Getting to the point I'm thinking of just getting something approved used and accept having to have finance again, just to save the hassle.
Anyone else finding similar, or am I just really bad at finding a car?
Not sure where you are in the UK but these might be worth a look, also consider something with a conventional (as it cuts out a costly clutch later down the line) auto.
Insignia:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504111...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504091...
2.0T Auto:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202308080...
Astra:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504181...
At your price point have you considered a warm hatch, you can land a nice one for your budget.
Giulietta Cloverleaf:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502289...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202505142...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504281...
DS3 Racing:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202505142...
This CAT S could be a very good buy:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504261...
Proceed GT:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504141...
CAT N:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502098...
Ceed GT:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502088...
i30 T GDI:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504051...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202501228...
Infiniti Q50 Sport:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202505132...
Mazda3 Sport Nav:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504091...
308 GT:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504291...
I was looking to by a car for £5k and had this sort of thing when a few years ago it would have been a lot of money.
I eventually got one from a larger dealer (Group 1) where a £5k car was the cheapest they had by some way. They were just more professional and things were as they should be.
The dealers with cars from £2k upwards were very much at the more dodgy end. Lots of rust, things they didn’t mention, registrations hidden, no Companies House presence, off the road for many months etc.
I eventually got one from a larger dealer (Group 1) where a £5k car was the cheapest they had by some way. They were just more professional and things were as they should be.
The dealers with cars from £2k upwards were very much at the more dodgy end. Lots of rust, things they didn’t mention, registrations hidden, no Companies House presence, off the road for many months etc.
I bought my last cheap car (a Citroen) from a Ford main dealer. They had a few older cars that were taken in as part-exchanges.
I paid a few hundred more than the others I'd looked at from back street dealers, but it was a genuine low mileage, FSH, car - the reasons they had retailed it, not sent it to auction.
I paid a few hundred more than the others I'd looked at from back street dealers, but it was a genuine low mileage, FSH, car - the reasons they had retailed it, not sent it to auction.
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