Hi guys, Im 28 and looking to buy my first car and know nothing, nothing at all about cars. What should I be looking for in order not to be conned and ripped off? How do I know if the car is legit and not stollen etc? What do I look for to reduce the likely hood of it breaking down when I pull away from the seller. Is private safer or traders? Cheers for any help on this.
Ask around your friends and family, there is always someone that knows about cars and ask them for help. ALWAYS take a mechanic with you to look at any potential cars, if you buy privately always meet at sellers house and never in a car park or such place. Never inspect a car outwith daylight hours. Always be prepared to haggle. Get an insurance quote before you go see a car to make sure you you dont buy a car that you cant afford to insure.
If you're buying a car for the first time and have no idea about it then stick to dealers and large garages. While you can still get ripped off it's less likely (a business needs a reputation) and there's always someone to talk to if you do. A good checklist for a car is: 1) Can you insure it? 2) Can you afford to maintain it? (servicing a Hyundai is much cheaper than a Ferrari, for example) 3) Does it suit your needs? 4) Does it have a decent service history? (A car that's not been looked after, no matter the age, is a stupid buy imo).
Well said. Some other thoughts would be: How long do you plan to keep it? At 28 a 2CV doesn't fit a family(might not have one YET!) Proposed usage. How many km/year? A diesel would save money if you need to commute a lot. Do you need a 'shiny ride' or a practical ride' First car doesn't have to be an EVO unless you want it to be. Look at your lifestyle and mates. Sometimes a just get around ride is more practical than "Hold my beer and watch this" An old Iowa saying. My middle son turned down a Chevelle SS to get a Saturn 4dr. that would hold his wife and my baby grabddaughter. Must take after his Mom. john
When you go to see it; Check to see if the engine is warm, they might have had it running to hide issues it has with cold starts etc. If there are empty bottles of water in the back of the car or boot the radiator might have a leak. If when you approach, they're outside and the bonnet is up, walk away
I was looking at a car on autotrader and e-mailed the seller asking if its HPI cleared and replied saying its a Catagory C bumper damage. What does this mean and should I be worried?
It means that the bumper has been damaged in an accident, and repaired via an insurance payout. What sort of car are you looking for?
Nothing wrong with Vectras. Vauxhall engines are a treat to work on, so simple to repair yourself because they come apart like a meccano set (not a bad thing compared to some that are held toghether with propriatory fixings etc)
why? whats wrong with them? My budget is around £1000 and it seems that ill end up with a 9 year old car for that. I want 4 doors minimum, manual and id prefer a saloon or hatch back.
Have a look on http://www.vvoc.com/ or www.migweb.co.uk for buyers advice specific to the vectra, but don't rule out a mondeo, www.fordmondeo.org You're unlikely to get a good deal for under £1000 at a dealer, so you're probably limited to private sales. Are you looking mainly at petrol or diesel models? EDIT: If you can't find a suitable vectra/mondeo, don't rule out the mk3 cavalier, especially if you can find one with the 1.7 TD Isuzu engine. Those engines will easily return 50+mpg, decent peformance and as long as you stay on top of oil changes they'll just keep on going.
Thanks for all the info people, Mondeos are my second choice My dad had one years ago and found them very comfortable. I just spoken to the guy regarding the vectra and its damage. He says its got a VIC certificate and a new log book, is this a good sign its above board? Do you normally get a new log book? Ive been told I can do a check on HPI website for £20. But im not keen to do that just yet. Hes sending me pictures of the damgae, he says it was just a scratch on the bumper and dent in the bonet and damaged head light. Will check the pre fix pictures when he sends them. Its a 2000 Vectra 43k millege, new tyres, new brake discs, 10 moth MOT and 6 Month Tax for £999. If the crash damage is as mild as he says is this a good deal?
QFT. Good car. Its a very reliable car, I took one and absolutely abused it all the way from London to Mongolia. It worked flawlessly (apart from the bits we scraped off the bottom of it through low-ground clearance! ).
If the damage was just the bonnet, bumper and headlight then thats nothing to worry about. If the crossmember took damage though walk away. Which engine is in it? Make sure they put 12 months MOT on it if you're buying from a dealer, don't accept any less. Does he give any warranty? EDIT: Just checked and its a 1.6, you should be able to get a better model than that for your money. Try looking for 2.0 CDX models for example.
Purely on a subjective basis, the Mondeo is generally held to be an infinitely better car in almost every way. Regarding buying the thing, the AA do a service where they come out and check the car over. Highly recommend it - it saved me from an otherwise sweet '05 MINI Cooper that detonated it's head gasket whilst he was checking it out! Did you do Mongol, then? I really want to - looking at getting a ruined 1.2 Panda 4x4 and building it into a competitor for that and the Africa rally. Between the two of them it needs to be <1.2l, <10y.o., and LHD. Quite a spec...
A 1.2 Nova could be equally as good. The carb models are pretty bomb proof, and they're valve safe if the timing belt snaps. Plenty of gear fits in the saloon models aswell
The two main things you want is a fault free engine and drivetrain, and a rust free chassis. Watch out for oil leaks. Some can be fixed easily, but some require lots of work. If the engine bay is very clean (No dust or anything) just walk away. Dry dust is just fine. A clean bay could mean that they are hiding a leak. Always make sure the engine is cold when you start it for the first time. Just to make sure the electrical system (ECU/ignition system) is in good working order. Be sure to test every switch in the car. Look for signs of early damage. Don't buy a car that have been crashed and fixed. It could have hidden problems. Look for blue smoke. If the exhaust have a blueish color it's leaking oil inside the engine. White smoke is ok, especially on a cold engine in cold, humid weather. Look for white sediments inside the oil cap. Whit stuff means water in the oil, often from a leak in the headers. (Water escape from the cooling system to the oil channels) When you go to see the car take note of the parking space. Black dots under the car is a sign of an oil leak. It is, however, hard to determine whether the leak is on this car, or another car that have been parked there. Just remember that you will have some repairs on an old car. Maintenance is required even on new cars.
I'd be wary Cat C damaged repaired is more than just 'the bumper taking a few scrapes' means more than likely the support bar for the bumper may also have had to be replaced. http://www.mycarcheck.com/help/accidentdamage/ have a read of that personally, i would steer clear of a Cat C, Cat D isn't too bad i guess as long as you know EXACTLY what happened to the car in the accident, heres where it helps taking a mechanic with you as explained before. at the end of the day, you only have the guys word that it was 'bumper damage' if you're looking for something reliable, why not try a japanese marque? i've got a nissan almera 1.5 thats done 134,000 miles, been running great, and its not exactly looked after either. so far not a single issue for £1000 you can pick up a decent almera making sure the car has service history helps too especially if the mileage is high (as, with your budget, chances are mileage will be high) you could look perhaps at the saloon honda civic, even a toyota avensis but of course depends what kinda car your actually after!
