sidcow Posted June 9, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted June 9, 2022 7 hours ago, Loxstock92 said: Evening fellow VT’ers, apologies for the lengthy post in advance. looking for advice re buying a used car. I recently passed my test at the ripe old age of 30 after 9 years of learning. (Long story) and am looking to buy a car towards end of year/ beginning of next when my son starts childcare. im going to be saving up so I can potentially buy a car outright or make up the difference with finance. couple of bits of advice. I’m eyeing a Vauxhall Astra as it seems to have all that I’d want from a car (heated seats, pretty economical, 5 doors, apple car play, price range etc) has anyone had a post 2017 one and how did you find it? Also caught in 2 minds on whether I should pay a bit more for for a newer one with lower miles, or an older one with slightly higher mileage which I could fit a double dinn stereo with screen to get apple car play. I don’t envisage changing the car until it dies a death so I’m more inclined to go newer but more expensive as I’d think it would last longer but I’m unsure. This would be my first car so all advice is welcome I had a 1990 Astra and it was a great car but way too long ago to be relevant here. Personally I would always get the newest car you can, especially if you intend to keep it a long time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 I’m not a car brand snob, I’ve had plenty of cheap cars and you win some you lose some. Saying that, I only ever had 1 Vauxhall and never again. It was worse than all the cheap Renault/Peugeot/Citroen cars I ever had combined. More recently me and the wife have had Ford’s and tbh they’ve been exceptionally reliable and cheap to run nice cars. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loxstock92 Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 21 minutes ago, Genie said: I’m not a car brand snob, I’ve had plenty of cheap cars and you win some you lose some. Saying that, I only ever had 1 Vauxhall and never again. It was worse than all the cheap Renault/Peugeot/Citroen cars I ever had combined. More recently me and the wife have had Ford’s and tbh they’ve been exceptionally reliable and cheap to run nice cars. I wouldn’t mind ford but they’re a bit out of my price range, my mrs wants me to get a car with as low a mileage as possible, newish fords in my price range would have quite a high mile like 100k plus on the clock for 2016/2017 and I’m a bit hesitant by that, although I’ve seen online that it’s not an issue with modern cars? apologies I’m a complete car novice when it comes to what to look out for re age and mileage and things like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 53 minutes ago, Loxstock92 said: I wouldn’t mind ford but they’re a bit out of my price range, my mrs wants me to get a car with as low a mileage as possible, newish fords in my price range would have quite a high mile like 100k plus on the clock for 2016/2017 and I’m a bit hesitant by that, although I’ve seen online that it’s not an issue with modern cars? apologies I’m a complete car novice when it comes to what to look out for re age and mileage and things like that. Yeah, the days of a car being ready for the scrap yard at 10 years / 100k miles are gone but the older/higher mileage the risks start to increase. I’d always buy a used car from a garage with some warranty. There’s too many people looking to offload broken cars privately leaving you with a big bill. 2 things I look for are 1) warranty coverage and 2) maintenance. Make sure what you buy has been maintained well (at least an oil change every year or so). If you’re looking at cars 4/5/6 years old with 50-70k miles look at what the schedule is for cam belt replacement. If it’s due make sure it’s done before you buy. Other things to check are the basics like smooth gear box, tyre wear, brake pad wear, steering wheel nice and straight when driving straight, any knocks or clunks from the suspension when driving over rough roads, air con nice and cold, no warning lights on the dash, long MOT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 You’ll get good and bad cars of any make. Best to avoid the truly cheap end of the market, but after that there is an element of luck if your individual VW will be better or worse than an individual Renault or Vauxhall. But if you buy from a main dealer, the prices will be a little higher because there is a better chance they are the better cars they’ve selected to keep on their forecourt and they will have full service history AND you can go back and complain when something you feel is unreasonable happens with the car. Also, you never know what mad deal they’ll be able to do on a new car that they can manipulate the price and the repayments on. My first new car was intentional, but the repayments were lower than buying something that was 37 months old. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 11 hours ago, Loxstock92 said: Evening fellow VT’ers, apologies for the lengthy post in advance. looking for advice re buying a used car. I recently passed my test at the ripe old age of 30 after 9 years of learning. (Long story) and am looking to buy a car towards end of year/ beginning of next when my son starts childcare. im going to be saving up so I can potentially buy a car outright or make up the difference with finance. couple of bits of advice. I’m eyeing a Vauxhall Astra as it seems to have all that I’d want from a car (heated seats, pretty economical, 5 doors, apple car play, price range etc) has anyone had a post 2017 one and how did you find it? Also caught in 2 minds on whether I should pay a bit more for for a newer one with lower miles, or an older one with slightly higher mileage which I could fit a double dinn stereo with screen to get apple car play. I don’t envisage changing the car until it dies a death so I’m more inclined to go newer but more expensive as I’d think it would last longer but I’m unsure. This would be my first car so all advice is welcome i had one in april as a hire car and it looks like you've answered my problems with it, it was so basic in terms of spec that despite being a 21 plate it felt like it was 10 years old it was so dated, no infotainment not even parking sensors, it felt cheap compared to the kia xceed i had a few weeks before it was night and day, the kia is a far better better in terms of the cab, in terms of the drive the corsa is what it is, nothing exciting but also no problems my mom has a bells and whistles mokka which she swears by so it is all dependent on what spec you get and my advice would be dont get the lowest because it already feels years behind other cars 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 There are so many variables in buying a car. What I would say is, don't always assume newer is better. You can get supremely reliable and competent 10 year old. Say, A VW Polo or Golf for example. The more important thing is how it has been looked after. Service history etc. I always check the tyres... people driving around in expensive beamers and mercs, but with shite cheap Chinese death rings on, with names like Linglong, Landsail or Double Happiness tyres . If they're skimping on rubber, they're probably skimping on other maintenance parts as well. Avoid those! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 29 minutes ago, Xela said: There are so many variables in buying a car. What I would say is, don't always assume newer is better. You can get supremely reliable and competent 10 year old. Say, A VW Polo or Golf for example. The more important thing is how it has been looked after. Service history etc. I always check the tyres... people driving around in expensive beamers and mercs, but with shite cheap Chinese death rings on, with names like Linglong, Landsail or Double Happiness tyres . If they're skimping on rubber, they're probably skimping on other maintenance parts as well. Avoid those! Don’t assume cheap chinese tyres are worse than more expensive European ones 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 13 minutes ago, Genie said: Don’t assume cheap chinese tyres are worse than more expensive European ones Who are JLR's chinese tyre partner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 9 minutes ago, Xela said: Who are JLR's chinese tyre partner? There are no Chinese brands, but the likes of Pirelli, Goodyear, Michelin etc locally produced in China for China. Some of the requirements for use in China are higher than anywhere else in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted June 16, 2022 Moderator Share Posted June 16, 2022 Decided to put a few quid into the Brera instead of sell and buy something else. You'd spend a fortune doing that anyway (upgrading), and its depreciation is done at this stage. If anything they'll start going up. And a few grand put into it will give me a 'new' (ish) car good for many more miles (of which I do hardly any) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante_Lockhart Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 All the girls wild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mottaloo Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 On 09/06/2022 at 19:49, Xela said: Who are JLR's chinese tyre partner? Proppatyresmate Ltd 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 2 hours ago, BOF said: Decided to put a few quid into the Brera instead of sell and buy something else. You'd spend a fortune doing that anyway (upgrading), and its depreciation is done at this stage. If anything they'll start going up. And a few grand put into it will give me a 'new' (ish) car good for many more miles (of which I do hardly any) Nice looking those. Is it a 3.2? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loxstock92 Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 Evening all found a car that fits the bill of what I’m looking for. Going to test drive on Sunday. Car I believe is very well priced as it is so don’t think there’s room for haggling. Something that keeps running through my head. I don’t NEED a car right now but will by end of the year/beginning of next when son starts childcare. Am I right to assume that it’s looking likely that used prices won’t come down between now and then, even if we go into a recession? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted June 16, 2022 Moderator Share Posted June 16, 2022 3 minutes ago, Xela said: Nice looking those. Is it a 3.2? No the 2.2 JTS. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreveryoung Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 Went to Stockport today for work, some salesman eyed up the car I have at the moment (Mercedes GLC) and apparently has a buyer for it. "Do you wanna swap that for a 2 week old Mercedes GLB". Yes please, not in Stockport for another week, so took it today (company car ofcourse) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choffer Posted June 16, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted June 16, 2022 6 hours ago, Loxstock92 said: Evening all found a car that fits the bill of what I’m looking for. Going to test drive on Sunday. Car I believe is very well priced as it is so don’t think there’s room for haggling. Something that keeps running through my head. I don’t NEED a car right now but will by end of the year/beginning of next when son starts childcare. Am I right to assume that it’s looking likely that used prices won’t come down between now and then, even if we go into a recession? With the lack of new cars being produced, there’s a dearth of second hand options (relatively speaking). From what I’ve seen, cars were steadily increasing in price for the last 12 months. That means most places won’t even entertain an attempt to haggle. And whatever you may or may not save by buying one now will be largely irrelevant once you’ve paid 6 months road fund and insurance. Buy it when you need it would be my suggestion. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 Seen some lovely motors out today. The nice weather means people take their toys out the garage. The usual boring modern guff like Lambos etc but saw some really nice older Beamers. An E36 M3 convertible in Estoril blue and an E30 325i Motorsport convertible in Macau blue Few NA MX5s as well. Love those. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 25 minutes ago, Xela said: Seen some lovely motors out today. The nice weather means people take their toys out the garage. The usual boring modern guff like Lambos etc but saw some really nice older Beamers. An E36 M3 convertible in Estoril blue and an E30 325i Motorsport convertible in Macau blue Few NA MX5s as well. Love those. I saw a Lancia Stratos a couple of days ago and I made weird little squeal noise. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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