Buying a cheap car

[Julia9054]

I'd check on insurance as well, insurance companies do not like young drivers / new drivers with cheap cars as they think they will be abused/crashed.

Hadn't thought of that. Had assumed the opposite. Seems that young drivers can't win.

 

[Pale Rider]

I've seen your Clio - it didn't look scruffy to me.

Where did you and Al get the Golf from?

Might be worth checking if they have anything suitable, although £2,000 is a bit too cheap for a lot of main dealers.

I don't suppose you would get particularly special treatment, but as a recent customer one would hope they wouldn't actively try to stiff you.

 

[Drago]

Unless you're very lucky, there are cheap cars for 2 bags, but very few good value ones. I'm excellent with the spanners and have all the time in the world, so buying something for a grand or fifteen ton, and spending a few hundred making it mechanically perfect is perfectly viable for me. If not, chances are you'll simply be buying someone else's age, mileage and trouble, with no cost effective way out of it.

It's not ironclad, and you can get lucky, but as a general rule there's a very good reason 2 grand cars cost 2 grand. Good luck.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

I bought my last car because it was for sale in a garage near my house, it was a nice day and I couldn't be arsed trailing round because i wanted to go for a bike ride!

That's my approach Or I give the job to Mrs 26

 

[screenman]

Years ago the motor group Henlys used to put a sticker over the odometer on used cars - you couldn't see the numbers.

The idea was to force the customer to buy on condition, not mileage.

I don't think there's a foolproof way of avoiding risk when buying.

Provenance helps, is there a colleague or someone you know who is selling their car?

As, presumably, an employee of the local authority, is their a county council staff message board you could use?

Still no guarantee, but you would at least know who you were buying from.

Most garages used to do that myself included as there was not a foolproof way of checking the mileage.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Buy a white or silver Aygo, C1 or the Pug version.
Should get a good one at 2k

White cars and silver dont show dirt or look smeary.
And the tax is £20 for these.

This type of car
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201810281906006

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Most garages used to do that myself included as there was not a foolproof way of checking the mileage.

No but the new MOT history does help, when you see a car you like check out https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history it will tell you all it's MOT history since 2006 (I think) so you can see the mileage increase, also any faults that have been found,

But as somebody put before C1, 10x or the Aygo great little cars, might be a bit small, I ran one for nearly 2 years commuting, although they are functional over luxury.

 

[screenman]

No but the new MOT history does help, when you see a car you like check out https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history it will tell you all it's MOT history since 2006 (I think) so you can see the mileage increase, also any faults that have been found,



But as somebody put before C1, 10x or the Aygo great little cars, might be a bit small, I ran one for nearly 2 years commuting, although they are functional over luxury.

I saw an advisory the other day for a missing dust cap, that is attention to detail.

 

[Reynard]

Buy a white or silver Aygo, C1 or the Pug version.
Should get a good one at 2k

White cars and silver dont show dirt or look smeary.
And the tax is £20 for these.

This type of car
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201810281906006

Another option in this class is the Skoda Citigo

Or go up a size and get a Skoda Fabia. The series 2 can be had for reasonable money, but if, like me, you are short, the rear visibility is totally pants.

 

[MarkF]

Ford Focus, petrol, 1 or 2 owners and with FSH.

I bought one of those 5 years ago next March, it's not cost me anything other than a full service and Mot each year. I paid £850

 

[Julia9054]

Actually, I think we're having to go back to the drawing board. I have just spent a horrific hour researching car insurance for a 23 year old new driver living in Longsight, Manchester. Between £5000 - £6000. He can't afford that . . . and neither can I. If he lived at my address, it would be £1000.

 

[midlife]

Does his employer do a salary sacrifice scheme for cars?

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Japanese/other Far Eastern manufacturer is typically the way to go. Overall they are simply more reliable, and keep being so.

 

[I like Skol]

Get him a little Fiat. Why should they be happy when we are the ones providing for them?

 

[Julia9054]

Does his employer do a salary sacrifice scheme for cars?

He's a self employed freelance musician