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New car day - help!!

27 replies

GlitteryFarts · 16/07/2023 10:19

I've finally got the nerve to go 2nd hand car shopping today! I sold my last car in 2021 and haven't drove since eek!
I've never bought a car without help from my Dad (pathetic I know) but today I am brave enough to go to the massive 2nd hand showroom and see what's available.
I have been desperate for a car since I sold my last but couldn't afford it but now have saved enough to put down a deposit and have worked out repayments I can afford (wanting HP).
I don't even know what car I want! All I know is it needs to be petrol with decent MPG, preferably below 50k miles and ideally 2018 or above. The deciding factor will be fitting my kids in the back, 2 booster seats and a young teen, without being crammed in. I prefer small SUVs for appearance, vauxhall mokka or crossland / pergeot 2008 etc (love MG ZS but back seat looks tiny).
I have been putting this off for months, again, pathetic I know - purely because I don't know what I am doing! I have nobody with car knowledge to come with me who knows about cars, but the place I have found have over 1000 cars on site and sales people are not commission based so I am hoping will be helpful but not pushy.
Can I ask for words of advice on what to ask/look out for? What do I need to take along for finance? I'm assuming drivers license and payslips & proof of address? Is it common to drive away same day, do they give you time to find insurance? (No claims has expired so back to square one, looking quite pricey at over the 1k mark when I am doing example quotes).
I know I need to put on my big girl pants and go shopping like an adult but I'm petrified! Does driving come back to you like riding bike? I haven't even sat in a driver's seat in 2.5 years and the thought of driving home is giving me a dodgey tum! Argh I need to grow up!

OP posts:
CrapBucket · 16/07/2023 10:23

You are absolutely freaking awesome- look how well prepared you are. You don’t really need to know about cars, you need to sit in the seat and decide if it fits your body/height etc. Then have a test drive.

You are braver than you think and you can do hard things.

Archeron · 16/07/2023 10:27

I’m looking for the same thing. Petrol, decent mpg, 5 doors and space for kids. Less than 5yo with 20-50k mileage. Not easy to find. Cars are either small 3 doors with good mileage (Fiat 500) or SUV type 5 door vehicles with more room but they’re 50k plus mileage. In an ideal world I’d buy a Land Rover or a Range Rover but they’re too expensive and not petrol.

maximist · 16/07/2023 10:34

I bought a 2018 Mokka a couple of weeks ago and I absolutely love it!

I had my car written off so had to choose quickly, and had no idea what I wanted, so I went to my local Motorpoint who were brilliant, very helpful but not pushy. It was somewhat overwhelming looking at all the cars, but eventually I worked out roughly what I wanted, then I went home and spent hours on their website looking at options. The one I chose was at a different site but they shipped it up in a few days.

Another website I found very useful was carwow's car chooser - you tick boxes for what you want then it suggests cars that fit.

Honest John is good for reviews I found.

Ilikejamtarts · 16/07/2023 10:35

Usually drivers license, proof of income and 2x proof of address such as utility bills issued in the last 3 months are what's needed for finance, some places do same day drive away and some don't.
Most dealers offer a 7 day drive away insurance so you will be insured for the 7 days from taking the car then can get home and sort out your own insurance within those 7 days.
Check Google/facebook reviews of places you visit, I know a couple of the trade centre brabches have a very bad rep round my area with alot of issues selling shoddy cars that are breaking down once off the forecourt and then refusing to sort it out so do as much digging as you can on the dealers.
If you find something you like have a quick browse On auto trader for that car just to get a gauge of the average price so you know you aren't being ripped off.
Check how much MOT it will come with, also go online and view the most recent MOT certificate of the car to see if any advisories came up, if there are advisories ask if these have been sorted and if not work out how much it will cost you to sort as sooner or later that work will need doing.
Check the windscreen!!!! The amount of people I know who buy cars then get home and find a huge chip in the windscreen!!! Again sooner or later that will be a minimum of £75 for you to have to likely need to replace. If you find minor issues like a chip or small things on the recent MOT then use it to your advantage and negotiate some off the price.
Check service history, again if one is going to be due soon I'd be wanting some knocked off the price. Remember to check what the tax is going to cost you if it isn't free.

Beginningless · 16/07/2023 10:40

I am in process of buying a used car too and my mechanic gave me a good tip. Google ‘carvertical’ it’s a car check site. For a tenner they run checks on the finance history, any theft, road tax issues etc. Since you pay obvs only do it on cars you’re serious about. I just did on our two shortlisted picks and turned out one had outstanding finance on it, no wonder such a good deal. Best tenner spent to avoid that!

Philosopherstone · 16/07/2023 10:47

Hi op

I have bought multiple cars on finance. Don't tell them your new to this and be very careful regarding them selling you add ons you really dont need them. I got caught out before when they said oh we can do a deal on extended warranty for an extra few pound per month but the total cost was £350 for the extended warranty and so unnecessary.

I'd be happy to help in anyway. What's your budget for monthly payments and your deposit?

mrsneate · 16/07/2023 10:48

You can check the cars MOT history for free.

Check tyres have enough tread on them.

Most dealers will put a new mot on cars these days

Look under the car for signs of leaks

Test drive! A decent test drive Ona dual carriage way or similar.

I lease my cars these days! As I find it less stressful but this isn't a quick
Option!

onefinemess · 16/07/2023 10:49

There is absolutely no way any car dealership has sales staff who aren't on commission.

Firstly, a list of what NOT to do.

Don't say you don't know anything about cars.

Don't say you want to pay cash.

Don't agree to any requests to "come into the office and talk about it".

Don’t pay any attention to the useless as fuck "Seventeen thousand point AA inspection" bollocks that they will tell you about. It means fuck all. There are people out there who genuinely believe a man from the AA is going around inspecting cars for sale in dealerships and signing them off. In reality it just means a staff member from the dealership has attended a hald day training course with the AA and is "certified" to carry out some checks. It's bollocks, those checks never happen, it's just advertising.

What you SHOULD do.

Keep silent most of the time. If your buying outright with cash you won't get a better deal. Those days are over. DO NOT say something stupid like "what's your best price for cash".

Dealers don't price their own card, its done through a software package that checks the Internet for all car prices and sets one automatically. The market today means you won't get any discount off the list price, so don't bother asking. The only exception might be an old diesel, but otherwise there are no discounts.

You will get seven day drive away insurance, so don't worry about that.

Yes, you can drive away the same day.

If you're doing HP, please DO NOT focus on the monthly payment, it's the total price you must concentrate on. The monthly payment figure is how they hide the real cost of the car.

Work out what you want to pay, not what you want to pay per month. And stick to it.

If its a new car, you'll have a warranty and good protection. An out of warranty one will have a Mickey Mouse three month warranty, forget that, it won't cover anything.

Buy from a reputable dealer. Those car supermarkets are not great, you might find a good car, but be wary of upselling.

Do not buy their extra insurance, no paint protection, alloy wheel care package, upholstery cover, gap insurance. None of it.

If you want gap insurance you can get it online for a lot less.

Download an app like "Car Check", they are free and will give you a full history of any car you look at, all previous MOT reports and stuff. You will be able to get an idea of how the car has been looked after. Numerous failed MOT's means it's probably a lemon and best avoided.

Philosopherstone · 16/07/2023 10:50

Just to add my DH buys and sells cars on the side and also just got a new finance car this week so are quite used to looking at used cars for potential. I also have 3 young children so understand about space.

The 2008 are lovely and are the same size as Renault captures and Nissan jukes. I can fit two car seats and my older daughter in the back of my capture. Plus I've got a icandy orange double pram in the boot. However I tend to just keep her in the front with me.

GlitteryFarts · 16/07/2023 10:51

Thanks so much everyone, iv took down some notes!
I have 3k deposit and am looking at 200-250pm repayments,I don't mind how long over because I'm hoping to pay it off early as I'm in the swing of saving now.
The website they have gives estimates of repayments and there are quite a few cars that fit the criteria that I can afford but obviously need to ask questions and have a good look at them all.

OP posts:
Philosopherstone · 16/07/2023 10:53

Op you really don't need that much deposit my DH just paid £500 deposit for a Peugeot 3008 year 2019 and 35000 miles. He's paying £260 per month. The car has full sensors, cameras etc.

When you are asking them to price it don't tell them your deposit just ask that you want monthly payment to save say £250 or less and see what they suggest.

Philosopherstone · 16/07/2023 10:53

Pcp is also much cheaper have you considered that.

DownNative · 16/07/2023 10:53

Download Vehicle Smart off Play store. This will allow you to put in the registration of any car allowing you to see the MOT history as well as service history.

Very handy!

GlitteryFarts · 16/07/2023 11:01

Philosopherstone · 16/07/2023 10:53

Pcp is also much cheaper have you considered that.

I have considered it, I don't want the balloon payment at the end incase my circumstances change and don't trust myself not to scrape or scratch it ( not that I ever have in the past) and owe more due to damage! 🤣
Id rather own outright at the end if the term and run it to the ground!

OP posts:
GlitteryFarts · 16/07/2023 11:01

DownNative · 16/07/2023 10:53

Download Vehicle Smart off Play store. This will allow you to put in the registration of any car allowing you to see the MOT history as well as service history.

Very handy!

Perfect thankyou I'm downloading it now!

OP posts:
GlitteryFarts · 16/07/2023 11:09

If I pay it off early does the final price reduce?
Eg if the car is 17k to buy outright but the finance package is nearer say 20k...if I pay it off with 2 years rather than 5 will it be the 20k I signed an agreement for or somewhere in-between the 17 and 20?
See how unknowledgable I am here?! I'd rather ask here than there though haha

OP posts:
GlitteryFarts · 16/07/2023 11:11

My last 2 cars were bought outright. The first a treasured little banger for £750 and the 2nd I took out a bank loan to buy outright. Hence why I know nothing here haha

OP posts:
lionsleepstonight · 16/07/2023 11:13

I wouldnt tell them your monthly budget as they'll make the price fit by the term.

You can work it out yourself.

3k
200 x 12 x X years.

Allinadayswork80 · 16/07/2023 11:14

Already lots of great advice here so I don’t think I can offer much more but just to say, how exciting for you and well done!

sleepyscientist · 16/07/2023 11:17

What about the mini country man or MG HS? I've always took a bank loan as it worked out cheaper than HP. If the interest rate is loaded up front it's often the same cost to pay it off early vs leave it to the run the term.

LlynTegid · 16/07/2023 11:22

Please do not buy a 4x4 or SUV.

Others have offered more detail.

Lurleene · 16/07/2023 11:23

Just a tip I had from a breakdown recovery driver once - he said that he rarely got called out to Japanese cars. I followed that logic and bought one and it has been very reliable for me.

Philosopherstone · 16/07/2023 11:23

Yes if you pay it off earlier it usually cost less because less interest.

I always swap my cars before the end of the pcp term, even after only 1 year I change it. You can also sell it directly to the dealer before the end of PCP term and they clear the finance. Balloon payment is optional if you want to keep the car. Doesn't matter, they don't actually examine the thing in great detail just fyi.

Philosopherstone · 16/07/2023 11:41

Op feel free to private message me any links to cars and I'll take a look at the listing if you want.

Blossomtoes · 16/07/2023 11:47

Yes if you pay it off earlier it usually cost less because less interest.

I thought interest was front loaded so early repayment made no difference.

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