To find buying a new used car a bloody nightmare!!!

[Wigglewoo]

I need some help.

Some of this may be due to newborn brain fog - ds is 7 weeks old and I'm sleep deprived.

We currently have a very old inbetweeners style fiat. I kid ye not. It has 3 doors, a teeny engine and it was born in 1999. I love my fiat, its served us very well even pottling along to london and back (260 mile trip) on the motoways.. And the insurance has been v low, esp as this is my first year of driving so I get my first no claims bonus in october.

However, we now have ds and a car seat and buggy to contend with. (As well as me dh and dd) and its just not happening.

So I am looking to buy a new car - all I have is about £1500 to spend tops and my little car is worth about 300 part exchange (possibly more private). I just find myself getting in a pickle with it all.

Should I part exchange as its less hassle or sell privately? (But then I need a car to get to view other cars! - we are rural).

Should I wait till october till I get my no claims so insurance will be much less on a new car... But if I wait won't I be tied into another year with my current insurer which may not be the best deal?? If I buy a car now I could then renew the insurance with someone else in oct - but that's assuming (touch wood) I hang on to my no claims if I go for a "better" car... Otherwise it would be costly.
And .. I'm generally shit at knowing what's a "good car".

I mean - if it has mileage of 80k or more I'm assuming that's not good, but then a car which is younger but with a higher mileage is that better????

I've seen two real "possibles" ... A renault megane scenic 1.4 which has 77k and is 2002 and a skoda fabia 1.4 41k miles.. Any thoughts???

Sod it. I'm useless!

yanbu & cars are expensive parasites.
We have been talking a car-change for months & cannot quite face it, and that's without some of the hassle-factors you have.

From reading Which magazine for years, I'd also say avoid renaults. Mileage matters less these days.

Honda Jazz is great but they are a more expensive than others of a similar size age etc.

This is a great website.

In your situation I would go for a Nissan Micra.

Do not get the renault. They have bad reviews and are notorious for being unreliable.

You could keep the insurance running and swap the cars over when you get a new one. You should still accrue the no claims then and could look about for a better quote in oct.

The mileage is dependent on the car IMO. Eg i would choose a toyota with higher mileage over a Renault with lower mileage iyswim?

I was always told about 10k per year of age was average when looking for a new car.

this is a good site I would go with the youngest car with the lowest millage you can afford

do you NEED a bigger car? I managed 3 kids in a mini - with pram - a smaller pram would be cheaper !

Thanks for all the tips and links. Will have a lookie in a min.

So looks like the renault is a no no then. I'm quite taken with the skoda but have it in my head they're not too good for some reason..

I will see what nissan micras are about. :)

Er, I have twelve yo megane, 77K, bought three years ago for £2000 at 44k miles.

Touch wood, it's been fab. It has quirks but never anything serious.

However, that skoda..... I'd be going for that.

One tip - avoid the 'people carrier' bug - i.e. scenics! You don't need one for two small kids and they'll cost you a fortune alongside being reasonably crap.

Go for the skoda, they are made by VAG group same as Audi and VW
We got £500 part ex for our poor condition Fiat stilo 02 reg that had done 100.000 miles and we bought a Skoda Octavia for £5000. Its been a great car so far.

Skoda Skoda Skoda!

Being serious, if you're willing to stump up ~£120 the RAC will check over a car you're thinking of buying and tell you whether it's a lemon or not. I've had them do it and it's worth it.

I'm kind of in the same boat at the moment and it's a fucking nightmare! Some stupid cow went into the back of me and wrote off my externally battered but internally sound as anything L reg BMW, insurers have given me £475 for it (thanks )

So now I have to try and get another car for that and am at a loss where to start!

lol at VAG group

Get the Skoda, they are great. We had the Fabia estate till recently and I was really sad to see it go. We part-exchanged, which saved a lot of stress but undoubtedly cost us money.

The AA also check over cars: we got them to do it for us a few years ago, with the Fabia's predecessor.

Its difficult isn't it... I feel for you with your trusty bmw!

I didn't know that about the RAC, that's worth bearing in mind.

I must admit a little part of me likes the idea of driving a reasonable sized people carrier - but I think that's more because I've spent the last year being jeered at in my little fiat :) ... Realistically of course I don't neeeeeed one.

And you're right - a small car for a 9 year old dd, baby ds and I would be fine. (Dh works long hours so its usually me carting them about, dh doesn't drive).

The insurance thing is complicated... They've said as I only have till oct they would charge me an upfront premium to change the car if I got one now and then I'd renew as usual in oct (or shop about for a better deal). Maybe that's the best thing to do...

Ok, I USED to have a Skoda Fabia - 52 plates. Loved it. Until some idiot drove into it, saying she hadn't seen me. Very reliable and never had any problems with it. It was decent with fuel consumption. Insurance was low.

However we've just got a brand new Kia Picanto. Its the very bottom of the range but its got all the safety features you could want as standard. Deposit of £1500. Its only downside is it does have a bit limited boot space, but we manage with it. The legroom in the car itself though is great - surprisingly spacious.

Here's the ironic bit though - even though its a new car, its working out cheaper to run per month than my beloved Skoda when you start adding up the cost of tax, fuel, insurance, MOT etc. And thats with gap insurance on the cost of the car. And of course it has a 7 year warranty and no MOT to worry about for 3 years. The insurance is still low and there's no tax to pay on it.

So, if your credit history is decent it may well be worth having a look at the very bottom of the range options - you might be pleasantly surprised. There are some cracking deals out there at the moment.

Failing that, 2nd hand Skoda all the way.

Ignore the Renault bashers, I have a lovely Renault Scenic on a 53 plate, 1.9 diesel with 88k on the clock and it hasn't cost me a penny in the year I've owned it, sailed through its MOT and never hics, even on long journeys. It has an enormous boot, loads of storage and little cubby holes dotted around the cabin and a rather awesome 'leave your little brother alone' mirror that can be adjusted to view the back seat. The engine is punchy enough and the ride is smooth with nice, responsive steering. Plus you're nice and high up with a great view of the road and the insurance is relatively low as well as the MPG being relatively high. My car cost me £1600 and I'd buy another in a heartbeat.

Bought a Renault - bloody awful - expensive faults that can't be fixed by anyone other than their expensive dealer garages - never never again

If you live rural look out for private sales. I got my Pug 206 02 plate for £1100. 37K on the clock. A couples second car that they were selling due to upgrading. She only used it to go to the shops. Had it a year now with no major problems.

Agree with the Renault comments - French cars are very unreliable especially the electrics.
Also agree with the Skoda comments - lift the bonnet and you'll see a VW badge on the engine.

I have a Renault Megane. I'm really anxious about typing this but I've never had a major* problem with it.
*Air con needed charging. Window regulator fault (Renault paying 78% towards this)
Passed MOTs no probs.

Renaults do seem to have a lot of electrics in them though. More to go wrong.
I heard bad things about them, but I do love them a lot!

Saying that, I'd go with the Skoda.
Much better rep.

Agree with the PP suggesting to look at new/nearly new cars as there are deals to be done and you could get a bargain. Next month would be a good time as garages want to get rid of '12' plate cars ready for the new ones in October. Often you can get extended warranty, 0% finance or cash back.

Vauxhall had a deal on the Corsa recently where the payments were about £99 per month, once you take into consideration MOT and servicing on an older car there may not be much difference.

Fuel efficiency improvements were the biggest factor for the lack of difference in cost overall when we added it all up. Thats something that can only get worse in my opinion.

I would say to use caution looking at the prices per month that are being promoted though and to find out what those prices include and don't include. They are generally the barest of minimum options available. Gap insurance is worth at least considering on a new car. As are service packages. They can add £25 - £30 per month to prices being quoted very easily. There are also some mileage penalties you should keep an eye on (if you decide to sell car back to the dealer at the end of initial period rather than keeping it).