To feel certain I will be ripped off buying a used car?

[justfoundout2014]

It is making my head spin just thinking about it and I just don't know where to start. My car is 9 years old and, since having a new engine 2 yrs ago when the cam belt went, it seems to be one thing after another. I must have spent about 3k since then, and even before it was always a few hundred at MOT time. Now it keeps overheating and I just want rid. I commute 16 miles a day up the M1 and have been rescued twice in the last month - I've had enough.

We bought it outright, so no loan repayments and that is one thing that scares me about getting a new one as it feels scary to add another monthly commitment, yet I know my credit cards would be a lot lighter right now were it not for this useless car.

I have had so much conflicting advice. For example, you are bound to get a dud unless you pay 2k/3k/5k/7k - delete according to whoever is speaking at the time. I have worked out I can afford 5k max - is that going to get me something no better than I already have? How on earth can I know before it is too late?

As for whether to get a loan or use the car people's finance - np clue, and the more I google, the less I feel I know.

And what is this about haggling??? How can I haggle effectively when I've never done it before and I'm sure it will be clear I have no clue what I'm talking about?

I suppose I'm struggling because it is the first time I have ever had to do anything like this before, and, having recently split from H, it is the first big decision to make without him. I really need to grow up and do it, though - the stress of having an unreliable car is not helping my state of mind atm. Just feel I'm doomed and will make a rubbish decision... Help!

My car was just under £6k brand new from the showroom. Yes it's a tiny engine but it travels within the speed limits so it doesn't need to be more powerful. It gives me peace of mind that it should last a good few years and if not warranty will kick in.

You do know you can buy a used car from a reputable dealer, right?

We bought both ours from the local Toyota dealer. The second was much cheaper than anything they had on the forecourt because we explained that we liked a particular model but would need an older one due to cost. Sales rep rang round other dealers, found one, and had it shipped down for us (we did have to commit to buying it unless there was something wrong with it).

If 5k doesn't buy you something better (way better) than 2 breakdowns in a month you should be suing.

Are you trading in your old car against the new one? I find that can knock a lot off the advertised price.

I had an old very unreliable Honda Jazz that kept trying to kill me by jumping out of gear. I wanted a Subaru Impreza which was up for £7,000 in autotrader at a dealership. I cleaned and polished that Jazz to within an inch of its life and told myself I'd accept £1,000 and no less. Turned out they loved it and offered me £3,000 because they knew Jazzs can be auctioned easily as they are popular. I got the Subaru for £4,000. Lovely reliable car with one previous owner (07 plate) and only 17,000 miles on the clock.

It can be done.

I buy a lot of cars currently on my 14th in 2 years. I've had 7brand new out of the show room cars in that time, others have been up to 12yrs old. If you look around, do your research, travel abit out of area, one car new car I brought was £21k at my local Nissan, I found the exact same car on auto trader 140 miles away for £16k!! It only had 3miles on the clock. I've not brought a bad car and always made money on any car I have brought, as I won't buy anything with any damage what so ever, and buy top of the range no matter what car it is. Find something with good mileage for the vehicle- Volvo tend to have high mileage so finding something that got less then 100k is fairly hard, Vauxhall etc very easy to get one with 40k both as 10yr old cars.
Always check the service history and number of owners, if someone has had the car a long time chances are its been good- these type of people tend to buy the same car again but in the newer version. Check everything works- heating/windows/mirrors everything- if the electrics don't work chances are its a dud. Expect to put on new tyres and brakes, if this has been done for the sale- chances are it's been well looked after. It doesn't matter how much you spend on a car you can spend 10k on something and it be awful or 2k on something that runs and runs. Do your research and shop about. If you find a car you like test drive at least 2 cars that are same, you need something to compare against.

Oh I buy cars because I like buying cars, not because they go wrong, never had one go wrong. The money I make on them is an added bonus :) but I may have 1 car for 6months or a few weeks just depends on how the mood takes me

I got over £1000 knocked off used car from our local Toyota dealer last year.
You have to know exactly what you want, what you are prepared to pay, be (or pretend to be) very confident and stand your ground. Try and go at the end of the month as they will want to get as many sales as possible for monthly targets. Or something like that. That's what my dad always tells me to do and I always get a good deal. My step-brother is the opposite - most unassertive and indecisive person ever. Lovely guy, useless at buying cars! If that's you, take someone with you.
Agree with Tweed about going for very low mileage and no damage but I have no interest in cars whatsoever and just drive them until they die.
I think you can generally get a better deal if you go in as cash buyer so get a loan rather than finance.

I feel your pain ...

even if you buy from a main dealer, on some used cars, they only offer a 1000 mile warranty or statutory warranty or you can buy an extended warranty for several hundred. tbh, i think you just can't know if a car is a dud or not.

i was considering a part exchange my car and was offered 900 and if i privately sold mine, i would get £1400. i got rid of mine because i was having transmission problems and was quoted £750 to fix. i ended up part ex'ing and i wonder what the hell the independent dealer are going to do with my car in auction bearing in mind the work it needs done. worryingly, the dealership said it was a "good" example even after road testing it.

i bought a used car about 3 months ago, 6 year old car and already i've spent £640 on two repairs when engine light came on. the car might be considered as a more expensive brand though, so maybe higher repair costs. really liked it and only asked for £200 off. wish id try 400.

tweed gives good advice. Check it all works and give yourself plenty of time. Also, if you can help it, dont forewarn the dealer you're coming to view if you live locally because they may get the car "warmed up" and not starting it from cold before you arrive so you can't hear how the engine starts and turns over. We had a 1000 mile warranty and we did that mileage in 6 weeks.

Looking forward to when I can go back to a corsa or fiesta when the DC are out of car seats! I find them really reliable and my parents have had them for decades without any major complaint, just replacing them when they get to around the 8 year mark.

6 k for my brand new skoda and over 11 happy years with only tires, wiper blades, one water bottle (pot holes in road) to usual mot etc. i love this car. Have a look at the new ones.... A skoda driver is a happy driver....

Rach :) is me with my Skoda.

You need to work out what you want from the car apart from a bit of reliability. Narrow it down to a few models.
Look at a few and drive examples.
Once you have one or two identified then consider getting an AA check to identify any problems either as a bargaining point or as a decider.

We bought our car from Hilton garage in Derby, recommended by school gate mum & two people at DH's work and they don't haggle, not one tiny bit of haggling.

It's bliss, you drive the car, talk about spec & make your own decision.

There must be dozens of places like it, my advice is to get recommendations & trust your gut