To not buy a second hand car.

[JacktomyDaniel]

Does anyone “know” cars or has been in this position before?
We’ve decided to get a second car. We have enough spare cash a month to fund finance of around £190/200 and so could afford a small new car on pcp. This would need no MOT and would have warranty.
Husband thinks we should buy an older car around £4000 and take a loan.
I’m also toying with buying a much older car around £1000 and running it into the ground. My question really is which is the sensible option. I know people who have had bangers and driven them for years with no issues and yet our other 5 year old car has already cost us 1k in repairs! We could have a bigger, older, higher spec car with the risk of repairs or buy a small, new, low spec with warranty.
Any advice?

Second hand Toyota . Avoid french cars at all costs especially Renault . Go for the most basic model you can , fewer gadgets etc means fewer things can go wrong . Toyota auris would be a good choice .

I tend to buy 6-12 month old cars. As good as a new car, still under warranty but significantly cheaper than new. Fiesta would be my recommendation.

Wait until the end of this month and get a good deal on a new car. The number pages change over so main dealer garages often sell off the test models to get one with the newest plate.

I have a 12 year old Saab. All I've had to do so far is change the battery this year, and it was the original from 2006. I've had her since 2014, and she trundles between Belgium and the UK with ease, takes stacks of luggage nad I can get 37 mpg if I don't drive like a bat out of hell. She cosst around £3.5k, and will do me until she hits 250,000 miles (so another 140k miles to go). She is serviced by the guy I bought her from, and to date (touches wood) has given me no issues.

Get s Skoda Fabia about 2 years old.

I've had some fantastic used cars. Never owned a brand new one so couldn't compare, but as long as you get something with an MOT and is well made you should be ok. The best used car I had was a golf. They are fantastic cars that just work well even as they get older.

Ooh I asked this very question the other day on What would you do?
Two lovely MNetters said second hand but, like you OP, I have had my fingers burnt before.
Do update when you make a decision.

Does anyone on here have a Dacia Sandero?

I have a VW golf, 11 plate. I've never had a problem with it, it runs so smoothly and it generally a really lovely drive.
I'll happily admit I'm quite a 'I want new things' person so was thinking of financing a brand new golf.

I work by a school and before Christmas a school coach hit my car and ripped the bumper off, while it was being repaired I had a brand spanking new Toyota yaris, it's by far the worst car I've ever driven, clunky and horrible. When I got my car back I found a new love in it again and I'm keeping it until its completely run it!

10/10 reccomend VW golf.

I think I read Toyota yaris somewhere.. that wasnt my courtesy car, it was a Honda jazz. Absolutely awful cars.

I've only ever bought second hand (could never afford a new one or to pay the lump sum at the end of rental or PCP) my dad is a mechanic and his advice was always either a VW (I currently have a Scirocco which is fantastic) or a Jap. Remember if it will be used on more long type journeys a diesel or if it will be town based or shorter journeys get petrol. (Probs pretty obvious but just thought I'd throw that in there. )

Wow thanks so much everyone for taking the time to reply! I’m definitely leaning towards taking the risk on an older one with full MOT using a loan. Like someone said at least at the end I’d own it.
To the poster that asked about Dacia Sandero, our other car is a Duster. It’s huge which is what we need for dog and a pram but even at top of the range it’s loud, very thin paintwork and just doesn’t feel that nice to drive. It’s also the one that’s cost us loads. Basically after only 4 years we had to replace the bar that joins the 2 front wheels together because it was completely eroded!!! Terrifying

New french cars are ok it’s the “new-old” ones that are terrible, apx 2000-2012. The electrics are renowned for being dreadful, amongst other things.

Head to a Kia dealer- you can get a Kia Rio or picanto for not much money and if it’s approved used they still have the full 7 year warranty. We have had 3 Kia’s now (of various sizes and ages) and they have all been fab.

Dh works in a car dealership. He always says stay away from French cars. I'm not gonna give you any advice on a specific car cause we have a company car so I can't comment on other makes. But I will say that most dealerships will be getting an influx of px cars towards the end of the month as customers will have exchanged to get the new number plate so there is usually quite a few 3/4 year old cars in dealerships at this time of year so it's a good time to look.
The sales people will also have a bigger target this month so will try to steer you towards a new car if you go to a main dealership. (Not my dh he doesn't work on commision).

I've had a Toyota 20+ years old. Great cars, when they so go wrong it's been simple stuff to fix. Because it's old the parts are generally cheap. There's no complicated electrical to go wrong and the car cost £400 so no debt to worry about either. It's not for everyone but I enjoy driving it.
We also had a VW polo, the electrics were awful, the locks broke, windscreen wipers would come on on their own, gearbox broke, we had a light in on the dash constantly for no reason. It was a nightmare so we got rid of it and bought another old Toyota.

Just to add, VW gearboxes are not that great and they are very expensive to replace!

*The guy at the repair garage I go to swears that if everyone drove Japanese cars, he'd be out of business!"

Another one says 'not necessarily'. A Toyota we had cost us so much money and trouble that DH refuses to even consider getting another.

The two Astras we have had? Reliable and cheap as chips to keep on the road.

I hear you Marchin! Whether or not I go for another Toyota will depend entirely on how they deal with my unfixable car that is under warranty.

So far I've been waiting nearly 3 weeks to find out..

At the end of the day, there will always be someone who has had a bad experience with so called reliable cars. The mechanic at my garage told me to go for a Toyota or a VW.

Absolutely agree Buster, which is why I'm waiting to see what the customer service is like before I decide whether to completely discount them or not. But the time its taking for them to let me know what they are willing to do isn't doing them any favours...

Buy an older car of a better brand such as BMW or Toyota maybe. Research the brand and the model thoroughly to see if there are any known faults.

I'd stay away from prestige brands like BMW Audi etc due to the high cost of servicing and repairs if things do go wrong.

I’m also toying with buying a much older car around £1000 and running it into the ground. My question really is which is the sensible option. I know people who have had bangers and driven them for years with no issues and yet our other 5 year old car has already cost us 1k in repairs!

I'm in the £1,000 car camp. When you get a costly repair, you just buy another one! We've had 2 old Audis, a 1996 that was bought in 2009 and we ran for 6 years, and which only ever needed a couple of bulbs and a new battery, and the current one, a 2001, that we've had for 4 years and spent next to fuck all on.

Old cars don't have all the complicated electronics that costs a fortune to fix and if you stick to petrol, you don't have all the expensive gizmos like dual mass flywheels and diesel particulate filters.

The other car is a £400 banger bought when the first Audi's driveshaft went. It still starts, but we've let the MOT run out as we have no need of it atm.

When you spend a few grand on a car, you can't afford to scrap it because it needs a grand spending on it, and then you can easily end up throwing good money after bad.

Even if I was a gazillionaire, I'd think twice about buying new because of the depreciation. Although I daresay some cars are so rare and unique they're virtually depreciation-proof.

I could be tempted to pay big money on a classic if I was loaded. I love old Jags and old Mercs. I bitterly regret selling a 1964 Mercedes 220SE that I owned with my then boyfriend in 1976/77.

Imagine driving round in this

commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mercedes_Benz_220SE_(1965).jpg

but mine was nicer, because it was dark green.

I’ve gone the old banger route but do worry about not having the safety feautures of a new car sometimes. Most of my driving is around town and no children so the risk is worth it to me. It also means I don’t have to pay for comprehensive insurance.

As much as a lease car is tempting sometimes I have a dog who regularly goes to the beach so it’s great not to have to stress about the condition of the car too much.