Buying a used car

[MyDogsPaws]

How does anyone do it? I bought a used car a few years ago which hasn’t lasted the length of the finance agreement so I’ve ended up having to pay it off early and scrap it and now I’m absolutely skint and have no car, I need a car to get to get work so I’m having to hire a car at huge expense on my credit card. I’m struggling to commit to buying another car as they are all massively overpriced and it feels like whatever I buy will just breakdown again, because of my budget the cars in my price range are all 2018 or older.

if I buy a car from a dealer I can get another finance deal but they are all hugely expensive. They generally have a (short)warranty which is something I suppose but because of the price i would have to get a 48month finance deal and there is bug risk that the car won’t last that long.

If I buy a much older cheaper car through a private cash sale I would be taking a massive risk buying one without any kind of warranty- I’m sure no one ever sells a car unless it has something wrong with it so it seems like it would be a definite disaster!

Aibu to be so stuck on this decision? Tell me your used car buying tips and also some success stories to get me out of my decision paralysis!

Whenever I’ve bought a used car I’ve always looked at Honest John reviews first to see what makes/models to go for. TBH I’m not even sure if he’s still doing reviews but there must be similar…
The other thing I do is ask the current owner to take me for a test drive (with them driving) so that you can see how they drive it!! If they ride the clutch and grind the gears you know the car is going to be well worn and need a new clutch/gears soon!!!
Good luck!

Yes that’s exactly it, Dsg gearbox!

Get a bank/finance loan, dont rely on finance from a dealer. Sainsburys, marks, tescos, various banks, get the best rate if you need to borrow

Yes auto repairs v expensive, a 2nd hand one from a breaker might have been an option, rather than scrapping.

Definitely look on Honest John forums to ask for recommendations. (They have DSG hatred over there.) There's nothing wrong with a high mileage car if it's actually got a full reliable service history (receipts rather than just a few stamps). Put your requirements into AutoTrader to find some cars in your budget then check the make and models on Honest John for common problems - they have owner reviews which can be helpful and a Good/Bad list which talks about common faults.

We always buy used, high mileage cars with FSH, usually sticking to VW/Skoda (VAG group) as we know they've always been reliable for us. I've never had an expensive repair and I don't pay stupid amounts a month for a PCP car.

My fiancees was a dud so ended up getting a 3 year old Toyota. As long as you service it with them they will extend the warranty to 10 years or 100k miles ( whichever comes first).

This worked out as 4k deposit and 200 a month finance including 3 years servicing.

That has to be cheaper than hiring a car. You can buy a banger with a year MOT but that depends on how much you know about cars, good history etc

We always buy used, high mileage cars with FSH, usually sticking to VW/Skoda (VAG group) as we know they've always been reliable for us.

They’re mediocre these days, if you want reliability buy Japanese, namely Toyota.

We're still buying very old VAG cars which are fine but if OP Is looking at modern cars then yes, I'd agree with Japanese. My parameters are normally cars which are 10-15 years old as a minimum to be fair!

People will give you lots of tips op but it’s a huge amount of just luck. I had 2 cars bought outright at around 70,000 miles, checked by a mechanic and they both conked out within 2 years with expensive repairs along the way.

but I had a friend who bought an ancient polo that she had for ten years and only needed minor repairs.

You won’t get anywhere with £1k these days though.