How do you choose a car?

[sunshine244]

I am totally overwhelmed with needing to buy a new (secondhand) car. I have never been interested in cars and have had an old corsa for many years. It is now dying a death, and with two kids and a dog I need something a bit bigger. Colour, style, gadgets etc aren't of interest to me. Reliability is far more important.

I have done some initial goggling, and all that tells me is that I know even less than I thought I did 😂

How on earth do people buy cars? I can't have electric car as park away from the house. I dont want anything huge or fancy. But that really doesn't narrow it down much. If I go to a car dealer they'll totally take advantage of me, and friends and family have much more expensive cars than I can afford. Help!

If reliability is your main issue (and it was certainly mine) then WhatCar Warrantywise and MotorEasy all publish lists of the most reliable cars based on breakdown data. Japanese brands like Toyota, Suzuki and Honda regularly top the lists but its worth looking at individual models. We have a 2009 Toyota Verso from new that's never needed any major repairs and a 2013 Honda Jazz bought second hand 5 years ago that again has been perfectly reliable.

Start budget of course, then open Google lol and decide on your Model size (eg has to be super mini category for my needs and preferences), then an efficient engine size, then looks (I can’t abide an ‘ugly’ car 😅) and then last consideration is which out of all of those left so the most reliable brand.

I researched long and hard and test drove ALL the cars on my shortlist and then my preferred one, I searched throughout the UK tbh as there can easily be a thousand or two difference in price which sometimes makes it a viable option when you factor in petrol/train fare to get there and chances you’ll be driving the car park petrol - and if the maths makes sense then you should go further afield. One of my cars I bought took me from the West Mds to Yorkshire to an independent family seller and I remember having a tea in their farm house kitchen (a real farm btw!) whilst signing the paperwork whilst fussing over their gorgeous Border Collie pup. Was a really nice memory to have attached to a car purchase.

Btw my current car is a Mazda 2 (2017) bought from new and never ever had a days problem with it. Fantastic little car.

You can narrow it down on auto trader by putting in size of car, cost, mileage, previous owners, engine type, fuel type, number of doors, age of car, etc. Might there be some reviews of different size cars that you could look at from a reliable organisation like Which?

I’d recommend click-a-mechanic. Once you decide on a car, get them to go afterwards. They’ll do a check of loads of stuff internal and external engine stuff and cosmetic damage etc. We did this. They were great. A few things needed attention and the garage sorted them all out before we bought the car.

Buy a Honda.

Thank me later.

We have just bought the car we had as our hire car on holiday because it was so brilliant to drive (a Volvo). I wouldn’t have had a clue otherwise!

Dacia Duster all the way. No frills motoring, great reliability and the older ones are just as good as the newer ones. Mine does about 60mpg and is cheap for parts as well.

Go to a showroom, sit in loads of cars in your budget and see what you like/don’t like. Make sure car seats fit in the back with room to grow and that the boot is big enough.

If you do longer trips most weeks go for a diesel but if it’s just short trips with some longer drives mixed in then go for petrol. No need for hybrid (though always a bonus if you can get it).

Ask on the car buying forum of Pistonheads (I feel like I’m going to be kicked off MN for mentioning them 🤣) with your budget and what you want and you’ll get a fair few replies.

Good luck!

I look at:

What's around £5k 😂
Low milage
3 month warranty

TIP: if you're looking for reliability, look at what your budget gets you e.g. a Ford X or Nissan Y, and then see how many are on the roads with the same year of registration. If there are loads, isld assume them to be liked and reliable.

I'd also pick something common for spare parts And low previous owners.

Thanks so much for all the helpful replies.

I'm looking for the following:

Petrol or hybrid
Second hand - ideally 3-5 years but not sure if that's realistic with budget
Under £10k or possibly slightly more if I can get a good loan deal
5 doors
No preference on colour, and no particular features I need other than possibility to add a tow bar for bike rack
Decent boot

I was in a friend's Honda Jazz recently and I liked it although would prefer something slightly roomier (but ideally not much wider).

I mainly have short trips a few times a week- work and kids clubs are around 8-10 miles away. Longer trips perhaps once or twice a month.

I have driven 4x4s and vans previously so I can drive a range of vehicles. But parking near me isn't great so I really need a car that isn't too wide.

Start by going onto Autotrader website.

Using the filters, set your budget. Then select your preference between petrol and diesel. Then select your preference between manual and automatic. Personally I normally select “trade” rather than private when spending that amount of money that you have said.

Run that search first without any other filters on. That will bring up all cars of all different makes.

Next, sort the results by mileage.

I always buy cars on my own and the following have never failed me:-

1.) Lowest mileage I can get for my budget.

2.) Lowest number of previous owners (I tend to buy cars that have only had one previous keeper from new)

3.) Always full service history (ideally full MANUFACTURER service history)

4.) Reliable make

5.) I then look at what’s fits within the above criteria and when I find something I like the look of I ALWAHS run an MOT check to see what faults or advisories that car has previously had. In an ideal world I’m looking for ones with a real clean sheet.

6.) Once I’ve found one I like I check the running costs eg mpg, annual tax, insurance category.

7.) Colour and gadgets are always last on my list. They are not as important but for resale value I do try not to buy entry level cars.

if you can find anything that is “manufacturer approved” (a filter on autotrader) you will pay a bit more for it but may get some things included eg 1 year manufacturer warranty, service plan etc

£10,000 is a decent budget for what you need so you shouldn’t have issues.

Good luck

I went to a car dealership and test drove a few of their cars around the lot. I found that I liked the way Hyundai, Toyota and Fiat drive, but I don’t really like Ford, Skoda or Renault. It’s something about the way the gears are balanced and the feel of the pedals.

After that it comes down to what I can afford to spend and how old a car I am prepared to buy. You can figure that out by looking online.

When you have your eye on something take it for a test drive. Open it up on the motorway. Do a three point turn. Parallel park. Have a google for common problems with that model.

You really are at a huge advantage if you’re not concerned about colour and brands.

Oh and also, filter out anything that is an insurance write off or part write off. So make sure you select “exclude” for the “previously written off” filter. I also won’t touch anything that is an import. I don’t know where you live but I would try and make sure the car is ULEZ complaint too.

Years ago, I was siting in a pub with my husband eavesdropping quite a heated conversation about cars and what to do.

1 option was - to buy the cheapest brand new car which at the time was a 2CV, the insurance and running costs were very reasonable and you shouldn’t have any problems for 10 years.

Another option was to buy a three year old cortina, very comfortable to drive but a much more expensive way to go, engines in those days unless really well looked after needed replacing at around 75,000miles.

Another option was to look for the archetypal 20 year old car that only went out twice a week to the hairdressers, shopping and of course church on Sunday!

We actually bought an XR3 brand new in 1981 on very low interest finance, had it for nearly twenty years until it rusted apart sadly.

Coukf you go electric, because the Dacia spring if you look on AutoTrader, you can get a pre registered one for £10,000 and a brand new one for about £11,000. The batteries are guaranteed for eight years too and they gave a range of 140 odd miles.

If not, personally the way car market is at the moment, I woukd look for that archetypal car and they are around. A friend has just bought a 25year old Jaguar for £2,000. It hasn’t even done 60,000 miles yet and it is mint.

Another of our friends has a Renault Laguna 59plate and that had 25,000 miles from brand new and cost £2,500 three years ago.

Vauxhall Insignias are very reasonable but often high mileage.

Dacia Dusters seem nice too, as do Nissan Jukes.

Whst do u look at on the road and think “um yes please” - I have a Saab convertible these days which is worth a few hundred pounds now, and I woukd definitely get another, or if I wanted to spend £16,000-£20,000 I love the e class Mercedes Convertible - s really smart one of those makes me go like I do over the Saab and XR3.

look firward to your reply

I picked my used Fiesta because there’s a Ford garage walking distance from my house and because it’s the right size for me and because I could afford it.

Sometimes we overcomplicate these things, IMO.

Got to be a Volvo estate then, a V40, our better still,a V70, you will never have a more reliable, comfortable car. Reasonable price also

I have a secondhand dealership nearby that is family run, had been in operation for over 30 years, has loads of good reviews and word of mouth recommendations, I’ve bought a couple of cars from them and the cars have been in great condition with a long warranty period and they’ve stood by the warranty.

I have a list of things I want in a car, engine size, number of doors, fuel type, budget, manual/automatic gearbox etc and then I go to that dealership and see what they have within that specification. Last time that gave me a choice of 2 cars, I test drove them both and picked the one I liked best.

Had to do this quite a few times in tbe last few years. 2 cars hit by other drivers, their fault, written off and son and daughter passed driving test and want a car. Wifes priorities, has to be the right colour ! My priorities, has to be reliable , four doors and not stink of dogs or cigarettes. Toyota Corolla still the worlds most reliable car...maybe start from there ?

One of my friends got help from ThatHonestCarGuy (Google it) and he helped her work out what car she needed and helped find local cars and advised on what to look for and ask - and even helped her to negotiate the price. Basically held her hand the whole way through. He’s just started the business and is doing a special offer at the moment. Might be worth a look?

I always look at what car used car reviews before buying, I use AA used cars to see what is available for my budget, then see what the review says.

My dc has just bought a Seat Ibiza and I have to say I am very impressed. Good boot size, quite roomy and lovely to drive

My DH is very interested in cars. When my ancient Golf got expensive, he looked for a sensible replacement, so now I have a Skoda Fabia estate that I expect to drive for the next 10 years.

I looked for a car last weekend.
My criteria were
Budget 12/15k
High driving position
SatNav with big screen
Big boot/room in rear seats
Petrol/or hybrid
Low milage
Long Warranty
Heated seats
Reversing camera
Bought a Kia Sportage on Thursday. Did consider Nissan Qashqai and Juke as I've had both before.
My new car is lovely to drive!
Chat GPT/Microsoft copilot both fab for comparisons.

Having been through a few cars over the last few years (because I’m constantly changing my mind) I’ve now gone back to, and settled on a Nissan quashqai. I also have two children, and had a Mercedes GLA which was nice to look at, but had nothing with it and was a bit boring tbh.

I managed to get my Nissan for half the price, with a boat loads of tech that I like (camera, sensors, heated seats, automatic, panoramic roof (good for the safari!) and heated front windscreen)

I think they’ve been voted one of the top, if not the top second hand car to purchase. I had one a few years ago and liked it then, only sold it because I wanted something ‘fancier’ and have ended up going back to it only 3 years later 🤣

Take a knowledgeable friend of family member car shopping with you. Ideally a male one - sad but true, dealers will be less likely to lie.

Honestly, copy and paste into chatgpt and use the response as a start point. Helped me buy a second hand car in literal hours in an emergency earlier this year. Amazing at helping me focus on what I needed. The car we bought as a result has done exactly what we have needed (so far!)

Go online and find a big car supermarket. Using the filter go through what you want etc. Have a look at the cars that come up and then see if there are any similar ones in a local garage that you can have a look at and test drive.

Right up my street!
If you want reliability then Audi is a good start. If you do less than 150 miles a week then petrol is a great start. DO NOT BUY FROM FACEBOOK OR PRIVATE SALE ON AUTOTRADER. You have been warned! They are mostly scams and you will NOT get a fair deal as there are so many scams and illicit vehicles for sale that pass all regular checks. These days they can rewind mileage so easily and even sell stolen cars that look perfect in every way that even dealers get caught out.

If the car doesn't have 2 keys, it's a no. Excuses make no difference here. 2 keys or look elsewhere. This is a financial and insurance safety issue.

The car cannot be more than 8 years old.
Lowest mileage (2500 a year can be genuine but loaer is extremely sus.)

Check the oil. Need a paper towel and pull the dipstick twice to check oil isn't extremely black and a golden colour is ideal. If that's any metal in it (black specks) walk away immediately. If the oil has a chocolate appearance, run away. Coolant has leaked into crank case and probably has a warped head. New engine required.

Start the engine and ask seller to rev engine to 3000 rpm for 15-20 seconds while you watch exhaust for emissions. White smoke means engine damage and oil is ending combustion cycle and burning. Worn piston rings and engine overhaul due.

If it's diesel, clouds of black smoke and unburned fuel are the equivalent.

There should be ZERO visible emissions, except a little water on cold petrol engines.
Check service history, go online to carcheck.co.uk and oay for the full report. Well worth the small charge. Get the vin number and the V5C to check service and MOT history on gov.uk
Look for FAILURES. Anything mechanical needs caution as that tells you what has been fixed.

Ask when timing belt was last changed. Usual replacement is 120,000 miles and costs around £700. Try get something under 55,000 miles. MOT history will tell you if that's genuine mileage.

Make sure you get a car made after Sept 2017 to benefit from Euro 6 compliant engines and emissions.

Avoid EV that is over 3 years old. Batteries cost thousands to replace.
Tyres. 5mm minimum tread and brand must match opposite side
2 front same brand
2 back same brand
Can be different brands between 2 pairs. This is where your rubber hits the road and keeps you safe in hairy situations.

Brake disks. Feel them. If there's a pronounced lip at rim edge thwn they need replacing. Anything more than a minor lip like a coin edge is suspect. Asj when the disks were last replaced and ask for invoice to inspect. Ask what pressure the tyres need and go with thwm to check at a garage. Only £1 or less. If any are well below pressure, there's a slow puncture you'll be dealing with. Negotiate £180 off to get new matching set. Never have any special puncture fluid added to tyres.

Finally, tradecentre.co.uk has good cars and you may get a good deal on px. You'll be surprised what you can afford.

Do not let salespeople railroad you into a same day purchase. Try get a bank loan rather than car finance, so you own the vehicle. Lots of sound advice in there in not telling you. Car finance costs you 17% more than bank loan on purchase. That means the price you see is not the price you pay in the end. Usually 25% on top over 5 years. Bank loans are a low as 6% on total price you pay over same period. Car finance owns the car until oaid in full, but dealership may iffer buyback for replacement after 24 months for another car. That's HP.

YOU MAY want to look at long term leasing too. Costs more but they sort everything including insurance (£1200 annually /£6k 5 years) CMS they service vehicle and replace tyres, brakes, etc.