Buying a used car in Ireland guide

They've said they hope to get a cancellation early this week and will contact me Monday, they've also apologised and said they will arrange to have the car delivered to me. Yeah i don't plan on taking it until its NCTd. Car I have is running fine and plenty of tax and NCT on it so no rush on me and would be far too awkward to get the car to the garages nearest NCT centre as its an hours drive away. Thanks for advice.

otterj wrote: »

Why would trade in price be higher advertised price ?

Because usually the advertised price is a straight deal asking price without a trade-in. The straight deal usually includes a discount for having no trade-in.

otterj wrote: »

Still dont understand! wouldnt they get money for the car you trade in by selling i on again?

They have to go to the trouble of preparing your old car for resale which can included cosmetic/mechanical repairs, valeting and giving a warranty with it. This costs a dealer money too.

This is why it nearly always works out cheaper if you sell your car privately and buy the new car with no trade-in.

The 2011 is ridiculously overpriced even for a main dealer. You'd buy a Passat CC for nearly the same money.

Revenue do not deal with the public anymore around VRT queries.

If it ain't on the calculator then it's not on their system. They will tell you that you will need to present the car for VRT inspection and then they will send a query off to Revenue who will come back to them in a week or two. You will not get even a rough figure off them before that.

Car tax is obviously a big thing. Are there any good websites that will tell you the car tax per year by imputing the model, engine size or reg number? The motor tax website is a bit time consuming when comparing various car makes and looking up what emissions band or category they fall into.

bazz26 wrote: »

Motor tax is a very small part of the car's ownership cost yet some people make it a deal breaker and will spend thousands extra to buy a car in the cheapest tax bracket.

And the motortax website has a page where you can enter the car's registration and it will give you the motor tax rate.

Thanks. I obviously did look at the website but don't know how I missed this search option

https://www.motortax.ie/OMT/motortaxinforeg.do

Listen to the engine at idle for metallic type noises, timing chains stretch on these cars and it's expensive for them to be replaced. Also ask the owner if the chain has been replaced as BMW are replacing some free of charge under a quality enhancement program. Ring the dealers that serviced it as they will have a record that they can verify with you.

Is it manual or auto? Manuals tend to be less desirable so are worth a good bit less. Really you should be looking for features such as automatic, adaptive xenon headlights and the pro widescreen sat nav.

Sounds nice, I've a similar spec car myself except it's a SE.

Just wondering would people be put off a car if its been advertised for a couple of months at a decent price?

Also wondering why do garages not include a number plate on pictures online? Will most give it out if you call and ask?

Looking at an '06 Accord 2.0 litre Petrol.

€4.5k from a car dealer.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Glebee wrote: »

Looking at a car at the minute and all looks in order except that 3 of the alloys are badly scuffed/marked. Would this put you off buying????

If it bothered me to own a car with scuffed wheels I'd try and negotiate the price of a refurb or new wheels off the figure in my head that the car is realistically worth.
If you can't get it for that price, then look at another or just spend the money on getting them fixed.
It all depends on what else you can get for the money. It certainly wouldn't make the car a bad car.

Hi,
Is it better to buy from a car dealer or direct in Ireland?
What are all the costs that will be incurred hence?
From reading here is what I found
1- motor insurance (what % is this?)
2- motor tax (what is this amount?)
3- vehicle registration plates (how much)
4- nct cert (how much)

Have I missed any other costs ^
Please advise.
Thank you.

Verifiable service history is probably the best one, but some cars store their true mileage internally and this can be accessed with a diagnostics tool.
The key is verifying it. I was looking at an Accord earlier in the year that had a full stamped service history from Belfast. I saw the UK reg and it wasn't a northern reg did a motorcheck report and there was a massive amount of miles taken off. Most people wouldn't have copped the stamps on the book didn't match where the car came from.
There's no one easy thing you can do, but there are lots of smaller things you can do to get an idea. For UK cars you can get a free report of previous MOTs before you go spending money on a paid report.

Of course, someone could click their car before the first nct, and then on all ncts after that. If they stay away from dealers workshops then there's no way the true mileage would be known by a report.

People put a lot of importance on mileage though. It isn't a guarantee of a good car.

Looking to buy a Ford Ka second hand for the missus. Looking for advice to explain some discrepencies, and general advice. The guy selling it is a car salesman, but this is one of a selection of high mileage cars which don't make it to the forecourt. Have to say thus far, most of what he advertised and told us when spoke to him seem to tally, but a couple of things I wanted to know if anyone here had ideas on why there would be a discrepency ? Also have to say having driven the car and looked over it, it does seem to be a good runner. I am going to use the guide to go over a few checks but I cannot find a reasonable mechanic in South County Dublin to either drive it to for check, or for them to come and check. So going to have to go through my own checks unless someone here can suggest ?

OK so the car is advertised as NCT due 01/16 (verified), and with 149,334 miles (240,330km), 17 days ago this was advertised. The actual mileage checked today 14/11 was 243,000KM (around 151,000m). So in 17 days it has seemingly done 2,500KM - that is strange enough but the car was last taxed in June 2014 ?? I have not asked him directly (yet) about this, but he has intimated that the car has been off-road since he acquired it. Can anyone think of a reason why there would be this discrepency ? He also does not have the last NCT report, and the so-called "Full Documented Service History" only takes up to 2010. Since the lady owner had until that time taken the car to the same dealer every year, until 2010, when the stamps mysteriously stop. The report also shows that the car had been taxed every six months up to Dec 2013, then taxed March 2014 and then June 2014. The intimation there is that she sold it to the dealer in early 2014, and he only taxed it for 3 months. So what has the car been doing until now in an untaxed state ?
I am thinking of offering to pay for him to NCT it and see what he says - what do you think ?
The car was imported from Spain in 2006, do I need to get any kind of vehicle registration cert from him ?
Lastly, I have zero experience with alloy wheels so is there anything I need to be aware of there ? Do I need to ensure I get any keys and/or paperwork for these ?
Any other advice ?
Appreciate this is lengthy and in-depth, but I have tried to be as accrate and succinct as possible.

Thanks to all who respond.