Need babysitting through carpurchase

cltt97

Hi,

I want to buy a second hand car (either Nissan Note or Suzuki Ignis - like those square cars that are higher off the ground).
I've seen interesting options both at dealers and privately advertised.

I've never bought a car in Ireland, so I don't know how it works really. I will be paying cash (no trade in)... I'm just really wondering how it works. You go and find a car that you like (either garage or private). What happens next?

Many thanks for all help.

cjt156

You try it out, look it over, if its an expensive purchase maybe pay a mechanic/the AA to examine it. A dealer should give you at least a 3 month warranty, try and get more. Look for a service history, ask has it been crashed (they MUST answer truthfully or they are liable by law).
Get a dealer to fix anything broken & service the car before you collect.
Haggle a price or some extras and leave a deposit.
Then when its ready you collect/inspect & pay the ballance. The dealer/owner puts your details on the paperwork & sends it off to Shannon, you get it back in about a month.
make sure you're insured before you drive home & (hopefully) happy motoring.

What did I forget...?

cltt97

Thanks for that cjt.

So all I have to do is make sure I'm insured before I pick it up and then the change of ownership and tax and stuff can happen afterwards?

cjt156

Pretty much, ring around and get a LOT of quotes, check which gets you best coverage for the price. Then when you collect the car you'll complete the ownership paperwork which will allow you tax it later (if lapsed). The seller sends that away and a new Vehicle Licensing Cert will be posted to you.
Once you're on the road you must be insured, you'll have a few weeks grace to tax it.

cbyrne

Also, try and buy or complete the sale at the start of a month to save yourself tax, if you buy even on the last day of the month you would be liable for all that months tax!!

cltt97

Ah, so best buy first of September if tax is lapsed! Thanks for all your help guys!