Buying a first car - very frustrating!

Mr Benevolent

I posted about my brother going to see a Bora the other day. What is it about people selling their cars? Can anyone be arsed to show up, sell a usable car or even have a service history? He's got a max budget of €3500 and a max engine of 1.6 petrol/1.9 diesel (for insurance). So far:

1. 00' 1.6 Alfa 156 From a dealer. Bits falling off. Failed the NCT. Dents everywhere. No history.

2. '97 BMW 520i. Fine except that the dealer was 'waiting on a part'. Couldn't get the big lump over 20mph - no power at all.

3. '99 1.4 Bora was a mess. 109k miles. No service history. One (dark) photo on Carzone. Black smoke billowing out of the exhaust. Rear bumper hanging off - it had obviously been hit in the rear. Bits hanging off. New bonnet needed because of intense stonechip damage. Enormous crack in rear windshield. Couldn't negotiate the bastard down below €2200. Wouldn't have bought it for €1500 anyway. All the way from Dublin to Leitrim and this prick hadn't the honesty to tell us that the car was virtually a wreck. I'm not sure who was more stupid, him or us.

4. '02 1.4 Megane, 62k miles, selling for €3500. Good car but very wobbly gear lever, later internet research suggests to leave Meganes with weird gear changing alone. No service history. No tbelt done either - due at 72k miles. Honest guy, sells them on behalf of another dealer at severely reduced prices with no warranty. We'd buy something else off him in a flash - friend of the family etc.

5. '00 1.6 Bora, 80k miles. Drive to Lucan, ring the guy, he says 'I'll be there in 5 minutes.' Half an hour later, we're still waiting and he's not answering his phone. Bastard.

All these in less then a week. What is going on? Can anyone suggest a good, reliable car that fits into the 1.0-1.6 petrol/1.9TDI €3500 category and maybe a very good s/h dealer? The only makes he won't buy are Ford, Nissan and Fiat (for no logical reason).

Zulu

all big cars - go for a golf or something no?http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Volkswagen/Golf/Mark-4/1191113/

Mr.David

Skoda Octavia

Get the 1.6 petrol or preferably the tdi. Its bigger, cheaper, more reliable etc than the Golf.

eden_my_ass

Buy mine

bazz26

To be honest in this price range you are going to come across alot of unwanted junk.

Finding a genuine tidy car is a challenge to say the least at any price but patience is the name of the game and the right one will come along.

smash

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Alfa-Romeo/147/1.6-T/1084899/
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Renault/Clio/1.6-16V/879060/

eden_my_ass

Sorry unkel, didn't think it was a problem as a private seller on a sister site. Its a buyers market at the moment, I can't miss an opportunity to push my sale!

On that point OP, I can't believe that you'd be struggling to find a car at the moment, the country is flooded with second hand motors both dealer and private that just haven't shifted for months on end, should be loads of room for negotiations!

cock robin

Anything Japenese would be an ideal first car. They may not be the most inspiring motors to drive. But they are bullet proof in terms of their engineering. For the kind of money your bro wants to spend he needs to be super carefull. He could end up buying a box of farts. For 3.5k he should avoid any old beemers, mercs etc. They might look tempting but generally have had the boll**ks driven out of them. Check with a local main dealer as they often have cheap motors that were taken in as trade in's and at least you have some recourse if the thing goes tits up.

Stephen

Dealers should be very eager to shift something without a trade in too, most of them have yards overflowing with used cars that won't budge.

chump

When I was looking to buy a car for 5k last year I came across the same sh.t.
Most frustrating purchase of me life (not bought a house yet!).

Simply the vast majority of cars were in a shocking state, at least a handful of 'minor' issues with each car, and just poorly kept sh.theaps.

I hope not to have to buy a car in that price range again but really I'd advise trying to go private, and find a car with 1 or 2 owners and interrogate them hugely on the phone beforehand.

bazz26

Here is a clean looking Alfa 156:
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Alfa-Romeo/156/1.6-T.SPARK/1168484/

groupb

Zulu wrote: »

all big cars - go for a golf or something no?http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Volkswagen/Golf/Mark-4/1191113/

Look at the price. I would offer 1,500 max. You're going to need cash for repairs.

Zulu

groupb wrote: »

Look at the price. I would offer 1,500 max. You're going to need cash for repairs.

What repairs?
Do you know my mate?

Mr Benevolent

Thanks for the comments guys. We just bought a '99 red 1.9TDI Bora, lovely car with a few cosmetic issues which aren't a problem. Tbelt just done, service 10k ago and it really pulls. Lovely car!

L-M

Confab wrote: »

Thanks for the comments guys. We just bought a '99 red 1.9TDI Bora, lovely car with a few cosmetic issues which aren't a problem. Tbelt just done, service 10k ago and it really pulls. Lovely car!

Lovely stuff, do post pics. What year/mileage did he get etc.?