Confused first time car buyer

DeadlyByDesign

Hi all. First time car buyer and tbh I haven’t a clue what I should be looking for. I have a budget of 2,500, needs to be a minimum of an 02 year, And a hatchback. Can the more knowledgeable folk tell me what I should expect to pay? Is Carzone.ie and sites of that ilk the way to go? What kind of mileage I should expect to see within that year timeframe?

scooby girl no1

you'll be better finding something on donedeal.ie

murrayp4

Suggested sticky: First time car buying (maybe in the Learning to Drive forum?)

Average mileage for a 1.4 petrol engined car would be 10 to 15K miles per annum so an 02 with anything from 80K miles to 120K miles is not out of the way. Anything less is a bonus. Seems as you are asking the question I'll presume you are not too familiar with buying a car, safest course of action

- take someone who has a clue with you
- buy from a reputable dealer that preferrably someone you know has dealt with and has recommended
- full service history is no harm with a car
- recent timing belt change
- 12 months NCT minimum left on it
- good tyres

If you don't have a clue you could be sold a lemon fairly easily so I'd avoid donedeal as there are many casual traders masquerading as private sellers on it, some / many of them are dodgy.

DeadlyByDesign

RoverJames wrote: »

Average mileage for a 1.4 petrol engined car would be 10 to 15K miles per annum so an 02 with anything from 80K miles to 120K miles is not out of the way. Anything less is a bonus. Seems as you are asking the question I'll presume you are not too familiar with buying a car, safest course of action

- take someone who has a clue with you
- buy from a reputable dealer that preferrably someone you know has dealt with and has recommended
- full service history is no harm with a car
- recent timing belt change
- 12 months NCT minimum left on it
- good tyres

If you don't have a clue you could be sold a lemon fairly easily so I'd avoid donedeal as there are many casual traders masquerading as private sellers on it, some / many of them are dodgy.

Thanks RoverJames, some points there I was oblivious too.

DeadlyByDesign

DeadlyByDesign wrote: »

Thanks RoverJames, some points there I was oblivious too.

Do you fancy a Corolla / Focus sized car or a Yaris / Fiesta type ?
If you have an idea of a preference folks may well be able to suggest suitable cars

DeadlyByDesign

More along the size of Yaris is the way I am going.

murrayp4

RoverJames wrote: »

Do you fancy a Corolla / Focus sized car or a Yaris / Fiesta type ?
If you have an idea of a preference folks may well be able to suggest suitable cars

I'm in the same boat as Deadlybydesign, looking for first car, 2.5k, 1.3/1.4 corolla/focus size, advice appreciated. Hope I'm not hijacking the thread

Don't by a 1.4 Focus

mlmcelligott

give this a quick read - http://www.aaireland.ie/infodesk/buying_a_used_car.asp

Also Id definitely take someone who has an idea about cars with you.

Ask all the usual questions
Has it ever been crashed?
How many owners has it had?
Why are you selling it?
Has it given any trouble lately?
When is its next service?
etc.

Go to view it on a dry day because you wont see all the scratches when its being rained on. Also put your hand on the bonnet to see has the engine been started before you go there (the bonnet will be warm if it has). If it has then maybe the owner is hiding the fact that its not good at cold starts etc.

When you take it for a test drive leave the radio off as you want to listen out for any odd engine noises or knocking sounds that might indicate worn busings on the suspension or shot shocks. take it down the worst road you can find or over a few speed bumps so you'll hear if anything is loose.

After that start finding faults and try to get some money off of it. If you think there is anything odd about the car or the owner/dealer then walk away. the country is full of used cars at the mo and theres great deals to be done everywhere.