Advice

Jesus.

Hi Gents. I've been reading this Board for over a year now but never signed up. I finally took the plunge as I need some advice from you lads!!

My auld bus failed the NCT the other day and its not worth getting it fixed. Its a '99 Almera Saloon. Got 6 years out of her without a single bother but she's finished now. I have to get another Motor in the next week or two so I was wondering if you boys could help me.

I've only got around 3 grand to play with so I can't get much. I visited a yard yesterday and there were a few cars there within range. One was an 03 1.6 Laguna with 95k on the clock. NCT is until November. He's looking for 1,950 and says he'll give me 500 for the Almera for parts so it'd work out at 1,450 cash. There was an 06 Lancer 1.6 there too which is at 4k. I might be able to stretch to that. Its NCT'd too. Another one was an 03 Mondeo 1.8 with 133k on the clock but crucially, has no NCT. I'm not sure but do Garages have to have an NCT on a car when they sell it?

What do you reckon guys? Out of the three, I'm hankering toward the Laguna. The Lancer is just a tad too sporty looking for me. But I'll still get it if its the best buy!

Any replies and/or advice greatly appreciated lads. I'm based in North Dublin so hopefully I'll be able to find one or two more yards that I can scout around to broaden my options.

Much appreciated fellas.

jimgoose

Both my cars are '99. How broken could it be? What did it fail on?

bazz26

Don't just limit yourself to looking at one garage especially if it is just a guy selling from a yard.

Also in this price range you will get better value from buying private than from dealers who tend to take someone else's cast off as a trade-in in this price range.

Jesus.

jimgoose wrote: »

Both my cars are '99. How broken could it be? What did it fail on?

Och she failed on a few things. The CV joint is worn, the air bags aren't working and both CV boots on the front are bollixed. There was one or two other things he said but I can't think of them off hand.

No point ploughing a load of cash into a Motor only worth a few hundred quid mate, you know?

166man

Wouldn't go near a Laguna of that vintage even if it had a fresh NCT and a pile of history tbh......

jimgoose

Jesus. wrote: »

Och she failed on a few things. The CV joint is worn, the air bags aren't working and both CV boots on the front are bollixed. There was one or two other things he said but I can't think of them off hand.

No point ploughing a load of cash into a Motor only worth a few hundred quid mate, you know?

Oh sure I know. But that CV stuff is cheap enough for them yokes, and I'd nearly bet that your airbag problem is the old SRS warning light because of loose/worn wiring in the loom under one of the seats. Most of them are linked to the seatbelt tensioner.

Good luck with the search!

JustLen

You should really look further afield than that one dealer you visited. Drive a few cars you like that are in your price range first and then you can look for deceny examples of that model.

Something that is suggested here often that may suit you is a mazda 3, take a look on donedeal you should get agood one within budget

Jesus.

bazz26 wrote: »

Don't just limit yourself to looking at one garage especially if it is just a guy selling from a yard.

You're right. I'm heading out to today to see if I can find some more. I've found though, that in my price range, its only these "yard" kind of dealers where there's cars available. Most of the reputable dealer's used cars are at the other end of the market.

"Also in this price range you will get better value from buying private than from dealers who tend to take someone else's cast off as a trade-in in this price range."

Do you reckon? I always figured you might have a bit of come back if you bought from a dealer as opposed to a private purchase. Although when you buy something that's cheap and chancy and it claps out on you in the first week, I suppose the dealer can just say "not my problem" too.

Cheensbo

Jesus. wrote: »

Och she failed on a few things. The CV joint is worn, the air bags aren't working and both CV boots on the front are bollixed. There was one or two other things he said but I can't think of them off hand.

No point ploughing a load of cash into a Motor only worth a few hundred quid mate, you know?

Jaysus if the rest of the stuff is small, you'd probably get away with not much more than 100-150 quid to sort it if you're clever about where you get the bits & can do the work yourself...

I'd keep her if twas me, at least you know where it stands mechanically if you get the work done..

valerossi

Shop around lad a dealer is considered a safe option but a car with a service history and full dealer baking will cost more were as done deal and such will be cheaper. If you can take your time do have a good shop around you could easily find a car with 2 years nct for your money and with a recent nct you no your shocks, bushes, cv's, tires, tracking, breaks etc. are al good. So after that all you have to look at is if she is mechanically sound which you can do with a good test drive and minimal knowledge about mechanics. Best of luck with your hunt for a new car and maybe consider repairing you old one so its not a complete loss

T-Maxx

Jesus wouldn't worry about the NCT.

galwaytt

changing one's car over CV boots must be a record, surely ?

bazz26

Jesus. wrote: »

You're right. I'm heading out to today to see if I can find some more. I've found though, that in my price range, its only these "yard" kind of dealers where there's cars available. Most of the reputable dealer's used cars are at the other end of the market.

"Also in this price range you will get better value from buying private than from dealers who tend to take someone else's cast off as a trade-in in this price range."

Do you reckon? I always figured you might have a bit of come back if you bought from a dealer as opposed to a private purchase. Although when you buy something that's cheap and chancy and it claps out on you in the first week, I suppose the dealer can just say "not my problem" too.

Thing is that in this price range and age what a dealer will offer you in warranty will be the bare minimum. I think you have kind of proved that in that you were being sold a car with no NCT. I certainly would not put much additional monetary value into what a dealer will offer you over a private seller in this price range and age of car. With either I would still certainly have any car checked over comprehensively by a qualified mechanic.

Jesus.

galwaytt wrote: »

changing one's car over CV boots must be a record, surely ?

There was more than that I'm afraid, but I think its time to change anyway: Its a 14 year old Almera worth about 500 Euro! Na, time to upgrade a wee bit I think.

Thanks for all the replies lads. I'm checking through Done Deal right now.

Greatly appreciated.

ION08

Almera seems to have served you well over the years and based on what you said its by no means "dead". If you just fancy a change on the other hand, thats a different story (dont blame you tbh)

Almeras of that era are generally bulletproof cars when it comes to reliability and can put up with a lot of abuse. Youre barking at the wrong tree with the Laguna, stay well away.

Lancer would be far superior car overall even if it is a bit bland (not that youll notice coming from an almera)

Corolla would be another good buy or Honda civic saloon.

How about an octavia or a mondeo?

Jesus.

ION08 wrote: »

How about an octavia or a mondeo?

Absolutely. Anything with a new/recent NCT. It is risky buying cars at this end of the market no matter what you go for so I'm just trying to minimise that risk.

The thing about going private is that I'll still have the old bus to get rid of. Most dealers will take a trade in so I'll get a few hundred off the next car.

bazz26

Jesus. wrote: »

Absolutely. Anything with a new/recent NCT. It is risky buying cars at this end of the market no matter what you go for so I'm just trying to minimise that risk.

The thing about going private is that I'll still have the old bus to get rid of. Most dealers will take a trade in so I'll get a few hundred off the next car.

You are not getting any financial gain by trading in a knackered Almera. Anything they give you in a trade-in allowance will just be added back onto the price of the car they are selling you. There is no profit to be made by a dealer on spending a lot of money on getting your old car into a sellable condition.

So by offering you €500 for it all he is doing is fudging the figures to make them favorable to you. If he is offering you €500 for the Almera then all he is doing is removing the discount off the newer car.

ION08

bazz26 wrote: »

You are not getting any financial gain by trading in a knackered Almera. Anything they give you in a trade-in allowance will just be added back onto the price of the car they are selling you. There is no profit to be made by a dealer on spending a lot of money on getting your old car into a sellable condition.

So by offering you €500 for it all he is doing is fudging the figures to make them favorable to you. If he is offering you €500 for the Almera then all he is doing is removing the discount off the newer car.

Exactly, dealer will then have the Almera on the house or maybe standing them 100 quid. Theyll spend maybe another 150 getting it Nct'ed and flog it off for 1,000-1,500 with a New Nct which somebody else will be more than happy to pay as its coming from a "dealer" :rolleyes:

Best thing to do would be to try get your car through the nct and flog it off on donedeal, (youll still get a couple of hundered even without nct) then add that cash to what you have and go car hunting on donedeal for a replacement ... bring somebody with you who knows about cars and youll end uo much better off

Cee-Jay-Cee

The Lancer would be the best if the 3 cars you looked at. Push him for 3500 on it.

Wouldn't touch Laguna of any type no matter how much it cost. They're not good cars and you'll end up spending the difference between it and the lancer in repairs over the next few years.

randy hickey

Come on over to the dark side Jesus!

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4909854

Jesus.

bazz26 wrote: »

You are not getting any financial gain by trading in a knackered Almera. Anything they give you in a trade-in allowance will just be added back onto the price of the car they are selling you. There is no profit to be made by a dealer on spending a lot of money on getting your old car into a sellable condition.

So by offering you €500 for it all he is doing is fudging the figures to make them favorable to you. If he is offering you €500 for the Almera then all he is doing is removing the discount off the newer car.

The only thing is though mate is that the price of the car on the internet is 1,950 and he said he'll sell it to me for 1,450 with the banger. If that's the stated price, wouldn't I actually be getting something off it by getting the price down?

randy hickey wrote: »

Come on over to the dark side Jesus!

Who are you? Satan?

delly

Jesus. wrote: »

The only thing is though mate is that the price of the car on the internet is 1,950 and he said he'll sell it to me for 1,450 with the banger. If that's the stated price, wouldn't I actually be getting something off it by getting the price down?

But the next person could go in with cash in hand and haggle him down to €1,600 or less. He isn't really giving you €500 euro for your car as he may already have that window to reduce in price anyway. It just makes it easier for it to be classed as a trade in reduction.

Two factors OP, trust the experienced hands around here who say that it is worth selling on your Almera privately and secondly that you would be better buying private for a low value sale. If you have any major issue with a car at that price, any 'yard' type dealer will make some excuse to say they are not covering the issue. You are better finding a car with an owner who can show it's service history or some other form of evidence of having looked after it.

Jesus.

delly wrote: »

But the next person could go in with cash in hand and haggle him down to €1,600 or less. He isn't really giving you €500 euro for your car as he may already have that window to reduce in price anyway. It just makes it easier for it to be classed as a trade in reduction.

Two factors OP, trust the experienced hands around here who say that it is worth selling on your Almera privately and secondly that you would be better buying private for a low value sale. If you have any major issue with a car at that price, any 'yard' type dealer will make some excuse to say they are not covering the issue. You are better finding a car with an owner who can show it's service history or some other form of evidence of having looked after it.

I think you're right there mate. Its good advice is that.

delly

Jesus. wrote: »

I think you're right there mate. Its good advice is that.

You've probably seen the bangeromics thread, but here are 3 random selections that look decent enough on the surface. All around the one and a half k mark, but just an example of what you can get.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4966059

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4997120

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4996077

Jesus.

delly wrote: »

You've probably seen the bangeromics thread, but here are 3 random selections that look decent enough on the surface. All around the one and a half k mark, but just an example of what you can get.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4966059

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4997120

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4996077

Cheers mate, they're some good selections. That M6 looks well.

Another thing. I've only ever bought in Dublin near where I live. Would it be worth tipping down the Country if I spot a decent car on Done Deal like that M6 in Monaghan? Can't see why not really. I guess I just never considered it before.

Bangeromics thread? I'll give it a look now.

delly

Jesus. wrote: »

Cheers mate, they're some good selections. That M6 looks well.

Another thing. I've only ever bought in Dublin near where I live. Would it be worth tipping down the Country if I spot a decent car on Done Deal like that M6 in Monaghan? Can't see why not really. I guess I just never considered it before.

Bangeromics thread? I'll give it a look now.

It would be worth it if you get a good vibe from the seller, get as much info in advance and see if they are willing to entertain answering questions. If the car has any service history you could check beforehand, you could also do a check on cartell.ie or motorcheck.ie before heading out.

A very basic and free check you can do is to put the reg into motortax.ie in the 'VEHICLE STATUS ENQUIRY SEARCH'. This will tell you if a car has changed hands in the last 3 months, not necessarily ruling it out, but gives you something to think about.

166man

ION08 wrote: »

Exactly, dealer will then have the Almera on the house or maybe standing them 100 quid. Theyll spend maybe another 150 getting it Nct'ed and flog it off for 1,000-1,500 with a New Nct which somebody else will be more than happy to pay as its coming from a "dealer" :rolleyes:

Can't imagine any seller or indeed any buyer spending €1k or more on a tired old Nissan Almera tbh...

I do agree on the sell privately part though. He will get more but sometimes it's easier to just trade it in and save the hassle.

Jesus.

delly wrote: »

A very basic and free check you can do is to put the reg into motortax.ie in the 'VEHICLE STATUS ENQUIRY SEARCH'. This will tell you if a car has changed hands in the last 3 months, not necessarily ruling it out, but gives you something to think about.

Just did that on the car I was looking at mate and the Dealer bought it in March.

So I'm guessing that he's gotten it on a trade-in and is flipping it. But isn't that what dealers do? Is it necessarily a bad thing?

delly

Jesus. wrote: »

Just did that on the car I was looking at mate and the Dealer bought it in March.

So I'm guessing that he's gotten it on a trade-in and is flipping it. But isn't that what dealers do? Is it necessarily a bad thing?

That would be right for a dealer, but the check is more useful for private sellers.

Jesus.

delly wrote: »

That would be right for a dealer, but the check is more useful for private sellers.

I get ya now.