Some help on buying a used car

RichardAnd

Hi everyone.

I'm planning on buying a used car to upgrade from my old '00 Micra, a car that served me extremely well over the last decade.

The first thing to mention is that I'm not a car person. Whilst I can tell a Honda from a BMW, I don't know anything about engines or anything "under the hood." That aside, there are a few bullet points I have come up with that I will use to guide my decision. They are:

• Reliable (this is a must).
• Hatchback (I don't like big cars).
• Easy on the petrol.
• Something that's not hard to maintain in terms of servicing and NCTs.
• A car that is no more than 5 years old (avoiding the NCT nonsense every year).
• I want to buy from a dealer as I lack the knowlege to check out a car from a private seller.

My budget would be about 6k, though I could stretch to more if I found something ideal. I don't have a preference towards style as I see a car as a tool and not a toy, though I would prefer to avoid anything that's bright pink.

I've been looking at the Toyota Aygo or the Hyundai i10 but I'm not sure if these very small cars will stand up to fairly heavy use (I drive about 30km a day to get to work) or whether they are suitable for driving on motorways. Otherwise, my dad has suggested an Opel Corsa which is over my budget but I could stretch to the price of one with a little haggling thrown in.

Personally, I would be of a mind simply to buy a newer Micra but the guy who services my current car told me that the newer Micras aren't as well build as the older models, specifically that the engines are not as good.

One final thing to mention is that I don't have a trade in option open to me as I'm passing my old car on to my younger brother (aren't I nice ) so I won't save anything from that.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated

ironclaw

I've been looking at the Toyota Aygo or the Hyundai i10

FYI, very small cars and certainly not for long drives. The Yaris is small and the Aygo is its mini brother.

€6k will go a very long way on the DoneDeal market if your willing to forego the year / NCT clause you set yourself. Why don't you want the hassle of the NCT? It's not that big a deal.

bazz26

Suzuki Swift:

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Suzuki/Swift/1.3-GL/35313675036909940/

Ford Fiesta:

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Ford/Fiesta/STEEL-1.25/35113675125654180/

H3llR4iser

RichardAnd wrote: »

• Reliable (this is a must).

This does not go well with this:

RichardAnd wrote: »

• Something that's not hard to maintain in terms of servicing and NCTs.

There is no such a thing as a maintenance free or nearly maintenance free reliable car, especially considering you are getting a second hand car. Somebody tries to sell a car with nonsense such as "never had to do anything on it", "it will go forever" and the likes, walk away fast.

RichardAnd wrote: »

• I want to buy from a dealer as I lack the knowlege to check out a car from a private seller.

I've seen equal amounts of completely knackered cars from dealers and private sellers. Most of the times, the only thing buying from a dealer guarantees is that you pay more than the car is worth. Go to see the car with somebody that know their way around them (e.g. your mechanic - never trust the guy that "knows cars, he reads Evo!") and you should be fine regardless of where you're buying from.

Also, the car being 5 or 8 years old makes no difference for the NCT, it is carried every 2 years on cars between age 5 and 9, every year for cars aged 10 and over.

There is plenty of choice anyway - the Corsa would be one, Fiat Bravos are also very underrated cars (due to widespread the concept that any non-Japanese or German car falls apart spontaneously as soon as they enter the Irish island). Peugeot 207 maybe?

Curiosity: do you drive 30 KM to work and 30 from work, or is 30 km the round trip?

RichardAnd

Thanks for all the replies, they're very helpful.

I actually didn't know about the site driving.ie, I've been using cars ireland up until now but I'll check it out with a finer eye when I sit down for a bit later.

I did know about the NCT being every two years for cars over four years of age but I can tolerate that, which is what I meant when I mentioned the NCT in y original post. My issue with the NCT is that, in the past, I was failed because my breaklight was not quite orange enough to pass. Getting it fixed cost me money and an day of leave from work, hence my ill disposition towards such a task

My journey to work is 30km when taken as a round-trip, it's 15km each way. I'm getting the impression that I'm not the most experienced person when it comes to buying cars ....

colm_mcm

How do you find the micra? What do you like or dislike? Is it powerful enough for your needs?

Merch

Petrol
focus, corrolla, Mazda 3

Not having a trade in option is not a bad thing, on a 00 Micra well a dealer might be happy to see one, but if its reliable and you are passing it on, then there is better value in going to a dealer without the trade, you are saving them the hassle of disposing/passing it on/selling of your car.

With that in mind, I would be asking them the price and then be enquiring what the no trade in discount is, then Id be looking to squeeze some more out it too