Advice for buying brand new car

Hi all, I have never bought a new car, but I'm going to get one this year for my mother. she is 70 and has always driven micras! I'm going to try persuade her to go with something else.

Anyway, how do I buy a brand new car?

Can I haggle the price? Should I trade in her old car or sell privately? What should I look out for? Any tips much appreciated

Margaret Clarke

Sell privately. You’ll get more. Don’t forget the stealer, I mean dealer, has to get their pound of flesh from your car. So they’ll rip you off. I was offered €300 for a trade in and I got €1000 selling privately.

You cannot haggle on a new sell to my knowledge.

Atlantic Dawn

In my opinion the current Micra is light years behind the current era of super mini's, I'd avoid getting her another. Lots of cars now come with driving aids that will appeal to the elderly, things like parking sensors and reversing cameras. I'd look at the Toyota Yaris, perhaps go for the hybrid model as this will be automatic, making it easier to drive.

How old is her current car? If it has NCT and running it has a value, might be better to trade it in with the current price of used cars if buying new.

You should research first what she wants, go to the websites of the manufacturer and see what each spec level of the car gives, perhaps from the outset look for minimum she will want, perhaps parking sensors, reversing camera, automatic, air conditioning to start with and then reduce the list down to what she would be happy to drive.

She then should visit the main dealers and test drive each car to see what appeals to her, some might be great on paper but terrible to drive. When happy with the car ask the dealer for the price to change, this will be the price to buy the new car including the trade-in discount for her current car. Visit 3 dealers so you can compare pricing.

The new car market is all over the place at the moment, stock shortages, waiting lists etc etc, back in the day if a car was in stock you might be able to haggle as the dealer knew they could have another to replace it on the boat in a few weeks, now it's many months. Some cars may be pre-registered for sale, these will have the dealer as owner 1 and if you bought it you would be owner 2, they will just have delivery mileage on them, these may appeal to you if you are not fussy on colour or if the colour is what you want. For a specific order of a car there may still be unregistered stock within the country, otherwise you will wait for delivery from the manufacturer.

naughtysmurf

When you decide what make, model & trim level you want just walk into a dealer & tell him you’re interested, take a test drive or two, give the car a good look over so your sure it suits your needs & you like it, check boot space etc, as a driver I’d always sit in the back too.

once happy, put a deposit down, arrange finance through dealer if needed, do some paperwork, you may have to wait for delivery, if the current car is older then a private sale may be best, second hand car values have increased over the last while.

you can always go to a number of dealers, say VW if it’s a Polo you’re interested in & play them off each other for the best deal

the actual process is pretty straightforward

road_high

Thought the latest Micra was fairly competitive?

Her current car is a 2013 Micra, kept well, don't know about mileage, not too high I would guess.

I would be paying cash for the car, does that make any difference?

Buddy Bubs

I tried to get my 68 year old mother out of her 07 Micra, myself and my brother were going to buy her a brand new car, superfine whichever one she wanted. No way, she knows where all the buttons are on the current car and no interest in another! Make sure she does want to change in the first place.

naughtysmurf

You won’t get much on a new one I’d say, at best & it’s a pure guess 2or 3% maybe, more likely they’ll throw in stuff like mats etc, get a price of one & go to another, ask them to better it, is probably your best option on reducing overall cost

travist

I think they prefer ability to offer you finance, than your cash.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118922776#Comment_118922776

She could well be the same, but she'll be getting a new one anyway😁

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118922835#Comment_118922835

I'm sure they would! I'll be paying cash though

billyhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118922886#Comment_118922886

She mightn't like all the buttons and mod cons etc.

Buddy Bubs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118922886#Comment_118922886

My mother has had the micra from new in 07 no interest in changing because of tech. I wish she would the offer is still there for her.

AMKC

I tried also to get my mother to change from her Kia Rio saloon to an Octavia not brand new but newer. Not a change. She likes her cassette player. Although these days she barely drives it at all anyway so hardly worth changing it. It's still going great for an 08. See what I done there lol.

Seen a lovely Fiat Tipo saloon online petrol going for a good price. But I doubt she would change. Probably gone now anyway.

Edit. Yep it's gone :( . 12k for a 15reg I think it was.

road_high

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118922676#Comment_118922676

Was a poor model Micra, Nissan decided to go for cheap fit and finish effectively damaging the Micra “brand”. Though there’s still a ready market for them as there’s cheaper than it’s peer cars but definitely not as good.

travist

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118922889#Comment_118922889

I don't think it will make any difference to pay in cash then. Probably less likely to get a discount by paying in cash.

colm_mcm

I’d say something like the new model Hyundai i10 would be worth a look, she may not want a bigger car than she has.

cml387

If your mother is happy with her Micra (2013 is not that old and I'd say it's low mileage) why change?

You may think you're great getting her a new car, but then it just becomes a worry to her, afraid she might damage it etc. etc.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118924957#Comment_118924957

There is an issue with the car, she has had 5 batteries in it since new. I took it to different places, including 'battery specialists' no one found anything wrong and just blamed the battery itself 🙄

she has a charging machine in the boot that she regularly has to charge the battery as the car is dead. If not driven everyday

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118924711#Comment_118924711

We have Hyundai cars at work and I Hate them, so light.

cml387

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118924979#Comment_118924979

It seems to me this is a car for you and not your mother. Has she asked for a new car? If you are going to spend €30k on her perhaps she has other things she might prefer to spend it on (and I think we might be straying into the PI forum here😉)

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118925096#Comment_118925096

Nope. she would love a new car because own car lets her down all the time.

Killer K

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118922584#Comment_118922584

You certainly can haggle on a new car. Might not get a huge amount at the moment but you can see the best deal you will get from a number of dealers.

colm_mcm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118924976#Comment_118924976

Fair enough, and the thread is more a buying question rather than what to buy.

Does the car have any aftermarket additions like a non-standard radio? If the battery going flat is the only complaint it would be best to pay somebody 100 to diagnose and fix the power drain issue. If could be something small like a faulty boot light switch leaving the boot light permanently on.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118926875#Comment_118926875

Oh I did that! Two different 'battery specialist ' as well as countless other garages, none of whom could diagnose a problem. All said, it's a dud battery. Bad luck to get 4 dud batteries in a row......

Atlantic Dawn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118926875#Comment_118926875

Could be low useage too like doing 3 miles a week, that will kill a battery too.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118926910#Comment_118926910

True. And unfortunately the new car will likely suffer from the flat battery issue as well if the driving pattern stays the same.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118927116#Comment_118927116

That is not her driving pattern. Considering she worked 6 days a week up till two years ago, and commuted for 40 miles each day, I don't think it could be anything to do with not driving.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118927139#Comment_118927139

If the battery drainage is the only reason for the change I would try to find a good auto electrician. The process is pretty much divide and conquer. Measure the idle current and if it's more than a few 10s of milliAmps with everything off need to just keep pulling the fuses one by one until the circuit that consumes a lot is found. There are some caveats like the ECUs that keep on running for a minute or two before sleeping but it should be just a "multimeter between the battery negative and the chassis" type of work.

The reason I asked about the aftermarket stereo is that an incorrectly plugged in unit can either use excessive power all the time or stop some body control module etc. going to sleep and thus draining the battery.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118927170#Comment_118927170

Oh I appreciate the advise, but honestly I and she have brought it everywhere! Auto electrician included 😞 No one can seem to find any issue. It's maddening, but it's time for a new one now. She's getting on and I want her to be able to rely on her car.

paul321123

Don't mention that you are a cash buyer until you negotiate the price, they earn more from finance deals.

monseiur

If the lady is elderly consider an automatic gearbox, granted it takes a while to get used to after years driving a standard but once she gets the hang of it she'll never go back. Test drive the VW Polo and/or Golf also Ford Fiesta and Focus. Also Audi A1 - a sturdy, comfortable car.

Regarding the battery problem with the Micra, did you try replacing the altenator ? It could be faulty. Unless money is no object, spending say up to €500 on tracing & rectifying the electrical issue would make more economic sense than forking out up to €30K on something that my be parked up for long periods. Now that Covid is under control (to a point) there's a big world out there waiting to be explored and enjoyed, that's where I'd 'invest' my money not in a shiny tin box with an engine ! Each to their own of course.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118927186#Comment_118927186

It's a sound decision so!

road_high

Audi A1 is a lovely little car alright but mind numbingly expensive- my own mother was looking last year and we just went with a new model Fiesta instead which is a great all rounder and not too tinny for a small car.

AMKC

Dacia Sandero is a great car. Renault Clio too. You would not believe the tech in it. The sister has one and loves it. The touch screen reads out messages from her phone for her for instance. Your mother probably does not need or want tat do so the Sandero might be a better buy.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118928647#Comment_118928647

Great to hear about the touch screen controls that require the driver to take their eyes off the road, with the extra bonus of reading out text messages to add another layer of distraction on top.

McCrack

Ah feck off back to the cycling forum and keep well left so you don't get squashed on the way

Advice I would give is make the salesman work for your money

They need to sell cars and will always have a plan A B or C to get your signature on that piece of paper.

If it don't feel right don't be afraid to walk out that door and never feel pressured to buy something.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118929923#Comment_118929923

You might want to consider the advice from the Institute of Advanced Motorists for cyclists to take primary position on the road.

https://road.cc/content/news/30663-institute-advanced-motorists-launches-membership-scheme-cyclists

brokenangel

My mother wanted a new car and we ended up going electric

Couple of reasons, she hated trying to get into petrol stations to fill up the car. Just didn't like it and the whole process of filling the car

I wanted to move her to automatic.

My parents also have a free electricity allowance so they could use that to fill the car. They had a house an driveway etc to put in charge point. They never travel a large distance and if going on hols they get one of those bus trips etc

Might be an option

celtic_oz

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118929852#Comment_118929852

Not at all. She is well able to multitask being a Woman and and a very good driver too.

The ironic part is when she was young she said she would never drive a car but she does now and loves it.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118955703#Comment_118955703

No-one can focus on two things at one time. Multi-tasking is a myth.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/creativity-without-borders/201405/the-myth-multitasking

You can't see what's happening on the road in front of you when you're looking at a touch screen.

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118955817#Comment_118955817

That is the great thing do. She does not need to look at the touchscreen. It reads out the message to her and then she sends her message by speaking what she wants to say. Just like talking to a passenger in the car beside you which loads of drivers do every day.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118956082#Comment_118956082

That's not a touch screen. A touch screen involves touching the screen.

You're talking about voice interpretation services, which also distract the driver. Are people really kidding themselves that they're so important that the other person can't wait till the end of the journey?

McCrack

The motoring forum has taken a nose dive lately, it's been infiltrated by the spandex wearing cycling crusaders victor meldrew types

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118922889#Comment_118922889

Try not to tell a dealer that you are paying cash, until they agree a price

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118956263#Comment_118956263

Indeed it has

User1998

Seems like OP has deleted their account anyway

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118956263#Comment_118956263

Wait until you find out that many cyclists actually drive.