Recommendations for first car (automatic)

antimatterx

Hi

I'm looking to buy my first car and work towards my full licence. I've never really been into cars. I don't like driving. I'm late to starting (late 20s), and I have no idea what to even look for.

I'm looking for something that's automatic. I'm not comfortable with manual and I won't be doing my test in one.

Budget is max 20K. Ideally closer to 17, but that could be an awful budget.

User1998

€20k for a first car? Would you not just spend €5k and get something cheap and reliable that you won’t mind getting a few dings and scratches in? Something like a Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda etc. They are all bulletproof reliable and there are tons of automatic ones for sale.

antimatterx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122220126#Comment_122220126

I'd much rather spend 5K. See I really don't know anything about cars and it shows.

antimatterx

Is DoneDeal the best place to look for cars?

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122220138#Comment_122220138

Done Deal has everyone from private sellers to dodgy dealers to reputable main dealers advertising.

If you really know nothing about cars best to reach out to a friend or relative to help you.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122220133#Comment_122220133

If you put filters into Donedeal such as

Min price €4,000

Max price €6,000

Min year 2010

Max engine size 1.2

Transmission Auto

Fuel Petrol

And maybe set it to Dealer adds only if you don’t know much about cars. You’ll get some sort of warranty and a new NCT etc. That would be my advice for a first car anyway.

hoodie6029

Best of luck with learning to drive and getting a car. I’ll post the old buying advice thread below. Great info still in it.
Definitely go for something cheap to learn in. Not saying you’ll damage it, just not worth the risk.
Make sure whatever you’re buying has a valid NCT for a minimum of 6 months, preferably much more. It’s one less headache to worry about. You can filter them by NCT status on DoneDeal now too.

Check the motor tax rate and disc expiry on it too. You can check the rate online but the seller will have to tell you the expiry.
Get a few insurance quotes too. First time driver, you’d want to be getting a car with a 1.2 or 1.4 max engine size to keep the quote down.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2056198864/buying-a-used-car-in-ireland-guide

freshpopcorn

Out of interest what cars did you drive in the past and how did you find them?

Mad_Lad

Definitely spend as little as possible on cars, there are many good clean petrol cars out there as many are overlooked for the new reg on cheap pcp.

Many dealers now charging 5-6K more for cars since Brexit despite dealer lots all over the Island littered with 2nd hand cars they can't sell but refuse to sell them at their true value thinking Brexit would have made them a fortune.

Whatever car you have your mind set on do the car check on motorcheck.ie or one of the sites.

Post a couple of cars here and we can take a look.

Good advice above, use the search filters, check for valid current NCT with at least 1 years left.

Check for service history.

Check mileage matches NCT certs etc.

Check if big maintenance is due such as timing belt, if it's done check for receipt but ideally bring along someone who knows a bit about what to look out for when buying a car.