Advice needed

water-man

Will be buying a car soon but I am a complete idiot when it comes to cars. So I am hoping you guys will be able to help me.

Basically I am wondering what kind of questions should I be asking and how do I know if the seller is telling the truth?

Should I buy from a garage as I know very little or become friends with someone who knows a bit about cars and take them with me?

I am not concerend about the make of car or if its a desiel or petrol, yet. Am just loking for a few pointers.

Thanks.

jhegarty

water-man wrote:

Will be buying a car soon but I am a complete idiot when it comes to cars. So I am hoping you guys will be able to help me.

Basically I am wondering what kind of questions should I be asking and how do I know if the seller is telling the truth?

Should I buy from a garage as I know very little or become friends with someone who knows a bit about cars and take them with me?

I am not concerend about the make of car or if its a desiel or petrol, yet. Am just loking for a few pointers.

Thanks.

if you are asking these questions , then buy from a reputable garage with a 12 month warranty...

seamus

I'd advise going to a garage if you're looking to buy new. You can haggle them for extras and it also gives you warranties and the like.

If you're buying second hand, going to a dealer also gives you some degree of comeback, since they have legal obligations regarding the sale, but they also tend to charge a little more, and the vehicle is more likely to be "clocked" - rolling back the odometer to make it looks as if less mileage is on the car.

Basic rule of buying privately, second-hand is to always being someone else with you, even if they know nothing about cars. A second head who isn't looking to buy helps see things in a more "Don't rush into this" mode, and may also spot little things that you overlook. If you can, take it for a test-drive, or even have the seller drive you around in it, watching out for any "tweaks" he has to make while driving (having to force the gear stick, revving the engine unnecessarily while taking off), as this can give you an indicator of things that may be wrong with the car.

If the car has no service history, walk away. If you don't have your own experience to back you up, then the work of a decent garage is what you're relying on.
As for mileage (chances are all second hand car you look at will still have miles ), you're look at an average of 10k a year for any car. In reality, 7.5k is the lower end of the scale, and 15k is the upper end of the scale, but 10k gives you an indicator of how much use the car has gotten.

If the mileage seems too low to be true, it probably is, the car has probably been clocked (though you will find little old ladies with 7 year old cars with less than 10k on the clock). Even if not, low mileage on a vehicle can also give you problems, since engines need to be both used and taken care of to work smoothly. If the mileage seems very high (say 150k in 5 years), then it wants to have a full service history with very regular services to be worth looking at.

bazz26

Best to buy from a garage at least you have a warrenty and some comback if buy trouble. Best to bring someone with you who has experience of buying cars or even a mechanic friend all the better. An extra set of eyes is handy for spotting damage or respraying plus also if they are able to haggle. Never pay the asking price and stick to the budget you have set out with.

If you are not sure what your buying then do not buy from a private seller, they would see you a mile away and more than likely tell you want you want to hear while getting the most money from you. You then have no come back as you buy the car on a "sold as seen" basis.

Scruff

am in the same boat as water-man.
i'm looking at a 2nd hand car (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=220528) but the garage said on the phone that they the warranty was only for 3 months and only covered gearbox and engine.
sound a bit suss?