help with buying a used car

[macklin]

I am about to buy my first car and I want to borrow only $5.000 (that is all I can afford) I have of course been warned about the pitfalls.

Can anybody advise me on what to look for regarding the machanics or possible roadworthy pitfalls I may encounter. Any help would be very welcome. I have a couple of friends that will come with me as a backup. (in case i get tempted). I can get a bank loan or I can get a loan via the dealer with whatever finance company they deal with.

thank you very much for any advice.


Jean Bloom

[Gingermick]

I'll sell you my 94 Camry wagon for $3000 :D

[macklin]

thanks but I live in wonthaggi vic it will cost almost that much to pick it up and return. :no:

[Gingermick]

Would be a fun trip though :)

[Sir Stinkalot]

Just bought a new (used) car myself ..... not good fun.

As you don't have a trade in that is about to die, like mine, you should take your time. I am certainly no expert but here are my tips:

1. Wait until the end of the month. Car yards have sales deadlines and as the end of the month draws near they will be looking at trying to get their numbers up and are more willing to deal. If they have reached their targets try one that hasn't yet, should be obvious.

2. Don't pay the ticket price ...... they obviously need to make some money but don't make it easy for them. You can use it to your advantage that you dont have a trade in .... if you are only after a $5000 car they can count themselves lucky that you aren't trying to trade in a $500 car.

3. Don't be scared to walk away .... you are in control, they will come to the party if they feel you are going to walk away from the sale. There are plenty of cars on the market, but you are only one buyer ..... they don't want to let you go.

4. Try looking during the week. It would appear that weekends are the busy times for used cars so as with point 1 they are looking at getting a sale in the books prior to the weekend. I was doing preliminary research on the Monday with the aim of looking on Saturday. I had a dealer that drove across town to my work to look at the trade in, and then offered to bring a range of cars over to test drive to try and get me signed up before the weekend. He was very keen to get a sale before the weekend. In the end he also dropped the new car off at work and picked up the trade in.

5. Don't tell them your full budget up front. I understand that you don't have alot to play with but if you say that you are looking at spending $4k, you can convince them that you may be able to find an extra $1k if the deal is spot on.

6. If you are really keen on a car it would pay to have it checked by the RACV or better still a trusted mechanic (or friends mechanic). The results of the RACV test can help with negotiations, ie mention that x needs repairing and will cost $y try and get a percentage reduced from the overall price.

7. Do your research on the net and make sure you tell the dealer that you are looking at a number of different cars at different dealers. When you go and view take along a note book and the print outs and make it appear that you are comparing a number of different vehicles, it will help them try and keep you happy.

Depending on the number of k's on the car you should get a dealer warranty of 30 days from memory.
I haven't purchased a car with finance before so I cant comment on if it is better to get a bank loan or use their finance company. My guess would be that there is a kickback to the dealer if you use their finance, but from my experience with retail that isn't passed back to the customer and they end up paying a higher item price than if they paid cash.

Hope this is of some help ......

[bfx]

Jean,

If you have to borrow, try to stick with the major banks and get a personal loan. Try to avoid HP agreements with banks and any agreements with finance companies (including those owned by the banks). Why?: generally bank loans will have lower penalties, establishment costs etc.

Good luck

Bill

[dazzler]

Hi Jean

What are your tastes?

Old or modern?

Do you need aircon, power windows etc

My advice to young friends/relatives as a first car a VW beetle is a really good option. The reason being is that anyone can work on one and learn at the same time.

There is a book called the Idiots Guide to the VW Beetle by John Muir and it talks anyone through the steps to do everything but reco the gearbox.

If this is not your cup of tea than a late model (98 to 00) hyundai excel is a good bet. With 400,000 sold here there are plenty of spares and though they are not up to the build standard of jap cars they seem to go on and on and on.

Also try to get a personal loan not a car loan so you have cash to pay with to get a better deal.

cheers and good luck.

[Iain]

We bought a car for girlchild just over a year ago, it was a 95 Foulcan wagon with a few extras.
We encountered a few problems along the way, rear wiper didn't work, rear demister didn't work, starter motor had a massive hernia and a few other things.
The dealer was the Holden dealership in Cranbourne and they were great, they even came out and towed the car when the starter motor died.
I hate dealers but this lot were really good.
Just my 2c worth on dealers, but there are some shifty bastards out there.

[macklin]

thank you all for your replies I really appreciate them

indeed it would be good fun going to queensland if i got a bankloan to pay for the car by the time i got there i would have nothing left to buy the car :C

you have all been helpfull and i do appreciate it

i will go for the personal loan from the bank and wave the money in front of the dealer as i backpedal by the time the 3 of us have finished i think he will be glad to give us the car to get rid of us. one of my friends is a member of the racv i think she said she can get them to come out on her membership ????????

once again thank you all

jean bloom

[jow104]

Elderly ladies can be a good source.
Sometimes they can be mean as well.

[Iain]

Elderly ladies can be a good source.
Sometimes they can be mean as well.

Nymphomaniacs too, only the back seat was used:rolleyes: :wink:

[jow104]

Oddly enough Iain, I added something on similar lines but decided to delete the addition before using the send button.:wink:

[Sir Stinkalot]

Dont discount the option of a private sale ..... you will be able to pick up a good quality used car without the car yard mark up. Obviously you will need to be careful as there is no warranty. We purchased the Stinkettes car privately from a family who were putting the owner into a home, very low km's, was serviced by the book even when it hadn't come close to reaching the service k's .... all in all a good buy.