Buying A Second Hand Car

[DimPrawn]

Watch out for when the timing/cam belt needs replacing. On some cars this job can cost £1K and even a cheap cambelt change is a few hundred quid. So find proof it has been done of doesn't need doing for ages.

[Manic]

My car has six wheels including the spare, you lot have some odd cars.

[swamp]

Watch out for when the timing/cam belt needs replacing. On some cars this job can cost £1K and even a cheap cambelt change is a few hundred quid. So find proof it has been done of doesn't need doing for ages.

+1

Remember a logbook entry saying the cambelt was changed means nothing. You need to see the actual invoice.

[Bagpuss]

I need to...what should I be looking for when I inspect a second hand car ?

The ones I do

Take the oil cap off and look for white sludge= head gasket going.
Similarly their should be no oil in the water reservoir

Run your finger under the welding where the wings meet the engine bay, If ths crumpled in any way it's been crashed

Check the gaps between panels are consistent

With engine running, put the handbrake on, select first gear and slowly let the clutch out. If it doesn't stall quickly the clutch is going

On a straight, even road (allowing for camber) lighten off on the wheel and see it it starts to pull in one direction, more than you would expect.


Look for overspray on the rubber surronding the windscreen

Have alook on the drive for oil.

check in the boot, under the spare (if it has one) for the state of the boot well. Often this is a hotspot for rust.

check the tyre tread for uneven wear,could be an easy fix, or indicate the car is bent

check the seats and stearing wheel for wear, if the plastic is overly shinny, or seats/pedals are worn it could have been clocked

turn air-con and radio off when taking the test drive and listen for knocks

check the sills for damage/rust.

Have a look at the service history, If it's patchy and the mileage is leggy, make sure the cambelt was changed

Have a look to see when the car was bought, if recently it's shagged or it's
a trader

If you want to test is a private seller is really a dealer (trying to escape rsponsibilities) then when initially enquiring ask "Is the car for sale" rather than naming it, a dealer will ask "which one" or "do you mean the xxx?" a private seller will instntly know what you mean.

Do an HPI check, start at about £3 these days

If it's an expensive car get an AA inspection

Good luck

[kaiser78]

Thanks for the advice - both the useful and not so useful responses...

I am looking at spending £2.5k-£3k on a 'reserve' car, ie for the occasional weekend use when say the other half is out in the main car and I need to get somewhere as well (or vice versa) for example.

Any ideas for a good reliable car in this budget ?

[Churchill]

Have a look on the drive for oil.

In the case of buying a secondhand Jag, if there's no oil on the drive then there's no oil in the car!

[Scary]

Set yourself a budget of 500-600 pounds, look for a P11 Nissan Primera, if it drives nicely, buy it. Bulletproof chain driven engine, big and comfy, should last forever. If it does break, chuck it away and buy another.

[DimPrawn]

Thanks for the advice - both the useful and not so useful responses...

I am looking at spending £2.5k-£3k on a 'reserve' car, ie for the occasional weekend use when say the other half is out in the main car and I need to get somewhere as well (or vice versa) for example.

Any ideas for a good reliable car in this budget ?

Cheaper option may be to use a taxi for short journeys, a train or hire a car (costs about £25 per day all in) for longer journeys.

Having a car (that is not a fun car) just for the odd weekend is an expensive thing to do.

[Bagpuss]

Thanks for the advice - both the useful and not so useful responses...

I am looking at spending £2.5k-£3k on a 'reserve' car, ie for the occasional weekend use when say the other half is out in the main car and I need to get somewhere as well (or vice versa) for example.

Any ideas for a good reliable car in this budget ?

Don't go for a popular model/brand, you'll just end up with an older car. It may be more relaible compared to others of the same age, but the newer (less popular) car will nearly always beat it.

I'd look at Citroen, Ford or Vauxhall. Citroen's depreciate really quickly, not justified IMHO given they are a re-bodied Peugeot. The C5 is cheap as chips, and a very comfy motorway car (using hydrogas suspension like mercs) that would get you an 05/06 for that money.

[sasguru]

Don't go for a popular model/brand, you'll just end up with an older car. It may be more relaible compared to others of the same age, but the newer (less popular) car will nearly always beat it.

I'd look at Citroen, Ford or Vauxhall. Citroen's depreciate really quickly, not justified IMHO given they are a re-bodied Peugeot. The C5 is cheap as chips, and a very comfy motorway car (using hydrogas suspension like mercs) that would get you an 05/06 for that money.

C5 is unreliable, no? And the hydrogas is expensive to fix?