Buying a car - Dave's Tips
So, do I know everything about cars and know exactly what car you should get? No
But, I do know a lot about them, and they are my hobby really, I was brought up helping my uncle fix them, so, yes I do know my way around them. I can diagnose, strip, repair and put them back together again, but these days I tend to leave it to the experts, rather than get my hands dirty myself.
So I can tell you what car to get then? Funny you should ask, no.
I can give you some tips of what to look for and consider, but only you can make the final decision.
It is said, if when you park your car up and walk away, if you don't turn around and look at it, you bought the wrong car.
While this is extreme, they do have a point, get a car you like, not just the one you can afford.
The main things to consider are your budget, that will then lead in to price and availability, but one of the main things to consider, especially as a new driver, is the cost of the insurance
Talking of insurance, always get some quotes as part of the narrowing down process, use one of the big comparison sites, always say that you have just passed your test, as insurance for a learner isn't that expensive,
as you have someone sat next to you helping you and telling you to slow down etc. My daughter nearly bought an MG convertible to learn in, insurance was only £450, until I said that she had just passed her test,
then it went up to £5,000 and that was over 10 years ago.
When looking at insurance, play with the engine options, my Megane for example, it has the lowest power engine, the 1.5 diesel puts out 110bhp, the smaller 1.2 petrol puts out 130bhp, some of the 1.8's can put out 300bhp, so obviously the insurance costs will vary between them, they go from group 14, to group 39. The insurance group will give you a rough idea of the insurance cost you can expect, but always cheack that particular car before going to see it
Always check out the car before travelling to look at it, you can pay for a full HPI check, this can show if the car as outstanding finance on it, ever been written off and a lot of other stuff about it, but always do
the free checks as a minimum.
vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk
This free check from the government shows if the car has a current MOT and is taxed, so road legal. You can also see the engine type and size, as well as when the last change of V5 happened, this is normally due to change of owner.
www.check-mot.service.gov.uk
This free check from the government shows every MOT that the car has ever had, this can tell you a lot. If it fails for a blown bulb, no water in the washers or wipers worn, chances are it hasn't been looked after just driven.
Was it given an advisory for rust? If it gets an advisory this year, but not the next it shows that it has been looked after as it was fixed rather than waiting for it to fail on it this year.
Talking of going to see it, as a learner the garage probably won't let you road test it due to insurance, but sit in the driving seat, can you get comfortable, can you see out easily, are the controls easy to get to and operate, are they logical, start the car, clutch down and find all the gears, is it easy to select the gears, find the bite point, stall it, did it stall too easy, ask if you can drive accross the forcourt, if so did it pull away alright, did it feel nice, there is a lot to consider, not just can I afford it.
Areas covered: Plympton, Plymstock and Plymouth
Phone: 0791 9800 791
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