Theres heaps of poorly maintained models which have done round the clock mileages - if you want a low-mileage example of even something common like a Focus you need to go quite far (as I've already posted last weekend I went 100 miles to see a 51k Focus...)

OK.. I should be going to do some test drives this Sunday.

I already tried phoning a couple yesterday and was told 'well, it'll probably be sold by then' by both, so I'm going to wait till Friday before I arrange more.

I'm told I can usually get a better deal by paying in Cash. Is there any way that's 'paying in cash' that doesn't involve me carrying wads of notes around with me? Does paying on my debit card count as 'cash' for example (as there's no time waiting for the payment to clear)?

Quote from Kalev EST :

Mileage doesn't mean much. A car with high mileage that's been properly looked after can be in much better condition than a car with low mileage that has been treated like crap.

+1

My car has 233,000 MILES on it. Our family puts a lot of miles on our cars, but we also take good care of them. The end result is that my car, compared to the [surprisingly high number of] same cars of my year roaming around town here, always looks to be in much better shape despite the fact that most of those cars have literally HALF the mileage (100k miles less).

Quote from Crashgate3 :

OK.. I should be going to do some test drives this Sunday.

I already tried phoning a couple yesterday and was told 'well, it'll probably be sold by then' by both, so I'm going to wait till Friday before I arrange more.

I'm told I can usually get a better deal by paying in Cash. Is there any way that's 'paying in cash' that doesn't involve me carrying wads of notes around with me? Does paying on my debit card count as 'cash' for example (as there's no time waiting for the payment to clear)?

All dealerships will try to get you to hurry because if you have 10 cars to look at before theirs then you will probably realise what a shed it is...

When I went to see the Focus the guy did all this shit trying to disaude me from having an RAC check, telling me how many million people had come to view it - it still hasn't sold so you can see that even if 40 people did go and see it it was a pile of shit.

Money wise - Debit card is still classed as a card payment, and they usually ad the card processing fee on top - £3k fits in an envelope and you can easily secrete it somewhere on your person or transport if you need to, plus it's a lot easier to haggle with cash - you can slap all the money you want to pay on the desk (and claim its all you have) and ask for the extras you want (tax & fuel ofc) and then get a yes or no. If you do it with a card payment he will try to haggle it up whereas with cash he knows if he says yes its done...

This works even better for unpopular cars - the 75 I went to see has been for sale since November (admitedly in another garage) - it's in great condition, just no-one really wants it. It's not making them money on the forecourt, and the lure of a wadge of notes, even if not quite the amount they were looking for, is strong...

Quote from Jakg :

the lure of a wadge of notes, even if not quite the amount they were looking for, is strong...

A large pile of cash gives them room for some 'creative accounting' as well

Are you implying the "dealer" i saw on Tuesday selling a car out of a lockup might not declare it to HMRC?

How can you think such little of used car dealers!

Next you'll be saying he tried to lie about the output of the car... oh no wait, he did

ok, out of these which do you reckon?

I'm going for reliability, space in the back (not load-carrying, just room to put stuff) and cost to run. I'll not be doing enough mileage to make a diesel cost-effective. Looks, performance and handling I'm not that bothered about (within reason).

Budget is £1400

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/cl ... d/advert/201006352225324/
http://www.vcars.co.uk/used-ca ... t=autotrader&u=199648
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/cl ... ed/advert/201003350821833
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/cl ... d/advert/200952349015307/
http://www.usedcartrader.co.uk ... view/ford-focus-490665275
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/cl ... ed/advert/201007352453336

Quote from Crashgate3 :

http://www.vcars.co.uk/used-ca ... t=autotrader&u=199648

This one.

There not that interesting to drive, the Engines are pretty lethargic, and the interior is bland and cheap, but they are much more reliable than all those cars you listed, and this particular car comes with a wealth of creature comforts.

Buy it.

Obviously every situation is different, but do you reckon I could get it down to below £1300, paying cash?
(£1300 is the budget I've told the Mrs... )

Another point - if it's got one long previous owner, see if you cant nab a copy of the V5 "for HPI purposes" and call them.

I have a photocopy of one on my desk, and it turns out (after a little bit of phone booking) the "2 owner car with a new towbar fitted" was actually a pre-reg (so really one owner) which has been used for towing caravans (so it's had the tow-bar for quite a while). The other advantage is the dealer can lie through their teeth because they want the money, but the previous owner wont care and will call it crap if it is...

something I saw on wheeler dealers was that if the car is parked over a puddle it may mean they are trying to hide problems under the car.

Wooo!!! Got one

I am now the proud owner of this mighty steed:

That is a noble stallion indeed, ride her well, but be careful on the road in case she rips the tarmac from the road when you let 'er rip.

Quote :

that if the car is parked over a puddle it may mean they are trying to hide problems under the car.

You know there's a problem if it's parked like this and the puddle's this size...

This post makes more sense here..

Looking to replace my dated Golf MKII, it's really in poor condition.. for something around ~ 2000's period, and for about a ~3k euros price range.. Prices are probably different in every country so i'm going to list what is available here and what would i fancy in that price range, purely based on the looks.. but i would appreciate advices considering reliability, driving experience, price for the spare parts etc..

Fiat Bravo
Fiat Punto II
Ford Puma
Nissan Almera
Honda Civic
Alfa Romeo 145, 146
Renault Clio
Peugeot 306, 206
Citroen Saxo

That's about it.. so those are all generations from late 90's to early-mid 00's. I've heard parts and repairs for french cars are a kill..

Quote from Boris Lozac :

This post makes more sense here..

Looking to replace my dated Golf MKII, it's really in poor condition.. for something around ~ 2000's period, and for about a ~3k euros price range.. Prices are probably different in every country so i'm going to list what is available here and what would i fancy in that price range, purely based on the looks.. but i would appreciate advices considering reliability, driving experience, price for the spare parts etc..

Fiat Bravo
Fiat Punto II
Ford Puma
Nissan Almera
Honda Civic
Alfa Romeo 145, 146
Renault Clio
Peugeot 306, 206
Citroen Saxo

That's about it.. so those are all generations from late 90's to early-mid 00's. I've heard parts and repairs for french cars are a kill..

Forget Fiat, Renault, Peugeot, Citroen. Overall, italian and french cars.

My mate has a Peugeot 206 which his parents had new from 2001 (he inherited it 2 years ago) and now has 90,000 miles on the clock, it's forever in the garage with loads of problems, I told him he should probably replace it the first time it went wrong but he didn't and has probably now spent nearly £1k repairing it.

Another of my friends has an Alfa 146 he got about a year ago - 102,000 miles on the clock and so far it's not let him down - maybe he's lucky though!

Just a note, i'm not driving cars all day every day.. It's mostly used for work 15 days a month, 10km in each direction.

Quote from mr_x :

Another of my friends has an Alfa 146 he got about a year ago - 102,000 miles on the clock and so far it's not let him down - maybe he's lucky though!

scrap that bit, was actually the 147 he got.

15 days of work per month sound lovely.

Quote from S14 DRIFT :

15 days of work per month sound lovely.

Yeah, but it's night shift..

I do shift work (not "night" shift but do between 6am and 8pm) as well but still have to do the Monday to Friday grind.

You're still incredibly lucky

Quote from Boris Lozac :

This post makes more sense here..

Looking to replace my dated Golf MKII, it's really in poor condition.. for something around ~ 2000's period, and for about a ~3k euros price range.. Prices are probably different in every country so i'm going to list what is available here and what would i fancy in that price range, purely based on the looks.. but i would appreciate advices considering reliability, driving experience, price for the spare parts etc..

Fiat Bravo
Fiat Punto II
Ford Puma
Nissan Almera
Honda Civic
Alfa Romeo 145, 146
Renault Clio
Peugeot 306, 206
Citroen Saxo

That's about it.. so those are all generations from late 90's to early-mid 00's. I've heard parts and repairs for french cars are a kill..

So you're seriously considering sacking a MANS car (EI Golf) for a number of womens cars? Civic, Saxo, Punto, Clio.... Man, how on earth can you be so dilusioned.


I'd like to add, regardless of the fact a Golf is a VW, it is a MANS car. Men get Golfs. Real men, just like you won't find a woman driving a BMW or Merc (in general, of course assuming it's not the X3, X5, or A or C class merc. You honestly won't feel a sense of shame driving a typically womans car? Good look with those cars mate, if you have a MANS size foot, you will have a bloody hard job not pressing all the pedals at once. Especially with 206.

Quote from senn :

800pound would buy a header back performance exhaust system. Stainless steel. Why on earth would you use standard parts...they usually cost the same as better aftermarket parts, once the car is past a certain age.

That and alfas sound mint with a nice exhaust <3

for 800 bucks ( or 200 euros ) i can get a basically new stainless unit and swap out within the day for next to nothing ( given the life span of the parts, they pay for themselfs )

@ blueflame... golfs are like penis's; every prick has one and better yet, they dont maintain them.

Quote from theirishnoob :

@ blueflame... golfs are like penis's; every prick has one

Every penis has a penis?


The phrase I heard was 'a clitoris car', because 'every c*nt's got one'

(actually it was used to describe the Impreza Turbo, rather than a Golf, but it still applies)