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Used cars

leftbehind
leftbehind Posts: 8,581
in Not Sports Related
Due to a change in circumstances we now need to look at a used car, nothing to fancy

Anyone know of any dealers they would recommend and at the same time any to avoid?

Dealer or private ?
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Comments

  • cafcbrown
    cafcbrown Posts: 556
    Hi,

    My father in law is a mechanic and usually has some cars for sale

    Where are you based?
  • leftbehind
    leftbehind Posts: 8,581
    SE2
  • cafcbrown
    cafcbrown Posts: 556
    He is in welling, I can find out what he has got if you would like?
  • red_murph
    red_murph Posts: 2,460
    Am in the same position myself LB. I've started looking through Autotrader to get some ideas of prices but no idea if better to go through a trader or private either.

    Not got loads to spend though, around £3000. If anyone has anyone has any suggestions on reliable motors for that sort of cash I'd appreciate it.
  • MattD
    MattD Posts: 1,530
    Got my first car last year off of Autotrader from some guy. Fiesta 07.

    I looked round a few dealerships in Essex but want a lot more than some of the private sellers on autotrader. Same car was sometimes 20%odd more at some of these places.
  • Brendan_O_Connell
    Brendan_O_Connell Posts: 8,938
    Kings Highway in Plumstead is pretty good.
  • Blinkant
    Blinkant Posts: 598
    Brendan_O_Connell said:

    Kings Highway in Plumstead is pretty good.


    This...

    Bought my fiesta from them 7 years ago and the old man got his mondao 10 years ago. Both at a good price and both still running perfectly.
  • cafcnick1992
    cafcnick1992 Posts: 7,413
    you can pick up a really nice rover 75 for about £1500. Great engines and great interiors
  • The_President
    The_President Posts: 14,280
    edited February 2013
    Why not go to the BCA Auctions in ENfield every Saturday morning = some great bargains plus they guarantee no HP,write offs or other nasties that you might encounter buying from Joe Public.
    I bought my car there and got it for 2k under reserve !
    Wouldnt buy a car from anywhere else = certainly not putting it in the sky rocket of some poncy dealer/chancer.
  • leftbehind
    leftbehind Posts: 8,581
    Yeah 3k is the tops i want to spend seen a Merc A Class going for 2500
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  • leftbehind
    leftbehind Posts: 8,581
    Blinkant said:

    Brendan_O_Connell said:

    Kings Highway in Plumstead is pretty good.


    This...

    Bought my fiesta from them 7 years ago and the old man got his mondao 10 years ago. Both at a good price and both still running perfectly.
    Yes got our old Astra Est from them

    Looked in Cambridge across the Rd as well nothing in either that catches the eye or budget
  • The_President
    The_President Posts: 14,280
    leftbehind said:

    Yeah 3k is the tops i want to spend seen a Merc A Class going for 2500

    Last saturday there was a 58 Nissan Note that sold for 2950 at the auction.
  • uncle
    uncle Posts: 4,209
    You can get a nice diesel E class merc for under 3k. They go forever, auctions are a good shout, its mostly where the dealers get them and add their bit on. Chelmsford have a good auction
  • Plaaayer
    Plaaayer Posts: 8,997
    Brendan_O_Connell said:

    Kings Highway in Plumstead is pretty good.

    Not got one from there personally but my family having been using them for years, rarely any problems but on the odd occasion they have had something go wrong they've had it straight back in no questions.

    Think at the moment my Grandad, brother and mum are all driving cars bought from there.
  • The_President
    The_President Posts: 14,280
    Plaaayer said:

    Brendan_O_Connell said:

    Kings Highway in Plumstead is pretty good.

    Not got one from there personally but my family having been using them for years, rarely any problems but on the odd occasion they have had something go wrong they've had it straight back in no questions.

    Think at the moment my Grandad, brother and mum are all driving cars bought from there.
    No personal interest then, plaaayer ??!!
  • leftbehind
    leftbehind Posts: 8,581
    Kin all weekend and nothing yet

    Narrowed it down to a Astra which we know and never had any issues with or a Foucus looking around 2500-3000 so looking at 04-06 plate travelled all over and dunno just nothing grabbing us.

    But only looked at Trade so will look for in Autotrader & E&M for private sellers now

    Whata waste of a weekend racked up some miles as well
  • nth_london_addick
    nth_london_addick Posts: 35,919
    I will be doing the same soon when i give the company car back

    BCA enfield is just across the road from me so i will be starting to look there from next weekend


    I bought my missus a volvo estate fully loaded out of there for 600 quid nearly 2 yrs ago been a superb motor for that money

    I dont want to spend more than a couple of grand tbh because i only want it for the school run


    Also if anyone knows a decent place to buy a scooter for the knowledge would appreciate the heads up
  • Clem_Snide
    Clem_Snide Posts: 11,737
    edited February 2013
    This is my cousins place. Whisper me if you want me to put you in touch.

    www.canveyislandcarriageco.co.uk
  • Saga Lout
    Saga Lout Posts: 6,845
    If, IF you have a bit of knowledge or know someone who has, I'd say buy private. Dealers have to make a profit so you will pay more and, sadly, a lot of them are cowboys. The cars they sell are not in any way better than something you could pick up off of, say, ebay. A friend was bidding on a car on ebay and lost out - a short while after he saw it on there again, this time through a dealer and with a couple of grand added. All the dealer had done was give it a really good clean.

    Also, I bought a car from a dealer,who'd "serviced" the car before I took possession, going by the work needed at the next service the dealer had done the absolute minimum to get the car through an MOT and not cause any problems before the generous 3-month warranty ran out.
  • nth_london_addick
    nth_london_addick Posts: 35,919
    Cheers tim will have a look
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  • The_President
    The_President Posts: 14,280
    nth london addick said:

    I will be doing the same soon when i give the company car back

    BCA enfield is just across the road from me so i will be starting to look there from next weekend


    NLA - i was at the BCA in Enfield last saturday. Some real bargains - they have a Glyn Hopkins auction every Saturday morning which is all the PX's that Glyn Hopkins Dealers need to 'recycle'.
    For example, Nissan Note 2008 went for £2950 .
    You can get a real good bargain there , and also they guarantee HPI , and also write=offs etc - so, no history that might come back to bite you.
    You just have to be aware mainly of the 'Buyers fee' - so whatever the hammer goes down on, add circa 300 pounds for a car at 3k - pro rata , of course. Oh, and also, go with your debit card, else not only will they charge you for using a credit card, but they will also charge you 1 per cent to count your readies, if you go along with cash !!! (i know, shocking, but true !)

    IMHO, sounds a lot better than lining the sky rocket of some dodge in Canvey Island , who's prob a Spanner anyway. Plus, would you ever trust a car dealer from Essex ?





  • CyrilDavies
    CyrilDavies Posts: 855
    Horsepower Tonbridge.....wont find a more honest guy......
  • nth_london_addick
    nth_london_addick Posts: 35,919
    My nephew works for glynn hopkins in waltham abbey as a mechanic and is coming with me so thats good to know

    If he werent tims cousin prob not
  • JaShea99
    JaShea99 Posts: 5,458
    It's true about garages adding on a grand or 2 without doing anything but at least you have a bit of comeback. Private has its problems as well. I wasted so much time on cars that weren't what they said they were. To be honest it's a complete minefield but the more savvy you are the less likely you are to be ripped off. Here are a few tips that might help -

    The less info on the add the higher the chance of the seller trying to hide something. Ask questions. If they've got nothing to hide they'll gladly answer them

    I wouldn't buy a car with much less than 9 months remaining on the MOT, an MOT costs about 40 quid, if there's nothing wrong with the car the seller will get it done

    When you phone up a private ad say "I'm phoning about the car" not "I'm phoning about the Corsa", if he says "which one?" it's clearly a dealer

    When test driving, listen to the sounds the car makes. If the seller comes with you, make sure they're not talking to cover anything up!

    This could be completely innocent but if the seller meets you in the street rather than you having to knock on the door, there could be a reason

    Ask if the seller's name is on the logbook, if not, alarm bells

    You can now look up car history for free online, brilliant for seeing if its been clocked etc.

    I realise this kind of turned into everything that annoyed me when I was looking. Hope it helps though.
  • leftbehind
    leftbehind Posts: 8,581
    What i found amazing that a lot of dealers in the Autotarder, that have great websites are people with a few cars in teh front garden, one we went to see did not seem to have a clue about cars.

    Another in Kent seemed a nice place, but the salesman just did not seem bothered if he sold a car or not, i dont like pushy sales people, but when your talking to them asking them questions you would hope they would sound liked they cared or gave a little more info on the reply's
  • daveaddick
    daveaddick Posts: 1,926
    Can endorse Kings Highway we bought a Ford Focus there three years ago for £3400 it's a cracking little car. We were given a six months warrenty and when we had a small issue they fixed it without any complaint.
  • leftbehind
    leftbehind Posts: 8,581
    Got one collecting Saturday Hillside Motors in Sutton

    Very very nice people as jashea99 said about the radio being switched on this bloke when he strated it up the radio cam on he then turned it off so we could hear the engine unlike the fella in the Seven Kings area who turned it on and up when he finally managed to get it started.

    Not pushy nice friendly polite manner, got it for a good price picking up Saturday as he had to get it MOT'ed even coming to collect us from the station as its a trek from it.




  • nth_london_addick
    nth_london_addick Posts: 35,919
    What did you pick up mate and what sort of price range if you don't mind me asking ??
  • leftbehind
    leftbehind Posts: 8,581
    One question i forgot to ask and its not printed on the leaflet i was given.

    This free insurance thing they give for 7 days, anyone know what level of cover you get ?

  • maybe_baby
    maybe_baby Posts: 2,609
    leftbehind said:

    One question i forgot to ask and its not printed on the leaflet i was given.

    This free insurance thing they give for 7 days, anyone know what level of cover you get ?

    leftbehind said:

    One question i forgot to ask and its not printed on the leaflet i was given.

    This free insurance thing they give for 7 days, anyone know what level of cover you get ?

    Not sure but I know it runs out after a week :)

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