I have been weighed in the balance and not found wanting. Be very afraid.
(In other words: I somehow managed to pass my driving test. This is a Good Thing because my theory test would have expired in three days, and a Bad Thing because I am clearly far from being an expert driver. On the other hand, I do know I'm not an expert driver, which apparently distinguishes me from the majority of people who have just passed their test.)
I have absolutely no idea how one goes about buying a car without spending far too long on it or ending up with something deeply suboptimal. I suspect the answer is that most people spend far too long on it or end up with something deeply suboptimal.
Thanks muchly. The choice of second-hand cars seems to be rather too big too. It's interesting that you suggest the 6-12 month bracket; do you recommend strongly against older second-hand cars? (And, do people really sell their cars after only 6 months unless they turn out to be really lousy cars?)
Those look like really excellent resources; thanks again.
I suggested 6 months as a lower bound only since there do not seem to be many available which are newer than that. Beyond that, cars can become often become available because they have some kind of arrangement such as a car manufacturer employee scheme which means they can get new cars without being exposed to the usual costs. You can always ask why the car is available.
I mentioned less than 24 months old means that you'll get a car which will generally provide at a couple of years or 50,000 miles of being about as reliable (and tidy) as cars get, for about as good value as can be achieved. That happened to be important to us last time around which is why we looked at the 6 to 24 month band. I have not really looked at prices beyond that to comment on value, but a lot of people I know have good experiences buying older cars. Cars generally last at least ten years before they become uneconomic to repair.
Small cars are cheaper and easier to maneuver so if you have no preference then that's a good constraint to start. Child seats are much easier to use in cars with rear doors. Buying from dealers generally reduces risk compared to private sales, particularly if, like me, you do not know how to spot all the common problems. Beyond that, emissions, MPG, car reviews and how well the driving position and controls suit you (you should insist on at least a half hour test drive) will narrow things down to a still significant set, and then you may as well pick one at random.
Thanks!
Yes, we're planning to get something small but with rear doors. We're currently thinking in terms of something on the order of 3-5 years old but not too heavily driven, but don't have a very good handle on the relative importance of miles driven and mere age. (My guess: the number of miles driven matters a lot more.) And we were planning to go to a dealer rather than buying some roadside wreck with a sign in the window :-).
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Some observations from last time we went through this at the start of the year, when we were determined to make a good decisions and so far think we managed it :)
Don't buy a new car unless you are very picky. You get too much choice to ever find a optimal solution, so will inevitably be unhappy with your choice, and pay a lot for the privilege compared to cars in the 6 to 24 month old bracket.
Top Gear produce some useful stuff : a guide and a magazine called the Top Gear Test Drive Directory which supermarkers and news agents tend to have.
Generally garage second hand prices seem to be fair, and can be verified the Parkers pricing tables which everyone seems to accept as fair. Most dealers have used car search engines on their web sites.