XML sitemap | Think there’s something missing from ur1stcar.co.uk? contact us | © 2006 – 2012 AAA About us There's never been a better time to buy your first car — they are more economical, relatively cheaper to buy and safer than ever. The bad news is that running costs are getting higher all the time as energy costs and taxation rise, so making the right choice for ur1stcar is vital.
When you are buying your first car you'll deal with the fact that it isn't going to be a Murcielargo LP640 or even a Subaru Impreza or a Merc convertible, then you'll also know that it won't be uronlycar. So get it right, enjoy it and you'll know when it's time to move on to urnxtcar but get it wrong and you'll be wondering where the enjoyment is or where all your money's gone to.
The prices of new cars are relatively low and many of them provide a fantastic first drive. Competition for sales amongst car manufacturers and dealers have kept prices low and have driven down those of second-hand cars, meaning that there are great bargains to be found out there. In between are nearly new cars that have been registered by a dealer but often not owned by a real customer. You'll often find these on sale at the large used car Supermarkets.
Well you'll know it's recent history, both good and bad. Might be worth a punt if it's been well looked after and you'll save some money on looking around. Make sure it's one you can sell on when you're ready to.
The ones you see in the local newspaper or stuck in the window of the car - Again you won't have to travel to far but make sure you get it checked out before you buy.
These come in 2 types — Franchise and non-Franchise.
A Franchise dealer is one tied to a particular car manufacturer — Fiat, Toyota etc. They will sell new and secondhand cars — the secondhand ones are most likely to be trade-ins and or most likely to be of the same brand as they sell new. Cars taken as trade-ins which fail to sell quickly will be sold on, often via auctions -they can't keep money tied up for long. They're are times, at the end of each quarter (March, June and September) and the end of the year a dealer may be able to offer a bigger discount if they may be close to reaching a sales target and getting a bonus.
A non-Franchise dealer will only sell secondhand cars.
At both you'll be able to see what you're buying and you'll be able to haggle.
The big places to look are Parkers, Autotrader and ebay motors. The first two will show you ads of cars for sale. The latter allows you to bid on-line or buy from their Classified ads. Loads of cars are now being sold this way but you really should inspect it before you buy ...
They are a reasonably new phenomena. They often take new and pre-registered cars that Franchised dealerships have too many of or are having trouble selling. You can only buy what they've got in stock. Prices are usually lower but haggling is a bit more limited.
They will source a car for you and take a fee, either from the dealer's margin or from you, for doing so. Look for an independent broker, not one funded by a finance company or motor group. An independent broker, like DealDrivers, will give you unbiased advice on brands and cars and won’t limit themselves to just one supply route.
Internet brokers will offer a variety of deals but it has been known for 'new' to actually mean 'pre-registered' — so you aren’t the 1st owner. You need to ask exactly what the conditions of sale are, are you the 1st and only owner, and when do you get the V5 registration document.
There have also been a lot of the problems associated with car deals where the V5 document is withheld from you for a number of months. Your insurer needs to know if you won’t actually be the registered owner on the registration document for some time, it can affect insurance validity. This is of particular concern to new young drivers, as getting insurance is hard enough already.
The reason deals like this exist is because a dealer offering an already registered car is usually expected to run it as a demonstrator before re-sale for a few months, if they sell it too early to try and improve their sales on pre-registered stock, the only way they can stop you — as the new buyer — alerting the DVLA and manufacturer to the fact the car has been sold on earlier than allowed, is to withhold the V5 document from you. Use a broker who will ensure the deal is such that the V5 document can be put in your name immediately.
Avoid hidden extras. Ensure you see how they have calculated the price by asking for a full written quote, not just a ‘final figure’ — you need to see what it includes. Avoid what appear to be great deals unless they are willing to give you a to-the-penny price breakdown.
Always use a broker where the deposit and final balance transaction is between you and the supplying main dealer, not a deal where you have to pay your money to the broker. If anything goes wrong, you’re buying the car off the broker and not the dealer — so the dealer won’t be able to assist you as strongly.
Avoid websites which offer ambiguous wording such as ‘most of our cars will be new, or may be pre-registered’ — you need to know exactly what you are getting. If you are in the market for a pre-registered car, that is but remember that even if it only has delivery miles on it — but already bearing a registration — it will already be eating into its warranty from the date it was first registered.
Ask “What was its date of registration?” and “Is it a latest model or a pre-model?”. If you find you are buying a car that has already used-up 4-6 months of its warranty and is also an outdated model, is it really such a good buy? What you make on the purchase price you’ll lose again on its re-sale value. If it sounds too good to be true — it probably is! Also remember you'll be the second registered owner — this impacts the re-sale value for you too.
This is where dealers pick up most of their stock. Prices are usually lower — often a lot lower. You have a chance to inspect the car before the auction but not drive it. There's no going back as cars are 'bought 'as seen', so you need to know what you're doing — or know someone who does.
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