Are You Sick of Losing Money on a New Car?

Here is the Best Approach to Buying a Used Car

Buying a new car may give you a sense of satisfaction as you park it in front of your home to admiring (or jealous) glances from your neighbors, but is the dent in your savings or monthly pay packet really worth it. According to the AA, a new car will lose up to 40% of its value as soon as you drive it out of the showroom, so how can you avoid this loss? One way to lessen showroom depreciation is to buy a used motor, and with over 7 million people buying used cars every year, it is obviously still a very popular choice. So how should you approach your second hand purchase, and not buy a dud?

Seller
Perhaps the most reliable cars will be bought from dealerships, but this comes at a price. These cars will be newer than other options, will come with a warranty, and some security if things go wrong; so if you want a less risky purchase this would be the option. Probably the biggest savings though, will be on internet auction sites like e-bay, where private sellers sell their old vehicle for the price they want, not for a big profit. If you are prepared to travel for your car, this is a great way to buy a cheaper vehicle; though you could travel hundreds of miles to look at a car that is, in fact, rubbish. Auction sales are another alternative, though again, there are risks. Most auctions will not allow you to inspect the car before purchase, so take your time walking around the car and visually inspect it as much as you can. A car that looks sparkling new on the outside, could have a crippled engine, and you may not realise it until you have it inspected.

Price
Check the prices of used cars on an online price guide, to give you an idea of the price you will need to pay for your chosen motor. It is far too easy to get carried away as you see the savings you can make on a used car, so set yourself limits on your spending and keep the extra cash in your account or reduce your monthly outgoings.

Insurance
This is something that you will definitely need to think about, but is often forgotten by a buyer. You can buy supercars and high performance cars for unbelievable prices, and these are incredibly tempting to buy, but the insurance on these can often add up to more than the cost of the car. Research the cars you think you would like, and find out how much they are to insure. You will be surprised how many cars will be wiped off your list.

MOT
Any car that is over 3 years old must have an MOT, so if you are planning to buy a car older than that, make sure it already has an MOT. In fact, older cars should come with an MOT history that you can check; and you would be wise to take your car to an MOT service station to have it checked over after the purchase anyway.

Full Service History
This is like gold dust in the second hand car world, and something you should be asking about for any car you may buy. A newer car will almost certainly have one (if it doesn’t, then walk away), but as cars get a few years old services are not kept up as well. Therefore, finding a car that you know have been well looked after through 5 years of its life should be a definite tick in the plus box.
There is no doubt that you can find some real bargains on the second hand market, but if you ignore these points, you could find yourself regretting ever going second hand.