Advice on Buying a Second Hand Car

JG1

My car is up for NCT next month and want to change it rather than put the money into repairs.

My budget is about €4000-5000. I have a Northern licence and an address in the North but work and reside here (currently between house moves so no permanent address). Would i be better buying in the North, hoping the cops won't pull me with the northern reg? Any advice on insurance?

Or would I be better trading in and buying in the South. I know there is a lot of coverage on tax changes in July but i can't wait until then. Has anyone any recommendations on the type of car (I only need something medium sized - (Focus/Clio/Megane) - diesel/petrol - and on reputable dealers in the Dublin area.

I know there is a lot in this but any guidance is welcome:)

Elessar

I would imagine a northern reg car which doesn't have a valid NCT would be almost impossible to sell.

I'd say your best bet is to drive up north and sell/trade in there.

cantdecide

JG1 wrote: »

My car is up for NCT next month and want to change it rather than put the money into repairs.....My budget is about €4000-5000. I have a Northern licence and an address in the North but work and reside here

Don't even consider driving a NI car indefinitely. You're local Garda station will know if you're taking the p*ss. (besides- why should the rest of us have to pay tax and not you??)

If you only have €5k to spend (especially on a focus or similar) and you're trading in an old car with no NCT, they will either a) tell you FO with it or b) absolutely screw you.

I would suggest asking yourself how much will it cost to repair the car.

I have a friend who is getting an '98 E39 520 for FREE cos yer man won't change the CAT €1k for the NCT and he's had it for years like. So he's giving away a €4-5k car cos he hates giving garags money:rolleyes:

Consider it this way- if you're in bangersville (like most of the rest of us), maintenance can be simplified to a rate per mile. You can't really escape it, you can only postpone it. I find people have a very begrudging atttitude to repairing an otherwise good car. If it has been a long time since you've had to do more than service it, and (assuming) it's a decent enough car fundamentally- why begrudge it a bit of TLC. Afterall, there are a LOT of €5k cars out there that need a fortune spent also.

Assuming you have consiered this already and are blue in the face from maintaining a POS, I think you will find it very hard to find a respectable Focus sized car for that budget. I always recommend to people who are on a budget like that to consider going up to the next size car where they are virtually the same to run but are great value to buy (I generally find people lie to themselsves about their requirements when buying also thinking smaller=cheaper).

eg http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=511650 a 1.6 saloon, 62k how can you go wrong. Straight deal- haggle down to €5.5k

JG1

My current car has a southern reg so I am hoping to sell it for about a grand. I'm not sure what to do. I am not trying to dodge taxes but I may move permanently to the North in the next year or two so i am looking at the next purchase to do me for a couple of years.

My current car is a dinger and i have treated it lovingly for the two and half years i've had it. Just feel that any repairs i carry out might not be worth it given its value. The North/South journey at weekends is taking its toll!

cantdecide

JG1 wrote: »

My current car is a dinger....The North/South journey at weekends is taking its toll!

That's why you need a more substancial car then- lying to yourself about your requirements again- it happens every day:D (sorry- its my motoring pet peeve).


If you are possibly moving away again, I suspect repairing your current car (assuming it won't cost that much) might be the most sensible thing rather than getting a car and worrying about getting it's value back if you make the move in the near future. Accepting €700 for a €1000 isn't the end of the world if you are getting rid but accepting €4000 when it's worth €5000 in the chaos of a move is a likely event.

If you are determined to change, it won't make financial sense to bring one up north from down south. You will lose the cost of VRT in the value if you bring it down and bring it back up again.

As I've said already, bringing it down and not registering it for a period of time will draw trouble- so you shouldn't.

What car have you now? mileage/ age etc. and what's wrong with it??

JG1

I have a 97 Ford Fiesta. There is a hole in the exhaust. Had it serviced in November and the garage guy said it was fine but some pipe connected to the brakes (i think) was rusting and would need to be replaced. Had the service done in the North and he put it at about £150 stg. Last time i fixed it up for NCT, it cost me €450. I imagine it will cost that again and then some as i will get it done down here.

I probably do need a more powerful car for the longer North South journeys but I don't want some big yute - need something a little more compact, as most of my travelling is across the city.

sicruise

Seeing that you have not paid VRT on this car... I assume you mean it is due the MOT? As far as I know selling it here even with an MOT the NCT will still have to be passed after vehicle registration... I could be wrong though.

The VRT is 30%ish me thinks so if you have 5k to spend this is only leaving you with 3500 to actually spend on your new car.

Lastly... none of us would recommend driving it untaxed indefinitely.

JG1

No - I bought my car down here - southern reg. Just wondering if i should look to the North for my next purchase.

Celtic07

hey all...im planning on getting my first car soon...budget 4000 t0 5000..im 21 have a provisional licence have applyed for the full now. any1 recommend a good car...i like ford focus but as they are 1.4 insurance b hefty..Any advice?

r0nn13

Celtic07 wrote: »

hey all...im planning on getting my first car soon...budget 4000 t0 5000..im 21 have a provisional licence have applyed for the full now. any1 recommend a good car...i like ford focus but as they are 1.4 insurance b hefty..Any advice?

1.1 VW Polo, or 1.25 Ford Fiesta (avoid the 1.3 fiesta, as the 1.25 is much better)
Avoid any 1.4 imported VW Polo, as i looked at a few and they were are rallied...

Biro

You could buy an NI car and run it legally according to the NI tax and MOt requirements. As far as VRT is concerned, you're not supposed to run it down here, but if you have an NI address and NI license, the car will be registered to there, you'll get away with it if you're stopped. When you show them your NI license they'll let you go. If they do tell you that you should have the car at least 4 nights of the week up there, then just VRT it and save the hassle. If they never follow up on it, then you'll loose nothing when you move north whenever you do.

cantdecide

Celtic07 wrote: »

hey all...im planning on getting my first car soon...budget 4000 t0 5000..im 21 have a provisional licence have applyed for the full now. any1 recommend a good car...i like ford focus but as they are 1.4 insurance b hefty..Any advice?

IMO, as you can get a decent car at any price, 2 things matter when buying, budget and usage. If you have enough money, you can buy anything you bloody well want and to hell with the consequences. When you're financially constrained, the bigger the car you can justify buying, the more bang for your buck you can get, it's exponential.

We know your budget so tell us about your usage. If you are using it almost exclusively in a city, you can buy a city car, if you'll be doing a long commute, consider something else. Insurance isn't the be all and end all it once was. Provided you are looking for a model with the lowest engine in the range there should be no problem with insurance. ie, if you want a mondeo, and if there's a 1.6, 1.8 or a 2.0, you will have no problem insuring the 1.6. If there is a 1.6 Fiesta, you will find it a little harfer to insure it.

For 5k and a bit you can get this http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=726513 or this http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=807188 I know which one I'd want considering the running costs are very comparable.

Celtic07

r0nn13 wrote: »

1.1 VW Polo, or 1.25 Ford Fiesta (avoid the 1.3 fiesta, as the 1.25 is much better)
Avoid any 1.4 imported VW Polo, as i looked at a few and they were are rallied...

Cheers ronn and cantdecide...vw polo yeah slso have interest here alrite..or maybe a peugeout 206 hmm decisions decisions :rolleyes: