Decent 2nd Hand Car Dealers, small budget

Pythia

Hi,

I'm hoping to a buy a car in the next week or two. I have about 5k to spend.
I want a small car, nothing above 1.2L, recently NCTed, lowish mileage, probably 98-01 regged. I think this should be possible for the budget I have.

Can anyone recommend some good dealers to go to for this kind of car?

I've obviously looked on car buyers guide, etc, but I have no idea of the reputation of any of the dealers and want to go somewhere where they'll give me some good advice.

Would prefer to go to somewhere on the southside of Dublin.

I'm afraid of buying from a private seller as there's very little comeback.

Would also appreciate advice on what models to look at. People keep telling me to stay away from Puntos but the boyf has one which is great so I'm not too sure.

Thanks!

Mr. Presentable

Browne Motors Tallaght. 4627000

Earth Worm Jim

I would buy from a private seller because you would save $$$? and as for guarantee's from garages - on a 99 - 01 car you will be lucky to get 3 - 6mths warranty and thats going to cost you a premium of at least 1000 euro.

IE a 99 corsa/micra/punto will go for £3500 upwards in a garage while you may pick a similar car up privately for £2500.

I may have a motor to suit you if you interested - PM me if you interested??

Eoin

Pythia, I think you should look more at what car you want, rather than what dealer you should go to. It's a buyers market out there, so once you have your mind made up, there will probably be loads of examples of the car you want.

That said, "Car Nation" are near me in Bray, and my wife and I bought her car there - a 02 206. No problems with it in a year, and we got it for a pretty good price. They are open Saturdays, so worth a look. This is their stock list.

Here is a carzone search that has your requirements. See if there's anything you like, and check out reviews at www.parkers.co.uk and www.honestjohn.co.uk - and this forum of course.

stepbar

Pythia wrote: »

Hi,

I'm hoping to a buy a car in the next week or two. I have about 5k to spend.
I want a small car, nothing above 1.2L, recently NCTed, lowish mileage, probably 98-01 regged. I think this should be possible for the budget I have.

Can anyone recommend some good dealers to go to for this kind of car?

I've obviously looked on car buyers guide, etc, but I have no idea of the reputation of any of the dealers and want to go somewhere where they'll give me some good advice.

Would prefer to go to somewhere on the southside of Dublin.

I'm afraid of buying from a private seller as there's very little comeback.

Would also appreciate advice on what models to look at. People keep telling me to stay away from Puntos but the boyf has one which is great so I'm not too sure.

Thanks!

You should be able to get a fairly newish car with 5k

Renault

VW

Toyota

Nissan

Stay away from the dealers!!!!! Get the car looked at by a mechanic and you should be ok.

Pythia

Thanks for your help all. I ended up getting a Nissan Micra from a friend of a friend.

Seth Brundle

When you refer to dealers as 'good' or 'decent', my only advice is to treat any car salesman with suspicion. Get any car you are seriously interested in checked professionally and don't accept the word of the salesman about its condition/history!

BeardyGit

eoin_s wrote: »

Pythia, I think you should look more at what car you want, rather than what dealer you should go to. It's a buyers market out there, so once you have your mind made up, there will probably be loads of examples of the car you want.

That said, "Car Nation" are near me in Bray, and my wife and I bought her car there - a 02 206. No problems with it in a year, and we got it for a pretty good price. They are open Saturdays, so worth a look. This is their stock list.

Here is a carzone search that has your requirements. See if there's anything you like, and check out reviews at www.parkers.co.uk and www.honestjohn.co.uk - and this forum of course.

I'll second the recommendation for Car Nation in Bray. I've bought 5 cars there over the last two years for friends and work colleagues (recent immigrants to Ireland on low enough budgets - we work very close to Bray) and Lorcan, the owner, has never once tried to push a sale or a particular car on me. Never had any trouble either with the cars which have included a Merc A160, a Seat Arosa, a VW Polo, a Peugeot 307 and a Golf. All nice cars that showed their honest age, if you know what I mean - Not just a polished up but mechanically worn out heap with a fresh coat of tyre paint and a rewind job on the mileage. He's not afraid to show the car for what it is, as he's not trying to milk big profit on each one.

All his stock comes from main dealer trade-ins and he works on a low margin, high turnover business model....smart business for a private dealer. Keep an eye on their site and you'll see they turn a good few cars through their books from a modest site, where they've been for a good while now. He's not a greedy bugger so he won't sell you any old car just to make a sale. He'd rather each buyer went away happy, with no reason to come back with compaints, and if that costs him a few sales throughout the year, he seems quite happy to accept that. There's a new lad called Paul that works with him too - Seems helpful and equally non-pushy.

No affiliation to their business - I'm just a repeat and very satisfied customer.

Cheers,

Gil

Pythia

Thanks but see my post above!

woop

looking in car nation in bray the other day............well priced and they just extended the forecourt

ah just seen somebody else posted bout it bit of a coincidence, kinda makes them seem better than they are now, but they do entertain smaller budgets where a lot of garages dont nowadays