What should I offer?

katie25

Hi, Im in the process of buying a second hand car for myself. If a car is advertised or example at 3500 euro is it reasonable for me make an offer of 3000? What should I look out for when buying a second hand car?

Thanks
Katie

unkel

Depends on the car first of all. What is it? Any link to the ad if there is any?

biko

You can offer anything you like, if owner wants 3500 but the car is only worth 2000 in your opinion you should offer that.

Easiest way to see how much it's worth is by finding similar cars (with similar mileage etc) on carzone and other used car sites and see what they go for.

You can also use the calculator for VRT to see what the gov considers the market value to be.

The two main sources of second-hand cars are:

* Traders, generally referred to as "dealers", who buy and sell cars as part of their business
* Private sellers, who generally have only one car to sell, and are not selling it in the course of a business

This is a key difference, because your rights are not the same if you are buying from a dealer or a private individual.

In general, if you are buying from a dealer, you are fully protected by consumer laws, which also give you the right to take legal action if your rights are not upheld.

But the same consumer rights do not exist when you are buying a car privately, as the seller is not acting in the course of a business. So you need to be more careful and well informed before buying a car in this way.
Your responsibilities

Buyers and sellers also have responsibilities:

* Buyer's responsibilities: Buyers have a responsibility to protect themselves by checking the relevant facts before entering any contract. As long as you ask the right questions, note the answers or get them in writing, and know your rights, you should have the tools at your disposal to challenge a seller if things go wrong
* Seller's responsibilities: Remember that it is an offence under both road traffic legislation and the Sale of Goods & Supply of Services Act to sell a car to a consumer which is not roadworthy

Sale of Goods Act

The Sale of Goods & Supply of Services Act also requires that any car sold by a dealer - whether new or used - should be:

* Of merchantable quality (this means a reasonable, acceptable quality given what was said about it and taking into account the age and history of the vehicle)
* Fit for the purpose it is intended to be used for
* As described
http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Learning_Zone/Guides_To_Consumer_Law/Buying_a_Car/

cabrwab

Bit of a general question, def haggle with him, if you tell him you have the cash on you right now they may be more inclined to jump at you.

But depending on the car/mileage/condition.
The boardies in these parts can offer good advice if you give all the info.
If you found it on a website, post pics, as you will get all the advice without us all calling to the seller with you.

This is a buyers market at the moment so you need to use that to the advantage. Either way look around on the web find a similar car.

katie25

Its a 1999, 1.3 L, 45,000 miles, automatic. Its a jap import but in irleand its had one owner. What should I be paying for a small car such as a 1.3L around 1998/1999, it has to be automatic, with 50,000 miles or less. Am i looking at 2500 minimum. Iv looked on car sites and 2500 seems to be whats being asked for 98/99 automatic car

colm_mcm

best automatic Japanese small cars are the Starlet and Micra.

carchaeologist

Small cars generally hold their value better than large ones,easier to tax and cheap to run etc.Some jap stuff can be hard to get some parts for,but popular models should be ok

Esel

Automatics are harder to sell, so bear that in mind when making an offer.

colm_mcm

small automatic cars are never difficult to sell esel. especially ones with air conditioning, low mileage and all the toys (i.e jap imports)

Esel

Fair enough, colm. I inhabit the world of Bangernomics, so not au fait with small, modern autos. (1999 is modern in Bangernomics!).

ytareh

Small autos are great sellers.Amazing the number of 'aul wans' /'non nationals' etc etc who cant or wont drive manual cars.A low mileage auto Micra /Starlet etc is worth at least a year or twos equivalent price premium over a manual...

ytareh

By the sound of your enquiry you are a lamb to the slaughter ...!Its sad but true that 80% or more of females get ripped off and 'dont like' haggling ....The seller is more than likely desperate to sell as the market is on its knees...It does depend a lot on your personality/ethics I suppose .If the car is worth 3000 and you like it fair enough offer them 3000 for the 3500 car but most guys I reckon would be offering 2600-2900....If you are a real heartless individual and sense they need to sell fast (as many do for so many different reasons )you might offer 2500 or less ...Around 1250-1750 and youre at 'trader' level !!!
Why not ask a male relation for assistance /support ,moral or otherwise ?Sure there are ladies who are great at this sort of thing -even in the soulless 'Trader' category mentioned above..LOL...but when it comes down to him saying Im not going below 3000 and you saying 2750 is my limit -AND you really like the car- who do YOU think the winner is gonna be !?At least bring along a friend ...Its a battlefield/jungle out there !Some people like it and are good at it ....many dont /arent ...You know yourself best whether this sort of dealing is one of your strengths but the fact you are here suggests not ...Good luck anyway !

colm_mcm

I'd be looking to make sure items like the timing belt, water pump, auto trans fluid, auxillary belts etc have been changed recently,
make sure that it doesn't need new tyres,
does the aircon spew out chilled air, and does the air smell?
Does everything work?
Does it have a CD player?

Factor in all these little things when deciding what you want to pay for the car. on a cheap car, these things are very important, as a major service could add up to a considerable percentage of the value of the car.

alias no.9

colm_mcm wrote: »

Factor in all these little things when deciding what you want to pay for the car. on a cheap car, these things are very important, as a major service could add up to a considerable percentage of the value of the car.

I'll second this and would consider it more important than mileage and even age at this end of the market. I'll take a car with 80k miles and all the major servicing done like timing belt, etc... ahead of a car with 60k miles that will need all that major servicing within a year. More important than this if you're buying private however, is getting someone who knows what they're doing to check it over. Don't assume that a male relative, as suggested above, will know what they're doing just because they're male.

katie25

Thanks guys for all the info. So if a car is nctd till 2010 does that mean the car is in good working order and the timming belt ect should be ok?

alias no.9

katie25 wrote: »

Thanks guys for all the info. So if a car is nctd till 2010 does that mean the car is in good working order and the timming belt ect should be ok?

NCT is primarily about safety and emissions. The brakes, suspension, tyres and structure should be sound and the engine is in tune. Ask about the timing belt. You should really still bring someone who can give it a good look over.

katie25

Thanks, a freind of the family is going to come with me to view the car at the weekend. He says he know a thing or two about cars!!! so il see how that goes. I have tried to get my local mechanic to look at it but he said he is too busy

colm_mcm

what make/model is the car katie?

biggus

Katie25
Maybe you should consider learning to drive a Manual... here's a 2006 Kia Picanto for 3900, seems genuine from a dealer, but very cheap for a 06

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/KIA/Picanto/1.0-SE/1102787/