Buying a car...totally clueless!

angeldelight

Apologies in advance for what are probably stupid questions but as the title says I'm buying a car in the next week and I barely even know where to start. Due to lots of circumstances my car loan will be available next Weds or Thurs and I have to have the car by Monday, no leeway with that. Also my dad can't come with me for any of it so I have to do it on my own, and anytime I ask him somthing he just says "ah you'll be grand" which isn't very reassuring!

So I've chosen the car I want - Toyota Yaris Luna 2008 used car, I've seen one garage advertising it at 13,950... how much should I reasonably offer (will be paying by bank draft)

I'm only insured as a named driver so not comprehensive yet - can I take the car for a test drive or will I have to buy it without testing it?

In terms of getting my new insurance.. if I ring up and get quotes on Monday then just ring them Weds or Thurs when I know exactly what car I'm getting will my insurance be valid from then? (Can pay by laser over the phone?)

When I go to pick it up I get the key and the car... anything else? (told you I don't have a clue!)

What else should I know?? Thanks!

cantdecide

What kind of useage will you have? My point is that you are about to spend Fourteen Thousand Euro on a city car. Is it mainly cities you drive in??

foxy06

Hi Angel Don't know a lot about cars myself but one lesson I have learned is NEVER buy a car without driving it first. Not just to see if it is ok but also to see if you actually enjoy driving it. It's a lot of money so you want to make sure your happy with it.

angeldelight

cantdecide wrote: »

What kind of useage will you have? My point is that you are about to spend Fourteen Thousand Euro on a city car. Is it mainly cities you drive in??

Living in Maynooth so in and out of town on the N4 and over to Naas for work, no real country driving and all good roads, just want something small and reliable and like the look of the Yaris - have done quite a lot of research into which car now it's just the buying process I need help with

Eoin

You will be covered to test drive the car under the garage's policy, so bring it for a nice long drive. Don't settle for a 5 minute spin around the block.

Not too sure if you can get a new policy over the phone, so best to ring around as soon as possible and tell them the situation. You will need to know at the very least the year, make, model and engine size of the car. They will also probably ask about an alarm and/or immobiliser, so no harm checking if the car has those features.

You will want to get the warranty information off them as well - for an 08 car this should be an absolute minimum of a one year full warranty.

S.I.R

angeldelight wrote: »

Apologies in advance for what are probably stupid questions but as the title says I'm buying a car in the next week and I barely even know where to start. Due to lots of circumstances my car loan will be available next Weds or Thurs and I have to have the car by Monday, no leeway with that. Also my dad can't come with me for any of it so I have to do it on my own, and anytime I ask him somthing he just says "ah you'll be grand" which isn't very reassuring!

So I've chosen the car I want - Toyota Yaris Luna 2008 used car, I've seen one garage advertising it at 13,950... how much should I reasonably offer (will be paying by bank draft)

I'm only insured as a named driver so not comprehensive yet - can I take the car for a test drive or will I have to buy it without testing it?

In terms of getting my new insurance.. if I ring up and get quotes on Monday then just ring them Weds or Thurs when I know exactly what car I'm getting will my insurance be valid from then? (Can pay by laser over the phone?)

When I go to pick it up I get the key and the car... anything else? (told you I don't have a clue!)

What else should I know?? Thanks!

test it, Shop around, even uif its a garage in cork and your in belfats, with a 3-400 delivery bill, you still can save uptò 1000 euro by doing that... also get someone to help get you a good loan... acounting </3

ShayK1

angeldelight wrote: »

So I've chosen the car I want - Toyota Yaris Luna 2008 used car, I've seen one garage advertising it at 13,950... how much should I reasonably offer (will be paying by bank draft)

Offer what ever you want. I'd say chance your arm with 11,500 and see what they say. Whats the worst thing that can happen? They say no? You're not trading in so its a cash sale. Don't give in too soon.

angeldelight wrote: »

I'm only insured as a named driver so not comprehensive yet - can I take the car for a test drive or will I have to buy it without testing it?

I'm not sure about that one.

angeldelight wrote: »

In terms of getting my new insurance.. if I ring up and get quotes on Monday then just ring them Weds or Thurs when I know exactly what car I'm getting will my insurance be valid from then? (Can pay by laser over the phone?)

Yes you can pay by laser over the phone. But double check that when you are getting quotes as some companies may differ

angeldelight wrote: »

When I go to pick it up I get the key and the car... anything else? (told you I don't have a clue!)

Key, spare key. Owner's manual should be in the glove box or under the seat.
The garage will sent of the log book and you should get that back in the post in a couple of weeks


Anything else lads??

245

I'd offer around 20% off the new list price of the car and go from there (in small increments (don't forget to include metallic paint in your calc if the car has it). Your task is quite simple as you know the make and model that you want. Try phoning a few Toyota garages to get an idea of the kind of discount you'll get on a similar car - it'll save you time and maybe give you a better idea of where you stand - try the likes of Des Hughes in Portlaoise even if he's miles away from you - I've found them good in the past and the important thing is to get a accurate baseline.

You can get insurance over the phone valid from the time of payment or a time that you nominate. A couple of girls in work have found Axa to be very competitive for first time insurance (practically same as Quinn). As they're outside the broker network you might overlook them but worth a call. Hibernian didn't come out well in the unscientific survey.

When you collect the car you need to sign a change of ownership form and should receive cert from Shannon a few days later (assuming that the car has been taxed). Otherwise you have to tax it using a form that the garage will give you before the ownership cert will be issued.

Agree with previous poster - spare key (Toyota should have three - two black and one grey) is important as they're expensive to replace. Also owners manual and service book should be supplied.

If you can, bring a level headed person with you to check the car over before you buy. I know from personal experience that its easy to overlook small flaws when you're involved in the buying process that are more easily spotted when not involved. Make sure that there's a spare wheel, jack etc as these can often be borrowed and sometimes forgotten. Also, try every single electrical component. There'll be a three year warranty from date of registration so you should be covered, but still....

They're a good first car - reliable, cheap to run and maintain and they hold their value well. Hope you enjoy it.

angeldelight

Thanks guys, I'm feeling more confident about going in anyway... am going to give a few garages a call in the morning and see where I want to go in to... thank you!!!

colm_mcm

245 wrote: »

Agree with previous poster - spare key (Toyota should have three - two black and one grey) is important as they're expensive to replace. Also owners manual and service book should be supplied.

The Yaris comes with 2 keys. one remote key, and one non-remote key.

245

colm_mcm wrote: »

The Yaris comes with 2 keys. one remote key, and one non-remote key.

Thanks Colm - good to know - different from the previous model Corolla then...

snowman707

my daughter bought a yaris a couple of months back & really likes it

the price you mentioned seems about average & if the garage is close to you I would go for it

by all means have a look around & see what else is available

someone referred to it as a city car ???? well she drives to college about 16 miles 11-12 miles rural, balance urban . also drives to work at the weekend & out & about etc
gets well over 400 miles on a tankful

best of luck with your purchase & safe motoring.