Buying a used car in Ireland guide

TimeToShine

MidlandsM wrote: »

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/opel-astra-16v-life-1-4-2004/7038130


just an example, no affiliation.

Claims service history, and you'll get a warranty.

Looks like a dealer and seems to be charging dealer prices!

Might ring up if you think it's worth a shot though. Would 3500 be the minimum spend for a car like this? There are a few cheap ones going around but don't want to risk getting burned.

MidlandsM

TimeToShine wrote: »

Looks like a dealer and seems to be charging dealer prices!

Might ring up if you think it's worth a shot though. Would 3500 be the minimum spend for a car like this? There are a few cheap ones going around but don't want to risk getting burned.

Yeah...haggle hard with 3.5k budget and aim for a low milage example.

stuba

http://www.aherns.ie/used-cars/Volkswagen/Passat/B6-HIGH/45013974878694350/

Going looking at this on Monday, any verdicts on it?

colm_mcm

Looks good, NCT till 2016, one owner too.
Obviously check service history.

stuba

Will do, any idea how they are on fuel?

uberdan

Am looking to buy my first car. Thinking something like a Focus or Golf, 1.4 or below. €2700 max to spend, any suggestions?

GreeBo

Is it crazy to spend 19K on a private sale?
Looking at some A6's this weekend and only the private sales have the spec I want.
2010 models, ~80K miles.

I'd be getting an AA check on it and looking for full service history....madness or ok?

bazz26

If you prefer the security of a dealer warranty then consider dropping back to a 2009 model.

bazz26

stuba wrote: »

Will do, any idea how they are on fuel?

They are not bad on fuel but like any car, if you have a heavy right foot then fuel economy will suffer.

uberdan wrote: »

Am looking to buy my first car. Thinking something like a Focus or Golf, 1.4 or below. €2700 max to spend, any suggestions?

Both of those cars are on the sluggish side for 1.4 litre, a Corolla would be a lot more nippier in 1.4 litre form. As it's your first car speed is probably not a priority so I would chose the 1.4 litre Focus over a 1.4 litre Golf of that vintage as the 1.4 litre engine in the Focus would be a lot more reliable.

L-M

Those 1.4's are decent on fuel, much better than the 1.6 it replaced.

Bobby42

Hi,

I'm looking to buy my first car (28, full licence, budget €2000)

I'm thinking this golf would suit me

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Volkswagen/Golf/.1.4-BAS/43613933375818260/advert?channel=CARS

I'm not very knowledgeable on cars, anything in particular I should wary of with 00 golfs?

bazz26

€2k for a 14 year old Golf that doesn't even have electric front windows is madness. Don't see the point in buying any car of that age from a dealer as I cannot imagine them offering much in the way of warranty on a 14 year old car.

I'd rather spend my money on something like this:


http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/high-spec-full-service-history/7077756

Bobby42

Thanks!

Yeah the focus seems a lot better spend. Need to do a bit more research evidently.

dunworth1

hi guys

headgasket blew on my 00 skoda fabia so not worth fixng up

so ive got a 2k budget

I have been looking at Ford fiestas from 03 what would be a reasonable millage
to have on those?

i'm seeing 135-155k miles on them

L-M

The lower the better only if it has service history! Make sure you get the 1.25, and aim for a Zetec spec.

dunworth1

Limerick man wrote: »

The lower the better only if it has service history! Make sure you get the 1.25, and aim for a Zetec spec.

thoughts on these

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-fiesta-ghia/6991276

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-fiesta-lx-03/7067677

L-M

Wouldn't be mad on either. One is a 1.4 and one has fairly high mileage.

Are you heart set on a Fiesta?

dunworth1

Not heart set but trying to get the most reliable for my budget with 1.4 or under due to insurance and tax

Can't really go to far from the city

bazz26

This looks a little better than the other two:


http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-fiesta-for-sale-04/7005214

IrishAlice

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Peugeot/207/SPORT-1./52014018120670960/advert?channel=CARS

Hi All,

I'm going to view this car on Saturday and anyone who I know that has a clue about cars is busy so I'm going on my own. Can anyone in the know advise if this is a good price?

I have a 02 Peugeot 206 and was hoping to get about 1k of a trade in. Is that realistic do you think? There's a little dent in the back but it's in good condition other than that. Taxed and NCT'd too.

Thanks!

L-M

Put your car up on donedeal, it should move very quick at 1300 or 14. Go in and buy that for cash and if you got it for 46-47 you could save yourself a nice few bob.

If not, I don't think 4k to change is a million miles out.

dunworth1

thoughts on this astra

too good to be true?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2005-opel-astra-club-1-4-i-16v-5dr-/7112056

TimeToShine

dunworth1 wrote: »

thoughts on this astra

too good to be true?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2005-opel-astra-club-1-4-i-16v-5dr-/7112056

V. high mileage, I too am looking for an astra.

If you go back a few pages MidlandsM posted a lot of useful info, the main thing I took from it was to always go low mileage. Looks like a decent buy though, bit too far out in Limerick for me but worth a punt maybe.

IrishAlice

Limerick man wrote: »

Put your car up on donedeal, it should move very quick at 1300 or 14. Go in and buy that for cash and if you got it for 46-47 you could save yourself a nice few bob.

If not, I don't think 4k to change is a million miles out.

Thanks for the advice!

Was thinking about putting it on Done Deal but there's a small leak in the boot from the dent in the back of the car. I was worried that would put people off.

Would you consider this something that would be an issue?

L-M

Could be. How bad of a dent/leak?

IrishAlice

Limerick man wrote: »

Could be. How bad of a dent/leak?

It's a small dent just underneath one of the back lights. The leak is localised to a small section of the boot behind the light.

I was going to get it fixed but since I'm looking to get a new car didn't see the point.

I think it could be limiting my options to just getting a trade in on the car though.

L-M

Go to the dealer and get a price for a trade in. Don't talk your car down, just get a price. You may be surprised or shocked, either way you can decide what to do once you have the trade in value.

dunworth1

spent the day phoning around

went to look at a 03 fiesta but my brothers friend who is good at cars
took it for a spin and it was pulling hard to the left when braking and quite a lot of rust under the hood so he reckoned that it needed new break pads/discs and a new wheel and as one was buckled

the search continues

not much going in around limerick at the moment

Bobby42

Came across this fiesta while looking for my first car.


http://www.adverts.ie/5713664

is the milage reasonable?

KCAccidental

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/citreon-saxo/7125136

so what's wrong with this? :pac:

edit: well it was gone within 45 mins of being put up!

L-M

Bobby42 wrote: »

Came across this fiesta while looking for my first car.


http://www.adverts.ie/5713664

is the milage reasonable?

It is, ask for service history and timing belt records.

@The Saxo, probably a heap.

KCAccidental

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/00-citroen-saxo-1-1-ncted-tax-immaculate/7127879

that 250 quid saxo I linked earlier was bought and is now back on line for 595

either a complete dud or someone saw a quick profit!

dunworth1

hi guys so i bought a new car

i'll ring my insurance on monday and have my insurance switched over

but there's currently no tax on the car is there a way that i can get the tax
before i get the log book?

L-M

You can go onto Motortax.ie and watch this,

https://www.motortax.ie/PSE/start.do;jsessionid=0aa0114730d8f0e5d916a1aa44a997d59707b665aa4d.e38PaNaSbh0RaO0Ma38Ne0?page=welcome

Type in your reg daily and see if it has been transfered. As soon as it has you can go into the tax office and tax it.

bazz26

Afaik, you and the seller can both go into the motor tax office, do the transfer of ownership and tax the car there and then.

Bobby42

Bobby42 wrote: »

Came across this fiesta while looking for my first car.


http://www.adverts.ie/5713664

is the milage reasonable?

I had a look at this car yesterday, seems to be in good nick. Had a good look around the car, but since its my first time buying a car I wasn't prepared to buy it there and then. I'm bringing a mechanic I know to check it out next week.

One thing I'm not so sure of though is that the car history check has come back saying its a UK import but there's no record of an owner until 2007 in Ireland. So where was the car between 2003 and 2007? The report gives its previous UK reg number but there were no UK owners

Does this sound dodgy/reason to steer clear?

L-M

There was definitely something lost in translation there. If it was regged in the Uk it had to have an owner. Maybe send motorcheck a mail.

bazz26

The only thing I can think of is that it was on a personal plate in the UK for that period, only a guess though.

Bobby42

Motorcheck got back to me and said that there was one owner in the UK.

If the mechanic gives it the all clear I think I'll go ahead with the car.

I think 1800 for an 03 Fiesta with 118,000 miles is reasonable.

Anything particularly dodgy about buying a UK import? There's nothing else to be wary of on the motorcheck report.

bazz26

Make sure your mechanic has a good poke around underneath it. Fiestas of that vintage were very prone to rust, that plus salt on the roads in the UK could mean it's a rotter.

witless_steve

bazz26 wrote: »

Make sure your mechanic has a good poke around underneath it. Fiestas of that vintage were very prone to rust, that plus salt on the roads in the UK could mean it's a rotter.

Bazz I may be asking a really thick question but are Irish reg cars doused in salt to the same extent?

bazz26

We have generally only being using salt on our roads in the last few years and not as frequently as some parts of the UK. Not saying every UK car is rotting in rust (I'm driving a UK import myself) but some cars are well known for having rust problems and having salt on the roads can make them more prone to rust.

IrishAlice

Limerick man wrote: »

Go to the dealer and get a price for a trade in. Don't talk your car down, just get a price. You may be surprised or shocked, either way you can decide what to do once you have the trade in value.

Took your advice and went to the dealer and have been offered a good price for my own which I'm delighted with.

I'm between that car now and another 207. It's the same year, 1.4 diesel as opposed to petrol but has a higher mileage of 110,000 miles.

Everyone keeps telling me that higher mileage doesn't matter on a diesel. What do you think?

Also, it's a NI import but the VRT will be paid by the garage. I've been told the same as what a lot of others on here have echoed about the salt on the roads and potential for rust. Is there any area in particular I should inspect for rust when I go see the car this evening?

Thanks!

carq

Hi Guys

Couple of questions. I have a 2001 1.25 fiesta Flight that I would be interested in selling . Only 63K on the clock – Genuine low milage.
Car is in great nick – What would the market value be – It seems to vary a lot on Done Deal – I was thinking around the 1300/1400 mark?

Also I would like to upgrade – Would have around 10 k total to spend .
Any ideas – I was looking at cars that would have the cheap tax (2008 +) and wouldn’t kill me on insurance but a good fun car.
I was looking at BMW 1 series / 3 Series, Vw Passat ( CC out of my price range I think) , Honda accord, Audi A4

Any recommendations or ones to steer clear of?

bazz26

Does your Fiesta have an NCT? With a decent NCT I would think it is worth about €1200 so start off by advertising it at €1600 and see how it goes. This allows you room for a price drop and haggling with a buyer.

€10k will get you a very good petrol Honda Accord, probably the most trouble free out of that bunch, motor tax would be similar on the petrol model whether it be on the old or cheap tax system. Alternatively a Honda Civic 1.8 litre is worth looking at too but really don't get too hung up on the cheap tax, cars with cheap tax tend to cost more to buy.

For example:


http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Honda/Accord/2.0-VTEC/51614018070239900/

L-M

IrishAlice wrote: »

Took your advice and went to the dealer and have been offered a good price for my own which I'm delighted with.

I'm between that car now and another 207. It's the same year, 1.4 diesel as opposed to petrol but has a higher mileage of 110,000 miles.

Everyone keeps telling me that higher mileage doesn't matter on a diesel. What do you think?

Also, it's a NI import but the VRT will be paid by the garage. I've been told the same as what a lot of others on here have echoed about the salt on the roads and potential for rust. Is there any area in particular I should inspect for rust when I go see the car this evening?

Thanks!

What kind of driving do you do?

IrishAlice

Limerick man wrote: »

What kind of driving do you do?

I do about 40k a day and then extra at the weekend.

The diesel was a non runner anyway, back door was covered in rust and the car looked like it had been crashed.

I thought buying a new car would be fun but it's proving very stressful!

L-M

It can be but take you're time, don't buy anything for the sake of it.

At 40k a day a little 1.4 diesel Peugeot might not be a bad option at all!

Mackas_view

http://cars.donedeal.ie/view/7143194
2005 renault laguna diesel
Anyone know why this is so cheap?? Are they bad cars?

bazz26

That model Laguna in general has a terrible reputation around reliability, mileage that is higher than your average buyer wants means it's hardly a desirable car. In saying that I don't think the asking price is in any way a bargain, it's about right for what it is imo.