Urgent Help Needed to Find a Second Hand Car...

Lal-Khaand-Bapu

Lal-Khaand-Bapu

Lal-Khaand-Bapu

Associate
Joined
23 Oct 2012
Posts
55
Hi Peeps,

It’s been a while since I’ve been here on the forums. Life, alas, has been hectic and I am in a very tight spot…

I have come to humbly ask for some insight and help regarding a situation I am currently in. Basically, I’m in desperate need of a car, but I have a budget restraint on what I can afford. The budget I can stretch to is £2500, maybe to £3000 depending on whether I skimp on some food – yes that’s the type of predicament I’m in at the moment. I need to get out of the quagmire I am in (I haven't broken the law :)), and having a vehicle will allow me to get away from my abusive troubles. I won’t bore you with any more details.

I wanted to ask you what a good car would be to get that is reliable and low maintenance and won’t cost me an arm and a leg if something was to break down. Also, what places online would you suggest I look on to try and get a car. It’s really hard for me right now to travel long distances. I know Autotrader is one place. Any hints and tips one what to look for when purchasing a car would help me greatly.

Your input would really help me.

Thank you.

Pete
 
These are quite reliable.

www.ebay.com

2007 Ford Focus ZX4 SE 4dr Sedan | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2007 Ford Focus ZX4 SE 4dr Sedan at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com

Alternatively, one of these maybe.

www.ebay.com.au

Honda Civic Hybrid 2006 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Honda Civic Hybrid 2006 at the best online prices at eBay!
www.ebay.com.au
 
MK 3 Clio, I have owned one for ten years and it does not break down, ever full stop.

autotrader, local newspapers, ebay, adverts in shop windows etc
 
that end of the market you might be better off on facebook marketplace but then you do have to deal with the very dregs of society on there :( , go Japanese and small petrol and you should be fine.

Toyota Yaris, Honda Jazz, Nissan Micra, anything Suzuki etc etc. I'd personally avoid french or itallian and even german at that end of the market. French stuff can and does go on for ages but have a far higher likelihood of giving grief with things like electrics, german stuff just tends to break more often and be quite expensive to fix when it does.

Look for service history and the general condition of it, is it smart and presentable with maybe just a few trolley dings or is it dirty inside with all 4 tyres different makes? trust your instincts if you think the car has been looked after or not.
 
Last edited:
Bug One said:
These are quite reliable.

www.ebay.com

2007 Ford Focus ZX4 SE 4dr Sedan | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2007 Ford Focus ZX4 SE 4dr Sedan at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com

Alternatively, one of these maybe.

www.ebay.com.au

Honda Civic Hybrid 2006 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Honda Civic Hybrid 2006 at the best online prices at eBay!
www.ebay.com.au
Click to expand...

why did you link to one car in the US and the other car is in Australia ? :D
 
OP do you have an Ebay account? With the feedback system it can (sometimes) be easier to work out the type (i.e. dishonest or not) of seller you're considering buying from. Try to buy something that hasn't got mega miles on it and with some evidence of being serviced. For 3k i think you'll just about be able to source a car with 80,000 miles or less, you might not be able to find 1 with a full service history but may find something with part service history and/or some receipts for servicing.

Ask for the sellers postcode and then look it up on google maps, unfortunately it's often the case (but not always) rough cars come from rough areas. Doing an MOT history check with the reg can often be helpful. When you find something you're interested in it might be worth posting it on here to get an opinion. Good luck.
 
Last edited:
tyke_ said:
For 3k i think you'll just about be able to source a car with 80,000 miles or less
Click to expand...
Why such an arbitrary number of miles? At this end of the market buy on condition/service history above mileage or age.

(e.g. I just got rid of my Fiesta that had 99k on the clock, but had receipts for ££££ worth of recent work including Clutch, Battery, Starter, Suspension arm replacements, proof of cambelt a couple of years ago etc. - would certainly have been a much better buy than a sub 80k mile car that hadn't got evidence of any of that)
 
Armageus said:
Why such an arbitrary number of miles? At this end of the market buy on condition/service history above mileage or age.

(e.g. I just got rid of my Fiesta that had 99k on the clock, but had receipts for ££££ worth of recent work including Clutch, Battery, Starter, Suspension arm replacements, proof of cambelt a couple of years ago etc. - would certainly have been a much better buy than a sub 80k mile car that hadn't got evidence of any of that)
Click to expand...

I just picked 80k as an example. Personally i go a lot by mileage, i've usually had problems with higher mileage cars, not so much with low miles cars. Of course reliable high mileage cars do exist.
 
Mileage is engine dependant.

Look for 1 or low owner cars with full service history.

Lower miles the better, but larger engines can run higher mileage.

Plenty around at even this budget, just older cars.
 
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