Tips for finding the right used car

"DON’T BUY A CAR ONLINE"  is the top tip on The Car People site. They equate the experience to buying a house and I guess, I would have to agree with that. Before buying a used car, I would definitely want to see the car and more importantly, take it for a test drive before I actually buy it.

Buying a used car can sometimes be a bit of a gamble if you are not very car savvy. I bought my current car from a used car dealer and the experience was not that great. The reputation of used car dealers (and quite unfairly I should add) has been ruined by some rotten eggs and people are quite wary. One of the things that most people hate about used car dealers are the over eager pushy salespeople. However, there are several great used car dealers out there with great customer service and no irritating salespeople.

If you live in Manchester, Wakefield,  Sheffield and surrounding areas in the UK, and are looking for  reputable used car dealers, do check out The Car People. They have been operating for over 10 years and many of their customers go back to them again and again.

They have put together a list of 10 very useful tips you need to consider before buying a used car, which you can download as a pdf document on their website.

Check out their really funny TV ad.

The new BMW 3 series and buying used BMW cars

Last month BMW officially announced that the new BMW 3 Series Saloon would be launched here in the UK on 11 February 2012. There would be be four trim specifications, namely Sport, Modern, Luxury and ES/ SE.

Prices start from £24,880 (OTR) for the 316d ES Diesel model.

In case you were not aware, the BMW 3 series remains their best selling model. Even if you can't afford to buy a new model, there are so many affordable used cars out there in the market. Though you can sometimes get a fantastic bragain from private sellers, there are several risks involved. It is always better to buy from trusted dealers as they offer several advantages over private sellers including warranty, minimum MOT, finance options and also to avoid the risk of being sold a stolen car. In fact there is a large co-operative of Trusted Dealers BMW (used).

The trusted dealers site has a huge range of second-hand BMWs for sale which you can search by post code and your budget. So if you are thinking of buying a second hand BMW 3 series model from a trusted dealer, check out Trusteddealers.co.uk

Used Cars to Avoid

Moneywatch.com has come up with an interesting list of used cars to avoid. Some suggestion in the same range are also given.

Tips for a Buying a Used Vauxhall Corsa

When the Vauxhall Corsa hit the British market in 1993 replacing the popular Nova, people who were looking for style, class and power bought it. However, the subsequent years that followed saw heightened competition from other car models and they had to improve on the previous model in 2000. Sales of the car are still high and up to date, the Vauxhall Corsa has the ability to hold attraction and deliver power on the wheel. If you are looking forward to buying a used Vauxhall Corsa , then there are certain things that you have to take into consideration to make an informed choice.

The first thing that you'll have to look for is the petrol engine mainly because they come in different versions and while there are those that run effectively, some are prone to producing unnecessary noise. Engine capacity of 1.4 would be suitable for any level of speed while those with 1.0 to 1.2 are weak and when driving at high speed susceptible to emitting noise. Some of the best used Vauxhall Corsa models include the SRi and the VXR which have a high capacity petrol engine.

The second thing that you have to check when buying a used Vauxhall Corsa is the petrol costs you are going to incur in the long run. While the 1.4 and above petrol engines are the best at ensuring that the car is powerful and not noisy, it’s the 1.3 petrol engines which use less diesel averaging to 63 mpg and fall in VED band B, on the other hand, others like the 1.0 to 1.2 use 50.4 and 45.6mpg and fall in the VED band C category. This is why you have to weigh your options carefully before buying a Vauxhall Corsa to establish if a specific model’s cons outweigh the pros or not.

You'll also have to consider the source you intend to buy the used Vauxhall Corsa from. While most people tend to settle for individual sellers, the truth is that if you are able to get franchised sellers, then the price will be cheaper. To ensure that you are not paying too much for your Corsa, check the model of the car. For instance, it is important to note that 5 door models are more expensive than 3 doors and this roughly amounts to £350.

Jaguar's Used car locator

Jaguar has launched a brand new Used Car Locator to find approved used Jaguar cars. With great features including personalised content, high quality images and links to fully interactive e-brochures among others.

According to them, all the used cars undergo extensive warranty and vehicle checks.

So if you are looking for a Used Jaguar, do check out their Approved Used Car Locator.

Buying a used car - my experience with Station Garage

Continued from "Buying a used car - my experience 1."


Note: Company not recommended. Have had numerous complaints about this company from various readers. Moreover the company website has been down for quite sometime. Calls to the owner were unanswered and I assume the company has closed down. However, I am still using the Volvo I bought from them and is still running fine.

After my disastrous day in Solihul and Birmingham, I was back on the Auto Trader site. I found a few Ford Mondeos I liked and within my budget. Unfortunately found out that the first two I had listed down had been sold. There was a private seller but he was still servicing the car and asked me to call up later.

While going through the various cars, I noticed one Mondeo with really low mileage and if I was able to knock down a couple of prices, it would be well below my budget. The used car dealer - Station Garage Coventry was in Balsall Common, about 7.3 miles from my house. As I couldn't wait, I just took a cab and set off for the place directly without calling. What really attracted me was their claim that their cars:

"come with 12 months parts and labour warranty. For your peace of mind, they are all HPI checked."

It is a good idea to go to a car dealer without calling so that you can look around at leisure. Even if you do call them up, don't tell them what car you are interested in as I learnt from some friends that they would "prepare" it for you before you turn up and you might miss a few things.

Anyway, I reached the place and Jonathan, the guy running the place showed me the Mondeo I was interested in. Around that time, my friend Ihsan turned up as well. Had a look at the engine which was tip top by the way, and took it for a test drive. It was OK but not that smooth. The clutch was stiff and the hand brakes were not working.

While looking around, I suddenly laid my eyes on this Volvo S40. The price was slightly higher than my budget but I was sure that I could knock it down a bit. It had only done 65K miles and took it for a test drive. That was it - I decided to buy the car. The car ticked all my requirements - including the extras, sports rims, air conditioning and CD player. Now was time for haggling.

As much as I tried, Jonathan wouldn't budge on the price. I gave up on the Volvo and tried to reduce the price of the Mondeo but it was "No!" again. As I was about to leave , he was willing to reduce the price on the Mondeo by about £99 pounds but I decided to look for another Volvo elsewhere.

When I came back home I had a discussion with my wife. We looked at other Volvo S40s available and found a few within the same price range. Some were cheaper but with a higher mileage. However, none offered a 12 months parts and labour warranty. Plus it came with 12 months MOT.

That was it. I called the garage up and informed Jonathan that I wanted to buy the car and would be back at the garage the next day. He told me that there was someone coming to look at the car as well. I doubted it as the car was no where listed on their stock list nor on the auto trader.

Later at night we decided to check out the car's history on the RAC site.That's when I started to have doubts. The report said "Details currently held on the National Mileage Register (NMR) indicates that there may be a mileage discrepancy on this vehicle". That set off a lot of alarm bells even though the estimated market value was higher at that mileage.

So called up the garage in the morning the next day and informed Jonathan about my concerns. However he assured me that it might be human error and had the service records to prove it.

To cut a long story short (it's already long) I went back and finally bought the car. The garage had the car serviced and replaced one of the tyres as well. After I had paid the money (via debit) and as I was about to drive away, suddenly realised that the car had no floor mats. And I wasn't getting any. A small thing but left me somewhat dissatisfied.

Anyway, that's was my experience with Station Garage Coventry based in Ballsal Common and here's my new ride:


Here's their address:
Station Garage
Station Road
Ballsal Common
Coventy
CV7 7EF

Tel: 01676 534055

Related Link: Find used cars

Buying a used car - my experience 1

Buying a used car is a tiring and frustrating task. I have learnt that over the course of thiese few day. Ever since my car broke down along the A14 and I found out that repairing the engine would cost me more than the value of the car, I have been looking for a good used car.

Besides looking at the newspapers (where I didn't find anything I liked) I also went to the Auto Trader site. Initially I looked for private sellers listing their Toyota Avensis but all the good ones (read best prices) had already been sold. It's amazing how popular this model is here in the UK. My next choice was the Nissan Primera because of the good review. I usually refer to Honest John which lists1200 comprehensive car reviews. Coming back to the Nissan Primera, it was my choice because it receives quite favourable reviews. However, every single one I liked on the Auto Trader site was beyond my budget (which is not really much to start with).

A relative living in Birmingham gave me some leads around Birmingham. My friend Ishan kindly consented to drive me around. My first car was a Nissan Primera at a car dealer in Solihul. I didn't like the car the first time I laid my eyes on it. It was in a really bad shape and when I gave it a test drive, it had a really unbearable odour inside. I don't need to tell you my decision.

Next was a 1.8 Turbo Diesel in Birmingham. I really liked it but the guy who was selling it really talked a lot and it was really suspicious because the price was too cheap. He seemed over eager to get rid of the car as well. Never-the-less I decided to buy the car and gave him £70 as deposit after agreeing on a price. However, I just couldn't get rid of this nagging feeling. 

I had passed over the details of the car to my wife and I didn't know it but she had done a check on the car's history on the RAC site. You have to pay £5 but you get to learn some important details about the car. In this case, she discovered that the car had previously been involved in an accident and had been recordered as a total loss by the insurance company. It was listed as a category D "Vehicle damaged but repairable - the insurer decided not to repair". Not all category D cars are bad but I was not willing to take the chance and turned back at once. The guy agreed to give me back my deposit and he looked really miserable and I pitied him, but I had no choice.

Now it was back to the Auto Trader site and I widened up my option. I started looking for Ford Mondeos, VW Passats, etc.

To be continued in next post...

Private Fleet - Australian car buying site

I recently got to know about Private Fleet, an Australian auto broker which has been in business for nearly seven years. Though the company is based in Chatswood, New South Walesr, Private Fleet is affiliated with over 600 dealers all over Australia.

First impression of the site was quite good. With a neat and tidy layout and unlike other car sites, the page is not littered with ads.

Getting a quote is fairly simple (you will notice I didn't say "on their site"). Read on and you will understand what I mean.

All you have to do is choose a make and model. Fill in your post code and hit the "Get a quote" button. You will then be taken to another page were you would have to fill in a few details. If you are looking for a used car, you will have to fill in a few more details and you are done.

I tried it and got the message

"We look forward to dealing with your enquiry and being of assistance in the purchase of your new or used car.
We will contact you shortly (generally within 24 business hours)..."

and so on. Personally, I would have preferred a results page with all available cars listed with pictures and all necessary information, including the price.

I know I said the site was neat and tidy but it sure could could do with some brightening up. Pictures of flashy cars won't hurt. I also suggest putting up a link to an "About us" page on the navigation rather than from a link in the text. Trust me, customers like to know who they are dealing with especially in an online environment. Having said that, they have some great testimonials from their customers including some great reviews by Naomi Robson from Today Tonight, Channel 7 and Hoyle from The Age Newspaper.

As a car fanatic, I found the site quite interesting. They have loads of information on cars including brief history of different brands and cars reviews. Do check out the site.

Highly optimised UK user car site.

If you are looking for a used car in the UK, I know the perfect place to go to. No! You don't have to go there physically. All you have to do is put on your computer and go to BuyYourCar.com and search for Used Cars. This relatively new site has some great features that will appeal to both dealers and people looking for used cars. they believe that advertising online is more than just a simple listing and picture.

The site allows you to search their listings by make, model, details, price range, distance from postcode and type of seller (private, dealer or both). The results are automatically sorted by latest offers, price (lowest or highest) distance. The distance option is a welcome feature as we want to search for a car as near to our house as possible.


The site provides some great tips for people considering to buy a car, namely in deciding the value of buying a used car. There is a list of questions, which we should ask the seller, how to inspect a used car and so on. There is even a Used-Car-Buyer's Checklist which is absolutely essential.

As for the dealers who advertise on the site, they get 'Standard listings', 'Individual Listings', 'Dedicated pages in the site' and 'Dedicated pages that list stock by Make'.

All cars advertised are also entered into the NEW Regional Search which allows customers to search for cars in their area. For example in Birmingham.

Some other great features include an online enquiry forms and Google location maps with interactive directions.

This site has been highly optimised for Google search and thus highly recommended if you are selling used cars. If you don't believe me, search for the terms "Used Cars UK" on Google and find out for yourself.

Buying cars online in the UK

Buying a used car is often a gamble - you never know what's wrong with the car until you have used it for a while. Even if there is still several months before the next MOT, you might find have your car breaking down on the middle of the motorway in the middle of the night. However, if you take the necessary precautions and do the required checks, you should be OK.

We really had a tough time searching for a used car when we first moved to Coventry, as we had a tight budget- what with the rental for a new house and all that. Anyway, I checked with the newspapers and a few online used car dealers, but it took me some time before could find one that I liked and suited my budget as well. The used car sites didn't impress me at all. Some of the people I called up had already sold their cars but their listings were still up even after a few weeks.

I wish I had known about BuyYourCar.co.uk as it would have made my life a lot more easier. Though relatively new (it only went live in August last year), this Used Cars site has become quite popular. When I last checked, it had a Google PR of 5 and Alexa ranking of 32,989. It is also #1 on Google search for "Used Cars UK". There is a reason for that. The site is packed with a number of impressive and innovative features that makes it easier for customers and sellers alike.

I totally agree with their philosophy that "...advertising online is more than just a simple listing and picture."

You can search the listings on the site by Car Make, Model, Details (for example, 1.8 red), Price range, Distance from Postcode and Seller Type (private, dealer or both), with the results sorted by Latest Offers, Lowest Price, Highest Price and Distance search.

The distance search feature is a welcome feature. I wouldn't want to go all the way to London to buy a car listed by an owner there (unless of course there was something very special about the car).

One of the pages I really found interesting on the site was the "Car review" page. The have listed different car brands and given a brief history of each. They plan to have customer reviews in the future.

Dealers advertising with BuyYourCar will get:
- Standard listings,
- Individual Listings,
- Dedicated pages in the site,
- Dedicated pages that list stock by Make,
– Dedicated pages that list stock by Price, as well as
- Online enquiry forms, Google location maps with interactive directions.
Go to the site for more information.

If you are looking for a used car in the UK, I definitely recommend this site.

Land Rover wallpapers and screensaver

Land Rover has come a long way since the the launch of the first ever 4x4 in 1948. The company is based in Solihull, England near Birmingham, and is a subsidiary of the Premier Automotive Group, a division of the Ford Motor Company.

Land Rover now produces a number of four-wheel drive vehicles, including the Range Rover range. This vehicle range is Land Rover's flagship vehicle. It was first introduced in 1970 and is claimed to be the first first luxury SUV. the Range Rover is still among the most expensive vehicles in it's type. A new Rage Rover now starts from around £55,100 (on the road price). and is the Queen's favourite ride of choice.

If you love Land Rover vehicles, you should have one as your desktop. Check out the Land Rover Range Rover wallpaper below.

You can download other Land Rover wallpapers and screensavers from the Vcars website (http://www.vcars.co.uk).