Deposit = Contract? HPI Checks etc

Or maybe save up? In a bid to rid this world of the pitfulls of debt!?

Seriously, if you can't afford it, save up and use your own money, it's much nicer that way, and the cars at least yours and not some stinking finance companies.

Kev

Mmm,

I am in the camp that believe in pay for it yourself or lump it. If you can't afford it, then you can't have it. Yet you can't dispute that there are times when real emergencies and necessities arise and providing you do your home work, you're not stupid, and you make sure that any debt you take on is manageable (ie, I was going to get a car in six months after saving, but dang, I NEED it now so finance will meet the gap), then I think its fine.

I've just made an offer to buy the car. Picking it up on Saturday. Think I got a good bargain. £3,300 according to glasses, £2,631 for private sale, I got for £2800. Drives like a charm, feels great, quiet, plus I can now transfer my audio equipment to its new home for the next six years.

Should be able to complete the credit card pay off in six months what with monies from my Insurance Co along the way.

I don't know why some people have to get on their high horse. Im sure some people are happy about their £500 bangers. Well that's fine. But it seems you have to spend an enormous amount of time, money and energy into trying to find a car you're not sure you can trust (yes, its very well talking about spanners, and while I am mechanically minded, I don't have the capability to go around changing exhausts and suspension arms myself).

Of course, some people don't need to spend a great deal of time or effort because they "know people". Well I don't know those kind of people. And I don't have the time.

And Im happy with my new car that also gives me £25 a year off the VED!

I think you've paid *way* over the odds for that, drawn in by the shiny paint and low miles. Of course, it'll need a clutch soon and you'll find that it soon develops clunking and rattling suspension, 'cos the bushes have rotted away at that kind of age - you'll notice this very quickly when you start putting a few miles on it.

That's going to cost you nearly as much in interest as some cars have cost me!

In my experience of cheap cars, this has never been the case.

But, of course, you wanted something with a new-ish plate, shiny paint and a £3k finance bill for it.

Only one of my cars came from a mate - my Primera, but I still paid around market value for it.

*shakes head*

A whole 25 quid a year. That'll be about a week of interest, then.

We agree on many things; I too am looking for a car in the 3-4K range and, since suffering with my Focus-garage combination, appreciate not having to go anywhere near a garage.

However, I am still curious as to why you prefer a CC loan as opposed to a consumer loan or car finance.

Enjoy your new car.

Kostas

Are we talking about a 01/51 2.0 SE? Parker's suggests that it's between 2850 and 2425 for nominal mileage. So even if you don't adjust for the mileage, it's still a fair price.

Can you substantiate to me why you know better that the two books?

Thanks, Kostas

Yes - the books are, frankly, bollocks.

My old Alfa 75 is 'booked' at £250. It's worth at least 4-5 times that.

Extreme example, maybe, but it shows that you can't trust the books.

Even dealers only use the trade guides as exactly what they are - a guide.

BTW: turn off the HTML when posting to usenet, you muppet.

To answer your question, and thank you for the agreement, a loan was certainly my first choice. Certainly I'd consider Egg as the loan has a certain amount of flexibility built in.

In the end, my credit rating is shot - no loan available. By some fluke last year, I managed to get a credit card with a big fat credit limit. Comparing the APR's, the credit card is only 3% more APR per year.

Crunching the numbers, I figured that the Credit Card would actually allow me to ultimately be as flexible as I wanted. So I could pay back £500 every month, or in really dire circumstances, could cut right back to minimum payments without hassle. It also shows me that in comparison, Im not paying that much extra on a month by month basis.

Additionally, I don't like being tied into fixed payments.

Hope you find a nice car too that doesn't cause you any trouble that you can pick up quickly.

Honestly, I don't know how these people manage to swoop in on bargains. When I've been looking, I've only found knackers! Maybe my standards are higher, and what is lack of engine power to me, or pulling on the steering, is another mans pride and joy.

Cya Simon

So glasses car guide is wrong then?

Oh yes, I've seen the explanation, it must be wrong because your valuation is correct.

No no no. Drawn in by a quality used car with an almost certain guaranteed reliability I don't need to worry about. And I get it by Saturday from a local, trusted, respected guy, and I don't have to worry about running around the country and taking time off work that I can't get.

£273.89 at worst, £73 at best? Those are some cheap cars!

Cough cough splutter. You got a thing for shiny paint? I've said it time and time again, Im not interested in shiny paint. Just like I wasn't interested in shiny paint on another £850 used car because it looked wrong. If the car is good quality, you'll generally find its got shiny paint. Dang.

No. It wont.

Yes, it is.

Quite specatacularly wrong in most cases, too.

Quote a 'consumer' guide price to a dealer and they'll laugh you out of the showroom.

Trusted, local, respected guy with overpriced cars on his forecourt.

As I said - nearly as much - £273.89 isn't a lot less than my totally reliable Primera cost me - it's less than 30 quid more than I sold it for.

You've been blinded by a new-ish plate and shiny paint / interior and been shafted by a dealer in the process.

Well, whatever. 25 quid is such a minute drop in the ocean compared with the cost of running a car, it would never have crossed my mind to even think about it.

I'm sure you'll be very happy with your new purchase, at least until something goes wrong and you have to put more money on the card to fix it, anyway.

I just love it when people roll up in newsgroups, ask for advice, don't like what they hear, ignore all the sensible advice and get shirty with the people giving them good, sound advice.

I don't think I post/email with HTML turned on and since you don't ask nicely I won't check.

Kostas

Simon Dean ( snipped-for-privacy@simtext.plus.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Have you considered looking on AutoTrader?

Just looking for £1-2k, max 60k mile Primeras within 40 miles of B1 1AA brings up four that are every bit as good as this one you've set your heart on - but half the price.

Look over a wider choice of cars, but with the same money and mileage criteria, and you get a good choice - damn near every single one of which I'd cheerfully get the train to go and buy then drive to *ROME* without thinking twice about it.

Yup. That's where I found the one Im interested in.

How do you know the one I've set my heart on? Again, you havent viewed it. Or driven it? Ok, I havent viewed those, but, Im not about to.

Out of that selection you've given me, there are five listed. The first is the only SE model in line with mine. It may be a 2.0L but with that comes extra insurance costs being a 140bhp engine. It's also two years older.

I think I have seen this one before and something put me off. I can't see the pictures right now. I am skeptical of dealers, esp this one at £1.5k from a dealer - screams "what's wrong with". In contrast, I know the car Im buying, the garage Im buying from and I know they have a great reputation ... I've had enough of explaining - but this car has to be seen to be believed. It is immaculate. Im not talking just about paint work, but the underneath of the car, no rust, no bashed wheel arches or out of line material. Engine bay looks new. It drives perfectly.

Im also wiser at looking at Nissans. I know their weak points, and this car has no weak points.

Though Im sure someone will just come along and make another rubbishing argument.

I really have no interest in buying a doorstop and having to start changing cambelts, and cam chains, and camshafts, and suspension arms, and brake pipes, brake discs, brake pads and all that malarky.

I've had that recommendation to look for more varied cars. I've owned two Nissans, and driven six and love them all. That's why I stick to Nissans. There's something about them. Even people I've known who have been adamant Ford drivers, step foot in a Nissan and love them from day one and wouldn't go back!

Im not seeking to argue, or to rubbish other peoples experiences. But it's been my experience, that I've been burned with buying cheap cars. Cheap cars that have needed work doing very quickly after buying, and have only lasted me two years. The cheap cars I buy are crap! I remember my Rover, needed exhausts, water pump, brake discs, and even the heater matrix kept clogging and needed reverse flushing on a regular basis. You know what, I dont want to be arsed with that.

My last Nissan has been great. It's been neglected by previous owners and I paid over the odds for it, but it has lasted me six years.

So I am happy to pay £3k for this immaculate car. I know Im not getting something as ratty as previous, and therefore I know by maintaining it well, it should outlast my current motor.

Im happy. Im pleased with my purchase. Enough, please?

...

Giggle. Why do you keep coming back for more then?

Here's how I see it : You're not terribly financially astute - hence the credit problems. Now if I were in that situation, I'd be looking to minimise expenditure, eg by learning to keep the current car on the road, or if that's really unattainable, getting a cheap replacement and learning on that. What I wouldn't be doing is borrowing 2.8K for something unnecessarily shiny - as I said before, even nowadays I've got better things to do with my money. I suspect others in this thread have similar opinions.

Of course the fact that you're unable to resist the opportunity to respond to criticism, and have demonstrated this more than once before on usenet, make this thread all the more amusing :-)

clive

Sod all extra insurance costs, IME.

Erm, that's pretty much par for the course even on 500 quid examples.

That you've spotted - suspension bushes (they have been replaced, right?

- at 6 years old they're about due), clutch (been driven by an old giffer who never went anywhere, so it'll be more shagged than on a car that's done 100k miles in the hands of a rep.), brakes may also need attention, too.

Primera camchains last the life of the engine, you may well need brake pipes, pads, discs and suspension arms, just because it's 6 year old car.

At 6 years old, if it hasn't already had one, and bearing in mind the use it has had, the Primera is probably due for some new exhaust bits. The best bit is that you can't tell it's about to need them, 'cos they rot from the inside outwards.

I'd also not be too confident in the cooling system as it appears to have spent it's time with a brassic old giffer, so proper servicing isn't likely to have been carried out.

See above ref: brakes.

Maintenance is the key word. Something an ultra-low miles 6 year old car, bought on finance by someone who never drives anywhere, is likely to have had very poor maintenance in the past. Luckily, this means you get to do all the catching up.....

Simon Dean ( snipped-for-privacy@simtext.plus.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

But...

Ummm... I'm sensing a contradiction here...

And nor bloody should it. Hell, I'd avoid a £500 car with any of those...

Oh, f*ck, it's been steam-cleaned...

So you'd rather spend £2k to "save" £200...?

Even though you don't HAVE that money, and are having to borrow it at a bloody steep rate?

Yup, that's me. I've driven Nissans - and I wouldn't go back voluntarily.

You started it, mate. Just because you didn't get the unequivocal support you wanted.

Well its only polite to reply.

Hehehe. What a laugh.

Lesson 3: You do realise those that have had financial issues in the past are often the most financially astute?

Lesson 4: You do realise that buying a car on credit card instead of loan, while having a higher APR often leads to paying less interest and provides greater flexibility in when and how the debt is repaid?

Although you don't know my situation, you talk as if you do...

[snip waffle based on assumptions about my undocumented financial status]

Lesson 5: I actually know that that it is you and your ilk who are in the dark ages. I'll sit in my new car that should give me at least six years good service and a home for my audio equipment (I aint buying speakers every year to fit a new car), and enjoy my comfort and luxury in a fabulous car six months before I would have had enough cash to buy it outright.

Lesson 6: Credit issue does not equals a cash flow crisis. Maybe that's why you're happy spending £500 on a car every year instead of buying a decent car and keeping it happy for six years?

Cya Simon

The stories of these £500 cars Im hearing. My god. They sound absolutely incredible. None of them appear to have any faults at all. Brilliant engines, perfect unblemished bodywork, everything working.

I've seen steam cleaned engines. Steam cleaned engines look steam cleaned. This looks new. What you stupid or just ignorant?

Hehehe.

More ignorance. Sees 19.9% thinks OOOH, that sounds bad.

Yes, people knock things they don't understand.

Funny. Look at the title of this thread? I don't recall raising anything about reviewing my finances or asking for opinion on whether I should buy it or not.

Let me assure you. While you're fixing up another banger waiting for someone to crash into the side of you and write off your car, I'll be sitting in comfort in my semi-luxurious car enjoying myself, having a great time and paying relatively low interest repayments each month.

Just means that if something does go wrong in the next six months, I can't come here for advice.

Cya Simon

Simon Dean ( snipped-for-privacy@simtext.plus.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Yes, it is. It's damn near twice what any half-decent credit card would charge, for a start.

Scoff scoff scoff. Maybe it is bad for someone who only pays back the minimal amount. And there we go back to what I suspect to be this groups inhabitants' cash flow problems hindering buying anything more expensive than a £500 knacker