I've never bought a car privately - our two previous cars and our current one were all bought from dealers. Only the second, a rather good looking 1994 Mazda 323F, was sold privately, so I'm rather new to the whole business of buying cars from complete strangers.
As I've been looking for my 406 Coupé, I've assumed that I'd be looking for a car from a dealer. Most of the cars on Autotrader are from dealers, and the £500 penalty I've added in my scoring system has ensured that only trade sales were likely to get a look in.
Until now. A quick surf before bedtime has revealed that a car that I saw a few weeks ago, a silver 2000 (X) 2.0 SE has dropped from £3699 to £3199, and has acquired an 'ono' to boot. This is now firmly top of my list, £200 ahead of the pack.
So - do I understand the additional risks of buying privately? I'd certainly be getting a full independent inspection, which is likely to cost £150-£200. The cost of this is already factored into the scoring system. A bit of negotiating might also get me back vaguely in line with my budget, which would be attractive.
It's probably a moot point, as the newly-reduced Coupé is likely to attract a lot more attention - or maybe al the attention it's already had has been put off by some hideous flaw. Time will tell.
Monday, 26 March 2007
Tuesday, 20 March 2007
First Drive
I've been out and about this week, leaving me too busy to record the test drive I took last week. I was on a training course in Hampshire and I'd noticed that one of the cars towards the top of my list was near by, in Basingstoke.
I phoned the dealer to see if they were open late enough for me to shoot off (Yeah - through the rush-hour traffic. How do people put up with that every day?) and take the car for a spin. It seems that the premises in Basingstoke had closed, but the owner was still selling the 406 Coupé and running the business from home. This seems a little fishy as I write about it, but he had trade plates and promised all the relevant paperwork.
The car was a 2000(W) 2.0 SE in metallic red. 72,000 miles, black leather interior. A couple of small dings and scratches in the paintwork, but the alloys had scrubbed up nicely. Advertised at £4250, but the owner volunteered that he'd take £4000 pretty quickly when I hinted that it was out of my price bracket. We didn't discuss whether he'd take £3750 for it, which is about all I'd really want to pay. I suspect he may not, as he was complaining at having to pay £170 for a replacement switch unit for the driver's seat; I got the impression this was cutting his profit on the car by a fair bit, but then he'd want me to think that.
We went for a short spin, which is nothing short of miraculous given the state of the roads at 5:30pm on a Tuesday evening in market-town commuter-belt Hampshire. It wasn't really enough for me to get a good feel for the car, barely enough to get used to the clutch and steering, but I did find out that the leather is somehow a lot less slidy that I'd thought it might be, and that there's a decent driving position to be found in there somewhere. I thought this would be the case from my earlier visit to County Liquidations, but it's hard to tell without being out on the road.
One thing that did surprise me was that the engine seemed to be revving very high for a 2-litre. I expected it to be a few hundred rpm lower than my 1.6 Vauxhall, but if anything it was higher. By the time I had noticed this and checked that I wasn't still in 3rd we were in heavy traffic again, so I may have been mistaken. I'll have a proper look next time. I also checked that the rear seats can be accessed without too much trouble, which I'd neglected to check on a previous viewing.
So- will I buy this car? If the potential future boss #1 ever gets back to me to offer me the job, then I might. I was a little disappointed at the bodywork, but I have to accept that I am buying a seven-year-old car, after all. There's another 2.0 SE on my list that I'd like to have a look at, and it may come down to how much the two sellers are willing to budge on the price.
I phoned the dealer to see if they were open late enough for me to shoot off (Yeah - through the rush-hour traffic. How do people put up with that every day?) and take the car for a spin. It seems that the premises in Basingstoke had closed, but the owner was still selling the 406 Coupé and running the business from home. This seems a little fishy as I write about it, but he had trade plates and promised all the relevant paperwork.
The car was a 2000(W) 2.0 SE in metallic red. 72,000 miles, black leather interior. A couple of small dings and scratches in the paintwork, but the alloys had scrubbed up nicely. Advertised at £4250, but the owner volunteered that he'd take £4000 pretty quickly when I hinted that it was out of my price bracket. We didn't discuss whether he'd take £3750 for it, which is about all I'd really want to pay. I suspect he may not, as he was complaining at having to pay £170 for a replacement switch unit for the driver's seat; I got the impression this was cutting his profit on the car by a fair bit, but then he'd want me to think that.
We went for a short spin, which is nothing short of miraculous given the state of the roads at 5:30pm on a Tuesday evening in market-town commuter-belt Hampshire. It wasn't really enough for me to get a good feel for the car, barely enough to get used to the clutch and steering, but I did find out that the leather is somehow a lot less slidy that I'd thought it might be, and that there's a decent driving position to be found in there somewhere. I thought this would be the case from my earlier visit to County Liquidations, but it's hard to tell without being out on the road.
One thing that did surprise me was that the engine seemed to be revving very high for a 2-litre. I expected it to be a few hundred rpm lower than my 1.6 Vauxhall, but if anything it was higher. By the time I had noticed this and checked that I wasn't still in 3rd we were in heavy traffic again, so I may have been mistaken. I'll have a proper look next time. I also checked that the rear seats can be accessed without too much trouble, which I'd neglected to check on a previous viewing.
So- will I buy this car? If the potential future boss #1 ever gets back to me to offer me the job, then I might. I was a little disappointed at the bodywork, but I have to accept that I am buying a seven-year-old car, after all. There's another 2.0 SE on my list that I'd like to have a look at, and it may come down to how much the two sellers are willing to budge on the price.
Thursday, 15 March 2007
Better Decisions
I mentioned here that I had been trying to create a ranking system to help me rate the merits of the various cars that I've found around the patch.
I was worried that my system of awarding points was a little unscientific and took no account of a car's price, so I've had another go.
I've adjusted the screen price of each car to allow for various factors as follows:
In some ways, this doesn't make the decision any easier, but I now feel I can buy any of those cars and feel that my choice has been a reasonable one.
I was worried that my system of awarding points was a little unscientific and took no account of a car's price, so I've had another go.
I've adjusted the screen price of each car to allow for various factors as follows:
- Each year of age - £700
- Each 10,000 miles - £250
- SE Model + £600
- Private Seller - £500
In some ways, this doesn't make the decision any easier, but I now feel I can buy any of those cars and feel that my choice has been a reasonable one.
Thursday, 8 March 2007
Lost one...
I've been getting paranoid that the cars on my list might sell before I'm actually in a position to buy, so I periodically browse the web to check they're still for sale, and to see if any new models have popped up.
I was pleased to see that the silver 2.0 I had at the top of my list was still available,until out of the corner of my eye I saw the word 'Automatic'. How had I missed that?
To me, automatics are driven by those whose left legs are too arthritic to be able to assist with gear changes. No offence meant to automatic drivers*, but I'm not having one.
So, the list was down to one car, and the 19k miles vs an SE model decision was made for me.
[* Except hose who sit at junctions and in queues with their left foot on the brake pedal. In the dark. Why do you do that? Stoppit.]
I was pleased to see that the silver 2.0 I had at the top of my list was still available,until out of the corner of my eye I saw the word 'Automatic'. How had I missed that?
To me, automatics are driven by those whose left legs are too arthritic to be able to assist with gear changes. No offence meant to automatic drivers*, but I'm not having one.
So, the list was down to one car, and the 19k miles vs an SE model decision was made for me.
[* Except hose who sit at junctions and in queues with their left foot on the brake pedal. In the dark. Why do you do that? Stoppit.]
Thursday, 1 March 2007
Another Viewing
I went to County Liquidations yesterday to see a car that they were advertising on their website. I wasn't really interested in the car, although the mileage wasn't shown on the advert, the 1998(R) registration meant that it would have had to have been a great deal to interest me. It was a pale blue 2.0S, ~100k miles and cloth interior. Marked up at £2990, which seemed a bit optimistic.
The main reason that I went was to have a climb over a model without a sunroof. I mentioned here that looked at a nice car a few weeks ago, and found that the sunroof left me with less than adequate headroom. This one was okay though, once I had adjusted the (non-powered) seats I found a decent driving position, I think.
The interior was a lot worse than the first car that I'd seen - I don't know whether this is because it differs from the 1998 to the 2001 model, or from the 'S' to the 'SE'. Either way, it looked a bit shiny and plasticky to me.
Other problems included a clutch pedal that required a bionic leg to depress and a gear-shift that made nasty squeaks, but since I'm not buying that one anyway I didn't worry too much...
The main reason that I went was to have a climb over a model without a sunroof. I mentioned here that looked at a nice car a few weeks ago, and found that the sunroof left me with less than adequate headroom. This one was okay though, once I had adjusted the (non-powered) seats I found a decent driving position, I think.
The interior was a lot worse than the first car that I'd seen - I don't know whether this is because it differs from the 1998 to the 2001 model, or from the 'S' to the 'SE'. Either way, it looked a bit shiny and plasticky to me.
Other problems included a clutch pedal that required a bionic leg to depress and a gear-shift that made nasty squeaks, but since I'm not buying that one anyway I didn't worry too much...
Decisions, decisions
I've been keeping a note of the various different cars that I've found for sale for a few weeks now. It started as a way of checking what combinations of mileage and age was associated with different price levels, but I've recently been trying to create some sort of objective scoring system to help me decide between them.
I mentioned earlier that I would be targeting a 2000(X) or newer 2.0 with 80,000 miles for around £3500. I've listed the various cars and allocated points for being better or worse than this reference point in each respect. I've also decided that the extra toys on the SE model might be nice to have, so there's a point for that too.
Currently top of the list are two cars. Both are the same age (2000); the key points are:
73,000 miles, red bodywork, SE model, leather seats at £3899
- vs -
54,000 miles, silver, 2.0S with cloth seats for £3995.
I'm assuming that I can knock a couple of hundred at least of the advertised prices - I spoke to a dealer in Birmingham last week to ask if a car he had came with a sunroof (it did); he was advertising at £3999 but said he'd probably accept £3500 if I was carrying cash.
The key question is whether the toys on the SE are worth as much as 19,000 miles? The head says no, but I'm not sure... The Parker's guide would have 20k miles being worth about £500 on the price.
So - which way to go?
I mentioned earlier that I would be targeting a 2000(X) or newer 2.0 with 80,000 miles for around £3500. I've listed the various cars and allocated points for being better or worse than this reference point in each respect. I've also decided that the extra toys on the SE model might be nice to have, so there's a point for that too.
Currently top of the list are two cars. Both are the same age (2000); the key points are:
73,000 miles, red bodywork, SE model, leather seats at £3899
- vs -
54,000 miles, silver, 2.0S with cloth seats for £3995.
I'm assuming that I can knock a couple of hundred at least of the advertised prices - I spoke to a dealer in Birmingham last week to ask if a car he had came with a sunroof (it did); he was advertising at £3999 but said he'd probably accept £3500 if I was carrying cash.
The key question is whether the toys on the SE are worth as much as 19,000 miles? The head says no, but I'm not sure... The Parker's guide would have 20k miles being worth about £500 on the price.
So - which way to go?
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