Buying used cars

[BobbyBobBob]

Hey

I'm looking for a reliable used car that I can buy for under £1000. Would I be wasting my time looking what with the scrappage scheme around? I have been looking on auto trader and used car supermarket and have seen cars in my price range but dont know how reliable they are. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[theonlyone]

Do you know of anyone selling a car or a garage which does
the price range that you can afford ?

[yogi-bear]

Hi BobbyBobBob (great user name, btw )

On a budget of £1000 it may be hard to find a really reliable car, UNLESS you take along someone mechanically minded when you do, so they can give it a check over.......and depending on where you are located, you can try LOOT, Friday Ad, Automart, Exchange and Mart, Auto Trader etc.

Best of luck in finding a decent and reliable one, BBB :0)

[oldhenry]

You need to buy privately from someone that cannot afford the scrappage scheme.( they need a few £000s to top up after all)
I recomend the local paper for this. Go for a model that does get high depreciation- say a Skoda Felicia. Dealers selling a £1000 car are likely to be a bit- shall we say- not the top of the market and any guarantee will be the same as a private buy- non existant. But you pay a lot less privately, so can afford a few things like new tyres etc.

[mjwman]

You can get a very usable car for that money
Old luxury barges are a steal here. If you do not do a high mileage the fuel consumption will even out the depreciation on a newer vehicle.
Other than that £1000 will get you a very usable Classic. It may not have all the bells and whistles of a newer vehicle but it will be cheap and easy to maintain or repair, will not depreciate, and may appreciate!
Pick up a copy of a Classic Car mag in Smiths and you will see whats on offer.
Don't drive a banger, drive a classic!

[Mustardmit]

..agree with mjwman -a Merc 190e would be a good example of this IMO -slightly thirsty but very reliable and surprisingly VERY cheap on parts, there's a really good uk-based 190 support forum too.

[theonlyone]

A diesel is the better option , less electrics , and more mpg
good luck ...

[magicmerlin]

I bought an 'f' reg vw polo in 2001 with 78k on clock for £200. Still got it, not had many problems, now got 124k on clock.

[Iggle Piggle]

go for a diesel with service history, that way you can almost ignore the mileage the car has done.
A VW golf or polo should be a good bet at this price, they are well built, reliable and cheap to service and fix.
You'd have to have failed maths at O-level to fall for the Govt. scrappage scheme so sensible people are still selling their cars privately.

[JorgeNolley]

I don’t think you’ll get any nice car in £1000, and if you get any, investigate it calmly as there are lots of scams going on these days. My suggestion to you would be, replace your engine or transmission and make your old vehicle running again instead of wasting your money on used cars and if you can’t afford new engine try used engines instead of buying used cars. It’ll save your lots of money. One online store that I know is http://buyusedengine.com/index.php . Take a look inside it and you’ll be amazed by their prices.