what should I look for in a 2nd car?

[duongnt]

Hi,

I am going to buy a 2nd car for about 600 quids (I know, only poblem is that I dont have much money to spend and I am thinking of using this one for about 2 years then get a new one). Anyway, lots of students in my uni are going back and they want to sell their cars. What I want to ask is what criteria should I focus when going for a test drive (condition, engine, ...)? Any ideas is great.

Many thanks in advance,

P/S: I got a full driver license but no car before so this will be my 1st . There are few advertisements going like this:

FOR SALE:RENAULT CLIO,LIBERTE L reg, 5 door, 1.2L petrol engine with 5 speed manual gearbox. Full Service History, 97000 miles. Excellent condition inside and out. Top of the range spec. sunroof, immobiliser, sterio, metalic grey paint relianble and cheap to run small car. Owned from new by female driver. Road tax till March 2005 (qualifies for low level tax by 25 cc). MOT till October 2005. Genuine reason for sale - ?795

Rover 214 SLi, L-registration (1994), 1395cc, dark green metallic, 5 door hatchback, manual. Electric windows, sunroof, central locking, alarm. Spacious interior. A very reliable, economic runner. Tax until January, MOT until October 2005! Full and detailed service history. ?550 ono

[Butuz]

Go for the clio. Steer clear of the rover IMHO.

Butuz

[DR]

Complete opposite of what I would say - that Rover is a good buy - and wont let you down. Will be cheap to repair.

I have had a 214 before - and they are good cars. shame it doesn't have the optional power steering.

[Vimeous]

The Rover - Bland but servicable. 1.4 can be a little dodgy but pull well. Watch out for rust on the older cars. One example is the roofline along the upper edge of the windscreen. As Dave says the power steering is desireable.

Clio - There are plenty of experts on those here!

Others to look for: Polo/Golf; Fiesta (Droopy eyes should be cheap enough now) etc etc

[Shad]

Out of those 2, I'd have to say the Rover. Only go for a Clio if it's the 1.4.

If it's the Rover with the 1.4 K-Series lump in it then they're great fun and well tunable, but watch out for the head gasket! I wouldn't like to say which would be more fun to drive; the Clio with a 1.4 is certainly good fun and handles well but I'm not sure how a 1.2 differs. The Rover handles ok from what my mate told me, but had a loose rear end when provoked

Have fun, and do lots of looking around - don't buy the first thing you see!!

[dkmech]

I would've thought his priority is buying a car which will last for two years and won't have anything majorly wrong with it. Probably something cheap to insure. Not something "easilly tunable" and "oooh, its so much fun to drive never mind that its falling apart". Tell the man what problems to look for.

Back on the subject.

You could ask the owner to have the car MOTed before you buy it, with you paying for it if it passes and maybe splitting the MOT 50/50 or whatever if it fails. Both of these would need MOT soon and if they have the full history and the wonderful condition they should pass.

Try to make a list of things that need testing - like windows, locks, wipers, everything you can think off. See if you can find a used car buyers guide somewhere like www.parkers.co.uk iirc they had some forms you could print out and go through.

[duongnt]

cheers guys for your advices. The list @www.parkers.co.uk is really nice. I will do some more research before going to buy.

[Shad]

I would've thought his priority is buying a car which will last for two years and won't have anything majorly wrong with it. Probably something cheap to insure. Not something "easilly tunable" and "oooh, its so much fun to drive never mind that its falling apart". Tell the man what problems to look for.

That's a fair point. But when I was looking for a car I wanted something fun to drive and no slouch. Not that I'm saying that's what duongnt wants...

Life's too short to driving boring cars

[duongnt]

hi guys,

do you think with a 1.2L car I can drive from southampton to ipswich (about 180miles) occasionally without problem?

also, if the car does not have power steering or abs, will that be a problem?

to Shad, if you can enjoy driving your car, that is the best. however, for me, i have to save money first so hopefully my 2nd car will be a joy to get some fun

[dkmech]

Thats true shad. For me the choice between dull or exciting driving was between a fiesta and a peugeot 106. I went for a 106. And its quite fun to drive. It is also 1.1L (some fiestas were 1L - you can see i was swayed by the power there) and cheap to insure. I can happily take it on motorway and do 70-75mph (steering wheel starts to vibrate abothe that) with another 4 passengers in it. And while I can't overtake anyone and do aspire to a faster car (want a Prelude 2.2 vtec next) i am quite happy with my little runabout, which lasted over 2 years now and will have to do for at least 1 more.

This also answers the motorway question. Just don't expect to be able to overtake people (apart from those who are doing 50-60 anyway).

I have no power steering - in a small car thats not a big problem. When moving my steering is actually lighter than in cars with power steering. Parking requires a tiny bit of extra effort but thats not a problem. Abs is very unlikely in the type of car you are looking for. I don't have it and I manage alright. Just be careful in rain.

Hope this helps.

[Jiff Lemon]

Engine size doesn't REALLY matter; I used to do a weekly jaunt up and down the M1 from manchester to Milton Keynes (180 miles) in a car that had a paltry 657cc!!

What should you be looking for?

Bodywork is always the first thing I'd look at - Can you see any rusty bits, does it look pretty straight and tidy? Shopping trolly dints and stone chips are forgivable, but beware of any bubbling rust under arches or from seams.

Next - Open up the engine bay, check oil and water levels. If they're both under the minimum mark, beware - your looking at a car that's been neglected.

Tyres - All had better be within the legal limit, haveing 4 matched tyres of a decent make is a bonus; Beware of the "cheapest tyres in the tyre shop" syndrome.

I'm also a fan of letting the thing stand and tickover for a while - Usefull to find out before you start driving it that it's not going to overheat! Make sure the radiator fans kick in.

If you can take it for a test drive then great - Make sure you try it in stop/start town traffic as well as a cruise on the motorway. Make sure it doesn't do anything nasty (pull sharply under braking or drift about on the road) and that it accelerates smoothly.

There's loads of other bits, but thats just the main stuff.