Websites for used cars?

So my BF and I are looking to perhaps get a car.  We'd like to move farther afoot eventually (and I'd also like to get my UK license at some point) so we've begun having a gander at what's available.

Now, my BF is the first person in his family to have a license and he's only had it for about 4 years, so his experience with cars is a bit limited.  I would know where to look in the states, but I'm a bit lost as to where to begin here.

We want something used, so we've been looking on gumtree, but I want to make sure anything we get is a good value.

Normally I would look at Kelly Blue Book and Consumer Reports when considering vehicles in the states.  Is there something like that here where I could see a car's rating and an estimation of value?

Also, is it wiser to get something from a dealership rather than an individual? One is not always necessarily better than the other back in NJ, and I wasn't sure if it's the same story here.

So lay any used car knowledge you have on me and I will be very grateful! 

Autotrader.co.uk is a good place to start. They have used auto reviews and can point out issues regarding common problems and valuations as well.

Remember that if you are looking at buying a car you have the right to have it inspected by a mechanic before you purchase it so you know exactly what may be needing to be done to it in the future. We have used Nationwide Auto Centres for our maintenance & repairs that need to be done and we also have our annual servicing done with them. They do a free 15 point inspection as well. If you're an AA Member you get discounts on services as well. We had to have some major maintenance items done last year and end up saving over £200 because we are AA Members.

DirectGov also has some good advice on buying vehicles as well.

I've just bought a used car...well, I've put a deposit down on it anyway and I'm paying the full balance tomorrow (my car just completely failed its MOT and is not worth repairing so I've been on the hunt for a used car for the last few days).

I used Auto-Trader (www.autotrader.co.uk), Yahoo cars, the local papers (http://www.trade-it.co.uk/ and http://motors.thisisbristol.co.uk/) and ebay to look for cars (although I don't really trust cars on ebay). What I did was go through the sites, make a note of the cars I was interested in and then call the contact numbers to find out more about them and to arrange a viewing.

The websites usually give you a choice between looking for private cars and dealer cars, so you can decide what to look for. Auto-Trader lets you do a really detailed search (distance from your postcode, make, model, age, fuel-type, mileage, price, body type, colour, number of doors, transmission, private/trade etc.) and usually you can find some good cars on there.

The type of things you might want to consider about a used car are:
- mileage (I only looked at cars with a mileage of less than 50,000 miles)
- age of car (I wanted a new-style Nissan Micra, so I only looked at cars made from 2003 onwards)
- engine size (I found my old 1.0 litre engine car not powerful enough so I went for a min. of 1.2 litres)
- If it has a current MOT and/or tax disc
- whether it has a Full Service History (FSH) or not
- how many owners it's had in the past (less owners, less chance of anything wrong with car or things having happened to it)
- whether it's been HPI cleared (i.e. history checked for any discrepancies in the car, such as being damaged beyond repair, cloned, outstanding finance etc.). You can pay about £25 to have an online HPI check done on a car if you want.
- if it has been in any accidents (i.e. if an ad says Cat D - fully repaired, it means the car was in an accident and has been damaged in the past)

If you want to find out how much a car is valued at, you can check it for the specific make, model, year and mileage at www.whatcar.com/valuations.

Thanks so much to you both! This is great info to have.  I'm already feeling better about this!

Glass's ( http://www.glass.co.uk/ ) is the equivalent of the Kelly Blue Book here.

Parker's ( http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/used-prices/ ) is also a well-known and well-respected source of used car reviews and valuations. 

There are some very good used cars on eBay, but just like anywhere else, you have to go and see them before you bid.  The trend on eBay for decent used cars is for the seller to go with a classified ad instead of auction now.

Depending on what you're looking for, car owner's clubs / forums can also be a great place to pick up a used car.  They have normally been cherished and looked after since you mostly get petrol heads on car forums and they really do *love* their cars.

If you know a bit about cars and are feeling brave, used car auctions can turn up some brilliant buys.  The downside is that auctions are fast-paced, the cars are sold as seen, and you don't get a chance to drive before you buy, so you really do have to know what you are after before you go.  However, I have made some absolutely fantastic purchases at the auction in the past.  If I'm planning to buy at auction I always add a budget for £ X amount to cover any repairs, and the car goes to my local garage immediately for them to check over. 

I'll be quiet now, because I've just realised that this is probably more info than you wanted and I'm beginning to sound like a petrol-head (which wouldn't be far from the truth...) 

- whether it's been HPI cleared (i.e. history checked for any discrepancies in the car, such as being damaged beyond repair, cloned, outstanding finance etc.). You can pay about £25 to have an online HPI check done on a car if you want.

I would say that the above is a must. You can buy these online in seconds from places like the RAC or AA. If the car has been in an accident and was a write-off, it will be found on this check (the car should not be back on the road). If the car has been reported stolen, it should be found on this check (if you buy a car and get given a false log book for the stolen car and think you have a genuine buy, the police will soon let you know if it is stolen as they take the car and you lose your money).

Before you buy, you can always phone the previous owner listed on the log book to see how they found the car ran. I have had someone phone me about a previous car. A local car rental place told me they got one of these phone calls and they had only hired the car out that morning and weren't aware it was in fact, stolen! The hirer had already made a false log book before they hired the car and then tried to sell the car as soon as they hired it! So that car wouldn't have shown up as 'stolen' on a check.

Sorry for the scare stories, but it is worth doing an online check.

Also check that the engine number and registration number, matches the log book.

Most owners keep the previous MOT certificates, so check those to make sure the car hasn't been clocked.

The local paper is another good place to look for cars.

Hiya

All great advice so far!

Buying from an individual means you can potentially save thousands on the price, buying from a dealer means you get peace of mind, by spending potentially thousands extra!

There is of course everything in between when buying from independant traders or garages or individuals and/or enthusiasts etc.

In short, there's no 'best' place to buy a car from. You'll need to assess your situation, the amount you have to spend, and then look on Autotrader and pistonheads websites to start to get an idea on what you can get for the money that you have. From there, you can evaluate where to look and potentially buy from.

Hope this helps - Cheers ! DtM West London & Slough UK!

I third the HPI check and having a current MOT done...

I say this because we just bought a used car (ours got wrecked by a garage HA)
BUT a friend of ours runs a dealership and he warned us to look out for the newest scam.

When you run a HPI check make SURE the plate (I call it registration) matches the license plate EXACTLY.  Usually under the hood or drivers mat it is engraved not an affixed plate with the long number on it.  These must match or you don't know if that HPI is even the car you want.

DH was all over http://www.nearly-new-cars.co.uk and http://www.autotrader.co.uk/.
We did find ours on autotrader it was part exchange which in essence meant "as is" and I am happy as all get out but then again DH knows what to look for in a used car.  I would prefer to lay a deposit and have a car checked out but he says if it has a full service history (which ours did) and current MOT and it sounds good - safe bet it is fine.

Good luck but man there is so much stuff out there....We went Friday to look and drove it and bought it right then.  It was a weird experience to do that for me.

Just make sure you have insurance to drive a car home that you have just seen and bought straight away.

Although a fully comprehensive insurance will often cover you (if you are over 25) to drive another car not owned by you, once you buy a car you will need to inform your insurers of this before you drive it.

Haven't bought from here yet but found it good and will get my next car from here....
http://www.autoquake.com/

Thanks everyone!