Car shopping

My new license is burning a hole in my pocket and I am ready to start car shopping. I had my first look at a dealership this evening and will be going on a test drive this weekend.

So here is the deal, I can either buy my own new/used or go for the lease car scheme through my work. I am leaning towards the lease car scheme because it has tax, insurance and all that included but I am still costing out the benefits.

I am also considering diesel.

http://www.whatcar.co.uk/ has been a great help... anything else I should be considering or sites to check out?

I have my eye on a Toyota Yaris.

You might want to check on the insurance if you go with the work deal.  Would it be a policy in your name which would earn you no-claim discount, or would it be a company policy so that if you later went to your own insurance you'd have to start froim scratch?

Hi !

Good point from Paul there make sure you find that out from the person in your company looking after this.  Company cars 'usually' make sense for larger cars than the Toyota Yaris. The Yaris is in the super mini class of cars which makes it more suited for private sales than to run one as a company car. that said, if you research out everything and indeed it's good for you to use the work scheme then certainly consider it.

One of my best mates has the same option as you, get a company car where they do everything, or buy his own and they'd provide running costs etc. He went and got the car he wanted and took the money provided for running costs - he was stipulated to buy something 'suitable' and 'professional image looking' as well as it could only be up to 5 years old.

So you may get stipulations like that as well!

I'd definitley recommend Diesel - for mine and my bro's everyday cars we've had Diesel's for the last couple years, and from now on always will do so long as the economic benefits are there. If petrol was to ever go down by a good 20p a litre I'd switch back, but thats not likely to ever happen in overtaxed and expensive UK, so Diesel it is until maybe the newer fuels have more of an impact.

Lastly, I'd recommend you buy a used car than a brand new one, unless you Ms/Mrs moneybags and can take the 20% depreciation hit as soon as you drive it off the forecourt!

take a look at the large car supermarkets around the country, they all advertise in the whatcar magazine you mentioned, and that magazine also covers alot of the financing options your considering.

Good luck ! any more questions stick em up here and will answer!

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Thanks Paul and Dennis, good points.

I had a conversation today with the person in charge of the lease deals and I thought I understood her say something about how at the end of it I could ask for my history with them and use that towards a no claims. That is worth another specific chat to clarify that though.

I expected to start from scratch anyhow because I do not have a history of my own to show for at least the last five years.

I had a chat with a Nissan dealer this evening and he said diesel may not actually benefit me given the extra cost for that engine. Dennis... chat a little more about it please.

As for company imagine, I am a social worker so practical, cheap and cheerful is what they are wanting to portray. 

I've had a few chats with other lease car users. They are all quite pleased and say it makes sense. One is even a diesel user but she travels much more for work/home than I would so she sees the benefit.

i have a lease car through my company, and i love it!
specifically, i love the fact that i dont have to pay for repairs or anything... all i have to pay is petrol and the monthly lease payment, which includes insurance.

i got a puncture and had to replace the tyre with a brand new one, as the existing one was beyond repair.  It cost me -0-, and that is a GOOD feeling, especially when you have only ever owned used cars before, that 'nickel and dime' you to death! 

it never occurred to me to even think about the insurance aspect, ie losing my no-claims.   i am still running the policy on my old car, as it's not yet sold.   im now wondering if it would be worthwhile reducing the cover from fully comp to a lower level of cover, and continuing to pay the insurance (at a lower cost, as it would no longer be fully comp) even after i sell the car, just to keep my no claims history?   Or does that sound daft?  (I know very little about insurance!)

i have a lease car through my company, and i love it!

I'll add you to my list of "go for it" people. 

I remember the whole nickel and dime aspect back when I owned a car.

Another perk is that if my car needs to be in the garage for awhile, I can get a loaner for free. That is positive since I have such a smaller social circle of car drivers here than I did at home.

.

I had a company car for many years (different companies though). Lost all my no claims bonus.

Several of the insurance companies said if I got a letter from the company to show I had minimum 2 years and no accidents they would honour my previous no claims.

Not sure if that is still the case or if that would apply to leased cars. Worth checking.

Yea that nickel and dime remark was one that my father used on, not about the car but about us kids.

So I had my numbers, from research on the net, and went shopping for a new car in Las Vegas yesterday.
I thought I was a smart shopper but I was no match for these dealers. Do they go to classes 20 hours a day on how to handle the customer who thinks they are well informed?
Example I want to use the equity on my trade using trade in value from NADA book" answer "we don't use book trade values we use auction values" The end result they just paid off what I owed on my trade in car so there was no equity to use as a down payment.
I ended up paying $22,228.08/UKP 11,114.05 for a new Honda Accord. It has auto, sunroof, 6 CD player and pwr everything. It is a top of the line of the Honda range.
Overall I am satisfied with the financial arrangement but still think they were much smarter than me.
My memory of buying in the UK is that cars are sometimes double from what they are in the US but when it comes to buying a used car prices seem a lot more reasonable in the UK.
Is this guy talk