[James Malloch]

I'm looking to get myself back on the road and I was wondering if anyone can recommend any good used car sales places around Leeds (ideally) or maybe Sheffield.

I visited one last weekend and upon asking about a cars service history and cambelt changes the dealer glossed over the question and commented that it wasn't that important for that kind of thing any more.

Bearing in mind I'm after a cheapish car (£1500 max) which will probably be 10+ years old I lost confidence in the dealer, especially as my last car was written off with a timing belt failure and was the same make and model that he was offering.

So does anyone know any honest dealers around W or S Yorks? I'm looking privately too but I don't have much/any car knowledge so I can only go on descriptions and bits of research around fault/problems.

Also, if anyone happens to know a decent car for sale then feel free to let me know.

Thanks,

James.

[andy_e]

I got one car from the place behind McDonalds on Kirkstall Road. It was a good car but the dealer was a little shady. My current car I bought from SBR motors nearish CityBloc. Very good and honest dealer. If you go there though and they're selling a blue Peugeot 306 estate I'd probably avoid it...

http://www.sbrmotors.com/

[nik at work]

It was a 307

[andy_e]

Yeah, avoid his old blue 307 too.

[SA Chris]

You are unlikely to run risk of buying my blue 306 though, as it is mostly dead. Like Nik's.

[tommytwotone]

To be honest, at that budget I'm wondering why you're going to dealers? If you assume they're going to be adding their profit margin on top of your £1500 budget I'd say you'd be better off scouring eBay / Auto Trader etc.

A "bag and a half" gets you a lot of motor these days - just go on eBay and jigger about with the filters but I'm assuming you'd be able to pick up, say, a recent-ish sub 80,000 mile Corsa / Fiesta or similar.

EDIT: in fact, 30 seconds of searching threw this up, might fit the bill...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/53-Reg-Ford-Focus-16v-Ghia-Saloon-/261001266308?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item3cc4e34484

[SA Chris]

Word on that. For cars that old you are unlikely to get get any warranty which I see as the only reason for bothering with going to a dealer. You could spend the money you have saved buying direct on a mechanical check. Or take someone along with you who knows what and where to look for potential dodginess.

At the risk of sounding a bit snobbish, worth seeing where the home address postcode is for the car being sold too.

[andyd]

There's little or no profit for a dealer selling a £1500 car. The 'real value' of the car is £200 max. Any car they're selling at that price is probably something they took as part exchange, and most likely, unseen without a FSH.

Look out for something parked on a street that's for sale. Aim to find something for £1800, offer them £1200, expect to be turned down, then go back in a week or so. Don't look impressed at any point.

Good luck. I'll keep my eye out in W Leeds for you

[tommytwotone]

In fact...for just that budget I purchased this beauty a few years ago, which I was mortified to see go when my monthly mileage went through the roof:

http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,9987.msg164332.html#msg164332

The fella that flogged it me tried to also chuck some dodgy "climbing coaching" in to try and sweeten the deal - I mean, he said it was guaranteed to work and "worth hundreds of pounds" but have I done a Font 7b yet??

[andyd]

You can't blame anyone but yourself for your lack of effort 

[James Malloch]

Thanks for the replies and advice! Might be best to go Private then...

What do people think of this? http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201305136740012/sort/locasc/usedcars/price-to/2000/price-from/1000/model/focus/make/ford/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/keywords/timing/radius/30/postcode/ls62wb/page/1?logcode=p

Would you be wary with the amount of work being done just before selling it, considering the price?

Spoke to the owner earlier and will hopefully get to view it later, still no real idea what to look for though...

[SA Chris]

If work has been done recently ask to see receipts, as there should be warranty still valid on work done.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/

is a good place to pick up things to look for on certain cars.

Otherwise look for the usual things; tread on tyres, uneven wear on tyres (might mean tracking or alignment is out, but hard to see if tyres are new (might be why). Look under bonnet and look at general state of wiring, pipes etc. Check oil to see there is no white gunk on the top (means water is getting in oil - usually head gasket gone) Also check play on steering wheel, how gear changes are, where clutch picks up, if there is much roll going round corners. Check how smoothly it accelerates, etc etc.

If they try and pressure you my say go someone else is coming to look say you will walk away then. Always others to look at.

Just google "what to look for when buying a second hand car". 

Focuses are common as muck though; so parts are cheap, and everyone knows them and they are easy to work on.

[tommytwotone]

Au contraire - most cars need timing belts / cam belts when they get to a certain age (Google is your friend for specific models) so if it's been done it's a plus. Google is also good as most major cars have UKB-levels-of-enthusiasm forums dedicated to finding out common faults on models, things to look for when buying etc. I've been very impressed with the BriskSkoda stuff for my Fabia, saved me putting mine in for a repair earlier this year with a quick fix.

I've bought a good few cars privately and the key rules I got told by a mate in the trade are:

• Never view a car in the dark

• If they won't let you drive it don't buy it

• Pick your price and stick to it

• If anything smells fishy, don't buy it

Oh, and always see the V5.

Also, for me getting a sense that the owner has cared for /  looked after the car is important - has it got FSH, have normal perishables been done regularly, is it just clean and tidy?

The good thing with looking for a popluar runabout like a Focus / Golf / Fabia / whatever is that there are loads about, so if you look at one and don't like it then there are probably 10 more just around the corner.

On a personal note, ridiculous BMW Coupes aside I can personally recommend the Nissan Micra and Skoda Fabias as no-nonsense (and also minimal glamour) frugal climbing runabouts!

[James Malloch]

Thanks again! I'm going to have a look at the focus i linked to this evening... If anyone happens to be free in sheffield to have a look and grab a beer after then drop me a text on 07821493947. Bit cheeky but worth asking i guess!

[tomtom]

To add to 3T's tips...

6. NEVER meet someone at a mutual location to view the car. ALWAYS go to their house... (stops non legit 'traders' etc..)

7. NEVER buy a car with 'missing' or ripped out pages in the service book (means its been clocked and they've ripped out the ones after the mileage its been clocked back to)

8. Chips and scratches around the door handle and the Drivers door release inside - tend to mean it has had a largely female ownership (bashings from rings on fingers) or could be a former car of Mr T...

9. Cambelt knowledge can be useful - find out (web) when they are supposed to be changed - most cars its every 60k - and look for the relevant reciept..

10. Beware if its been 'warmed up'. Cold starting is important..

11. High mileage can be fine in some cars (German turbo diesels) again make sure cambelt has been done - and with high mileage watch for slightly sloppy steering, soggy/bouncy ride and droning of rear wheel bearings..

I've run out of tips now... but if it seems too cheap to be true - then somethings wrong.. Autotrader website is a good place to get an idea of price..

[James Malloch]

I went to have a look at the focus today, seemed a nice car. The work (new timing belt, tyres, front pads and disks, oil and filters) has been done by the man himself at work, he is a mechanic. It doesnt have a service history but has all the mot certificates. It's missing a back wiper. The clutch felt a little loose too, as in it had a bit of play before engaging. Not sure what to make of it on the whole, could the clutch cause problems by the sound of it?

[tomtom]

I'd be wary of buying a mechanics car. The cobbler is always worst shod etc..
Plenty more foci in the sea..

[SA Chris]

+1.  I'd be wary of him knowing enough to get it to a sellable state,  but no more. And (conveniently?) no paperwork to back up his claims of what has been done.

[andyd]

Walk away.
 (Don't all fords have a cam chain instead of a belt now?)

[SA Chris]

No.

[James Malloch]

Yeah I've decided to leave it, thanks! Thinking back, the "new" tyres were actually different so were probably taken from around the workshop. The clutch also worried me with how loose it felt.

Back to looking now I guess. Though I was really impressed with the size of the Focus for mats and gear!

[gingerninja]

my sis drives a 1.6l focus and its well underpowered. id go for a bigger engine or a turbo diesel if you get a focus.
i had a 306 hdi i got for a grand and a half. it was really good, pulled well and returned a good mpg. lasted well until some woman in a 4x4 drove in to the side of me after not looking at a junction.

[SA Chris]

I'd say unless you are doing lots of long distances or are really into hammering it the 1.6l on the hatchback is fine. If you start looking at bigger engines or diesels the price goes up and availability of choice drops straight away.

[tommytwotone]

Can definitely endorse the Focus as a good workhorse - ex-Mrs-TTT had one and I thought it was great - big boot, comfortable for long trips (it was the 1.6 as well) and manageable round town.

James - a few other things to check...

Start it from cold (back to TT's point about it being warmed up) and give it a good hard rev - any black / white smoke could spell problems with oil
Check all the lights, main beam, indicators, fog lights work - they're not expensive to fix but some cars can be a right bugger to get to them
Get the car on full lock on both sides and listen for any knocking / grinding - if there is you may need to replace wheel bearings
If it's got aircon, make sure it works - again, not tricky to sort but from memory it's about £40-£50 that you can easily avoid forking out

Think you got the tyres thing sorted too - Mrs TTT's current Clio had a random unmatching tyre that I spotted but the dealer hadn't seen. No difference in wear but it was good to see him squirm trying to explain why it wasn't the same as the other 3!

[andyd]

No difference in wear but it was good to see him squirm trying to explain why it wasn't the same as the other 3!

...you're not telling me that the Clio had had a puncture are you? What a piece of shit!