I want to buy a used car but need help!

[nimportequoi]

I would like to buy a used car (around 3 years old) and am happy to get one myself (probably from a garage as there is a guarantee). I know the make and model I want, but being a woman, I'm open to being ripped off and I need some help with the following if possible!

1. What is the average kilometrage per year you should allow for a) diesel b) petrol cars?

2. Are breaks easier to re-sell?

3. Used cars are more expensive in France than in UK (why?) is about 17% more expensive on a like for like basis correct?

4. Is a one year guarantee the norm if you buy from a garage and is an extra warranty worth buying at all?

5. Is the price always negotiable?

6. The garage said I would get more for my old car by selling privately than by trade in (see below) is this right?

6. I have a very reliable 1993 Peugeot 306 LHD diesel 220,000km, regularly serviced, which I have been offered 1300€ for (by a guy who works at the service garage I use), is this OK? 

Thanks in advance for any info on the above and other tips you may have!

[Eslier]

If you go to the newsagent and buy a copy of the "Argus" newspaper (published weekly) it will have a list of second hand car values which should be a help. You will also find lots of cars advertised for sale.

Average km is around 20000km per year. A petrol car should cover about 150000km before needing any major works whilst a diesel should manage  200000km.  You will find that petrol models are significantly cheaper to buy second hand. Although the cost of  gasoil is less, if you drive around 20000km a year it will probably still take you up to four years to recoup the money you will pay extra for a diesel in the first place (based upon the fact that a three year old diesel will probably cost about 1000€ more than its nearest petrol equivalent).

Second hand cars are more expensive here than in the UK but it's best not to think about that assuming you want a LHD car. This is due mainly to the fact that French people don't change their cars nearly as often as Brits so there are fewer on the market.

When you buy a car, ask if the cost of reregistering is included in the price and confirm that the garage will sort this out for you. It will be much easier for your if they do it before you pick the car up but it may take them a few days.

If you are buying a French car then I would say the warranty offered by the garage (might be six or twelve months depending on the number of km on the clock) should be sufficient providing the car is around average km, but it is always a chance !

The offer of 1300€ for your car sounds very fair.

[Anton Redman]

1. . What is the average kilometrage per year you should allow for a) diesel b) petrol cars? It does not really matter. The number of cold starts does more damage than the number of miles. In the UK you normally scrap cars because the body has been damaged in a crash or has corroded away,. 

2. Are breaks easier to re-sell?  Estates particularly Peugeots are easier to sell than the same model saloons

3. Used cars are more expensive in France than in UK (why?) is about 17% more expensive on a like for like basis correct? Second hand cars in the UK between 0.1 and 5 years old are much cheaper because too many cars in the UK are sold into the company leasing market that originally developed because of pay restraints in the UK. Too few people spend their own money on new cars in the UK and then keep the same car for 10 or 15 years. It is not 17 % it depends on the relative desirability of the car in France and the UK.  For years I have said that I would not buy a car in the UK to export to France but I am thinking of buying a 406 coupe which seem to be about 10,000 Euros less expensive

4. Is a one-year guarantee the norm if you buy from a garage and is an extra warranty worth buying at all?  Unless you are nearly broke extended warranties are almost always a rip off. At least 75 % of the money you pay disappears as a fee to the people who sell you the extended warranty almost nothing goes on fixing cars

5. Is the price always negotiable?    YES

6. The garage said I would get more for my old car by selling privately than by trade in (see below) is this right?  Yes the garage will want at least Euros 500 to cover their profit and the risk that you are not Snow White and it drops dead of a fault as soon as it is driven off their forecourt.

6. I have a very reliable 1993 Peugeot 306 LHD diesel 220,000km, regularly serviced, which I have been offered 1300€ for (by a guy who works at the service garage I use), is this OK?  It is a fair offer, they will not make a fortune selling it. Unless I was GCGB about having the latest car I would keep it till it needed big money spent on it.

I have just spent Euros 1100 on a new catalytic converter for my Peugeot 306 HDI against this it has 170000 kilometres on the clock, runs like a train, and runs at 180 KPH provided it is aimed at Vienna

[nimportequoi]

Thankyou both for your helpful comments. Just for info, I would like to buy a 307 SW break around 3 years old. I test drove one last week which is 3 years old and had 106,000km on the clock, it was 13900€, which seemed far too much to me. I know you shouldn't compare to the UK market, but an equivalent car with that distance on the clock is around £7000 there. Anyway, I'm still looking, there aren't that many around, but I'm not in a hurry, my existing car has done superbly for the 4 years I've been here, only ever had one problem with it during the 110,000km I've done (and it has air con!).

The guy at the garage wanted to buy my car privately, not for re-sale through the garage, I should have specified that.

Thanks again!

[Sunday Driver]

Autotrader.fr has loads of ads for 3 year old 307 estates with around over 100k mileage.  Prices from 7,000 euros upwards.

Link is [url=http://www.automarche.fr/recherche/liste.asp?marque=PEUGEOT&modele=307&rech_libre=&carrosserie=Break+-+Monospace&prix=&km=100001&energie=&annee1=2003&annee2=&region=&anciennete=&Submit=Trouver+%21]HERE[/url].

 

[Miki]

Yes autotrader is good as are the weekend regional papers.

Having a history in cars !! I have used 5 different car auctions in

France and I have bought good and decent cars from all of them.

Our local one is in Rennes and recently I have seen 2003/4 diesel 307

breaks go through for slightly under 7000 euros but of course better

condition, lower kilometrage cars will naturally command more. It is a

fairly sought after car, so as such, you will not be alone at the

auction for cars of this genre but....

As ever, auctions are the best bet for buying a car at the best price

but the public, especially at Rennnes are in large attendance but as

ever, traders and public will still have a budget in mind when bidding

and quite often one little bid more will gain you a good car at a price

far less than Argus and certainly the private sale or car fronts. If

one is not confident enough or if no real knowledge on what to look out

for, then take someone along but it is important to sort out the

T&C's etc before hand.

Take a surf around here http://www.encheres-auto.com/

 

Click on Resultats de Vente  on the left hand list, then Fill in

the box for the model you want, it will give you the option for putting

in Break at the end in Mots clès and then see what pops up.

Let me know if you have problems on the site but it is a pretty good

site to surf around. You can ask in that left hand list to send you the

advance cars being auctioned at the next auction (Mondays with viewings

before the start, viewings from 09h00 or on the Sunday).

 

[nimportequoi]

Thanks again - have checked out autotrader but the only ones I could find in my area are being sold through garages and a similar price to the ones I've seen already. I've checked out the auction site, Miki, and the prices the cars are expected to go for seem to be around 4000€ cheaper than those sold through garages, perhaps with more km's, but a big difference in price nevertheless. I just need to find someone who know something about cars now!

[Bones]

To be honest you don't need to know that much about cars these days - modern cars are very well built.

Look up the average price and haggle accordingly -- it's not rocket science. Research what the big jobs cost on the model you are going for are; sometimes the man hours dedicated to certain jobs (clutch or whatever) make certain cars really expensive in the long run. A lot of sellers sell their car when the timing belt is just coming up for renewal, so check when it's due to be replaced and work out if you are about to be billed with it - haggle accordingly.

Look up reviews on the internet for your specific model and you'll find a lot of them detail repair costs, and things to look out for. You know that a clutch should be smooth and gears shouldn't crunch, steering should be tight and not wander -- don't ignore these obvious signs when test driving: just walk away.

OR just buy new! An old boy accross the road from me has recently returned with a brand new Suzuki van/car thingy with electric windows/cd player etc for 10,000 euros! Three year warranty.

Modern cars are usually reliable for many miles if they are serviced properly. Just make sure the timing belt is renewed and that there is oil and water in the thing!