Help purchasing a car please

[Alex66]

Hey everyone,

I’m currently on the hunt for a second-hand car and thought I’d reach out to the forum for some advice. I’m particularly looking for a U-LEZ compliant automatic hatchback, so if anyone is selling or knows of a good deal, I’d love to hear about it!

Also, if you have any general tips on buying a second-hand car — things to watch out for, red flags, or recommendations on trustworthy dealerships — I’m all ears! Any advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[Angelina]

look online - you can get a garage to attend the test drive with you - so you can get some support once you get that far.  I can't comment on reputable dealerships - I would probably not buy from the same place that does the test drive with you though 

 

[Jacqui5254]

3 hours ago, Alex66 said:

Hey everyone,

I’m currently on the hunt for a second-hand car and thought I’d reach out to the forum for some advice. I’m particularly looking for a U-LEZ compliant automatic hatchback, so if anyone is selling or knows of a good deal, I’d love to hear about it!

Also, if you have any general tips on buying a second-hand car — things to watch out for, red flags, or recommendations on trustworthy dealerships — I’m all ears! Any advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Hi Alex. 

After spending a fortune on ULEZ payments for my beloved diesel automatic Golf, it took me almost a year to find a replacement.

Many people in London seemed to be trying to do the same, so the available options were quickly snapped up. My brother searched the internet for months until I finally found one in Milton Keynes from a reliable seller who typically deals in high-end cars but had taken this one as a trade-in. That was about 18 months ago.   Good luck!

Btw...I took my brother who knows a lot about cars!

Edited April 22, 2025 by Jacqui5254

[Kipper_1972]

Avoid any 2nd hand vehicle with the Ford petrol 1.0 Ecoboost engine and the Petrol 1.2 PureTech engine that can be found in Peugeot, Citroen, Vauxhall....

(you need to mention price for advice)

[malumbu]

Why?  Reviews of the Ford engine are OK. The mpg of the small direct injection engines is very impressive.

[bebe]

I bought my online couple of years ago from arnold Clark. They had send me few videos and I think you have at least 1 year warranty. It was serviced by them as well for few years . When I went for service here the mechanic told me that the car is in a great shape with lots new parts and a very good buy. 
It was a very strange experience as it was brought from Scotland and it was click and collect type of purchase. Never had I thought I would be buying a second hand car like that. You pay small holding fee I think I paid something like 50-100£ for transport to London and you have few locations to choose from. 

Edited April 23, 2025 by bebe

[Kipper_1972]

1 hour ago, malumbu said:

Why?  Reviews of the Ford engine are OK. The mpg of the small direct injection engines is very impressive.

the latest versions are fine but it's to be avoided on the 2nd hand market. Lookup Ford Ecoboost wet belt....

[Earl Aelfheah]

The AA offer some general advice on what to look for and you can also pay for a vehicle checking service, to help you identify any issues before buying https://www.theaa.com/vehicle-inspection/

[vladi]

20 hours ago, Kipper_1972 said:

Avoid any 2nd hand vehicle with the Ford petrol 1.0 Ecoboost engine and the Petrol 1.2 PureTech engine that can be found in Peugeot, Citroen, Vauxhall....

(you need to mention price for advice)

Good advice Kipper!  The 1.0 early Ecoboost and 1.2 Puretech engines have wet cam belts that fail and failure with a cam belt invariably result in catastrophic  damage to valves and pistons. Later ones were changed to chains.

Avoid at all costs!