Finding a Cheap Car – Four Questions to Always Ask Your Dealer

When searching for an economical second hand car there are a number of factors to consider in addition to the obvious fuel consumption statistics. In this post we have presented below a list of four questions that you should always ask you car dealer before signing on the dotted line.

At Carmax Finance we do out best to make sure that the cars we sell are all in a good working condition and go to good lengths to ensure this. That said, many are not quite so diligent in doing the checks.
True, the MPG is the number you tend to feel the most from the very early stages of ownership since you will, no doubt, be making regular visits with your new acquisition to the petrol station in order to buy fuel. Any list of sensible questions to ask your dealer simply has to have this one on it so here we go with the first question to ask your dealer:

Dealer question 1 – What is the average economy figure for this vehicle? This is normally expressed as an average Miles Per Gallon measured on a standard driving trip.

Next, we have to take into account the future trade in value of the car or the amount that it is likely to fetch if it were to be sold privately. It is true that some cars are certainly cheap to buy but that’s the problem – they keep on getting cheaper, losing value dramatically as the days and months go by. Now all cars do lose some value, that’s inevitable but it is best to try and avoid those who are dropping like stones.

Dealer Question 2 – How well does this model hold its value, what would its trade in value be in, say, 3 years? This is, of course, just his opinion but every little bit of info should be taken into account.

CO2 emission rates are expressed as a number in g/km and should be readily to hand at all good car dealerships. This figure is important because it determines what the vehicles annual road tax disc will cost. Those with a very low emission rating pay no tax at all.

Dealer Question 3 – What is the CO2 emissions figure for this car and how much is the annual road tax?

One of the remaining major costs that you will have to deal with is that of insurance. You may have found the car of your dreams but are the insurance companies going to be as enthusiastic about you owning it as you are. This is a time to reflect upon your licence and how clean it is. Points accrued for speeding and other offences will affect your premium – and not in a nice way.

All cars sold in the UK have been allocated to an insurance group from 1 to 50 and it is this group that determines just how much you are likely to pay. Car insurance is very competitive however and it is definitely worth shopping around.

Dealer Question 4 – Which insurance group is this vehicle in?

The higher the group, the more you pay in annual premiums.

If you get satisfactory answers to these questions then you are well on the way to finding an economical vehicle.

 

Category: Car Lease