Buying a Car - Help for Young Drivers
Whether you're buying your first car or fifth car, it's always a good idea to follow these steps.
There are plenty of bargains out there but you do need to be careful.
Buy with your head
No matter what your first impressions are, always give the car a good looking over. The car may look mint, but there could be some nasty surprises hiding under the bonnet.
Consider getting an HPI check
This will check to see if the car is stolen, has been written off or is still on hire purchase. The sad fact is that if you buy a stolen car and the police find out, they will take the car off you and there's nothing you can do about it.
Go see the car in daylight
Why should you arrange to view the car during the day? Simple, it's easier to spot any issues in daylight than in the dark. If you can only arrange to view the car at night, make sure to take a torch with you.
Haggle
If you find something wrong with the car, use it to your advantage. Look for any cracked lights, used window wipers and any other small issues which you can use to your advantage to get a fairer price!
Always ask them how much they want for the car
There's a chance that they may have dropped the price and you saw an old advert. This way you won't pay more than they're asking.
Never "make do"
If there's something you're not happy about with the car, walk away, there's plenty more cars out there.
Never take the sellers "word for it"
Taking a seller at face value could easily cost you more than you think. For example, if a seller shows you an issue with the car that will "only cost £20" to fix, do the research. The part to fix the issue might cost only £20, but does that include the mechanics labour costs to fix the issue, pushing the cost to an excess of £200?
Get an insurance quote before you buy
It's a sad fact, car insurance is likely to be the biggest cost after buying the car. Make sure you can afford the insurance, before purchase.
How are car insurance groups calculated?
Your chances of finding affordable car insurance may be improved if you buy a car in a lower insurance group. If you’re not familiar with insurance group ratings, here’s a brief explanation of how they’re calculated. Insurance groups range from 1 (the cheapest to insure) to 50 (the most expensive to insure). Sports and high performance cars are good examples of cars commonly found in the higher insurance categories, as are cars which are commonly targeted for theft or cars which lack effective security features.
Insurance group factors
The main factors taken into consideration are:
- The cost of parts and labour to repair a car.
- Parts availability and price - 23 of the most commonly replaced parts on any car are priced up for every model and compared.
- Safety features, e.g. autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
- Security features, e.g. an alarm system or immobilisation system
- The brand new price of the car
- A car’s performance, e.g. engine size, top speed and acceleration
- The compatibility of bumpers
What is the purpose of insurance groups?
Insurance groups enable insurers to determine which cars are most likely to have a claim and how expensive those claims are likely to be. This helps them calculate premiums, although a car’s insurance group is just one of many factors used when request a quote. Groups are determined by the Group Rating Panel (GRP), which is administered by Thatcham Research and includes members of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and Lloyds Market Association (LMA).
What insurance group is your car?
You can find out the insurance group of your car by logging into the Thatcham Research MyVehicle website, where there is also information available about its security and safety.