Buying new car - need help! [Archive] - TrackChat - Any Car! Any Track!

View Full Version : Buying new car - need help!

Hethro87

22-11-2008, 10:41 AM

Hey guys,

How are we all?

At the moment im in the market for a new (well used) car.

Im planning on getting a 2000 model mazda mx5.

Ive set myself a budget of $17800 and a jap NA sports car.

I decided on the mx5 as its cheap to run and insure, good fun, never breaks down and is something a bit different to all the other hot hatches running around.

So ive been on all the car websites and have stumbled on these 3:

http://www.carsales.com.au/used-cars/private/MAZDA/MX-5/details.aspx?Cr=1&PriceMin=15000&__Ns=pCar_PrivateSpecialFlag_Int32%7c1%7c%7cpCar_I mageCount_Int32%7c1%7c%7cpCar_LastModifiedDate_Dat eTime%7c1&__Nne=20&State=New%20South%20Wales&distance=25&silo=1003&seot=0&PriceMax=20000&Model=MX-5&__N=4294965340%2080%201216%20834%20285%20257%20393 %20412%204294963961&__sid=11DC3BAEF60A&state_id=80&Make=MAZDA&R=6477528&trecs=16

http://www.carsales.com.au/used-cars/private/MAZDA/MX-5/details.aspx?Cr=6&PriceMin=15000&__Ns=pCar_PrivateSpecialFlag_Int32%7c1%7c%7cpCar_I mageCount_Int32%7c1%7c%7cpCar_LastModifiedDate_Dat eTime%7c1&__Nne=20&State=New%20South%20Wales&distance=25&silo=1003&seot=0&PriceMax=20000&Model=MX-5&__N=4294965340%2080%201216%20834%20285%20257%20393 %20412%204294963961&__sid=11DC3BAEF60A&state_id=80&Make=MAZDA&R=6485774&trecs=16

http://www.carsales.com.au/used-cars/private/MAZDA/MX-5/details.aspx?Cr=8&PriceMin=15000&__Ns=pCar_PrivateSpecialFlag_Int32%7c1%7c%7cpCar_I mageCount_Int32%7c1%7c%7cpCar_LastModifiedDate_Dat eTime%7c1&__Nne=20&State=New%20South%20Wales&distance=25&silo=1003&seot=0&PriceMax=20000&Model=MX-5&__N=4294965340%2080%201216%20834%20285%20257%20393 %20412%204294963961&__sid=11DC3BAEF60A&state_id=80&Make=MAZDA&R=6027100&trecs=16

Im looking at the light blue one tomo - she said she'd give it to me for $17800and has a full service hx (serviced by her dad using mazda parts), new clutch (worth $1200), battery (worth $200), tyres ($200 each) and has never been involved in a major accident.

The other two (silver and dark blue) dont want to budge on price and are a bit iffy - one of the owners didnt even know if she had put new tyres on the car or not.....

Also as ive never bought a car bought a car im guessing i do this:

*Mechanical inspection.
*Rev's check.

Also how do i swap the plates over from my car onto this car?

Any feedback appreciated!

Thanks guys

:D

NickS

22-11-2008, 05:46 PM

3 chicks selling ... what does that tell you ?

:hide:

Push harder on the price mate, it's a buyers market and "I won't budge on price" is bullshit. Honestly, they all have similar asking prices, the actually selling selling price for all of them will be significantly less ... unless some sucker agrees to the asking price.

Get them inspected, REVs check and that's about it. Transfer the rego at the RTA, go in with your plates and there is another form you can fill out to transfer the plates between cars. Keep in mind that you will have to pay stamp duty on the transfer !!!

Ignore the chicks car joke ... great little cars and a screamer around a track.

Good luck Alex.

:cheers:

VooDoo

22-11-2008, 08:27 PM

I didnt know you were a Hairdresser...

The turbo versions go pretty well and there are some decent bilstein suspension setups available. You can even fit a LS1 in them with some determination. Make a fun, light track car.

savvy

22-11-2008, 08:57 PM

I agree with Nick re the price, don't talk a price over the phone ("she said she would give it to you for $17.8k), wait till you see it and try and find reasons to work the price down to your favour.

Have you made allowances in your budget for insurance premium and rego transfer??

DaveHAT

22-11-2008, 11:25 PM

Alex ... simple tips for you.

Cash talks (just ask Keen) ... walk in, offer a stupidly low price await the answer and if no ... WALK AWAY.

You can always negotiate up but not down once you've made an offer.

Remember also ... THINK WITH YOUR HEAD NOT YOUR HEART. If they don't accept your initial offer or whatever your limit is ... WALK AWAY.

THERE'S ALWAYS OTHER CARS TO CHOSE FROM.

Don't let the seller con you with stories about this and that ... focus on what's wrong with the car not what's right and make that the crux of your negotiations.

Ensure you know prices for parts and servicing so you can make you argument stronger ... don't appear disorganised or 1/2 arsed.

Re: transferring your plates, there are 2 options I know of. Remove them from you Camry ... place them on hold at the RTA ... the put them back onto the chosen car once you have it.

Option 2: If you still have the Camry and the new car ... take both sets of plates to the RTA and ask to have them swapped. Both will cost you but the 2nd option will avoid the "hold fee".

Aeron

23-11-2008, 09:17 AM

Alex, they are a great fun car to drive mate. Good choice!! And hey, if it gets you out of a Camry then you’re doing the right thing for sure. :chuckle: :moon:
And if you get the silver one, take that bloody thing off the boot lid!
:hat:

Hethro87

23-11-2008, 06:04 PM

Hey guys!

Thanks for your responses and info and tips. Revs check and plates seem easy to do as a mech inspection.

Ive been doing some thinking and ive decided on this:

*Im in no rush to buy and have till feb to look around for something as thats when im planning on buying.

*Yes your right the mx5 are a chicks car, however for a 8 year old car asking close to 20 grand is ALOT of money. Id be worried about some tosser slashing the roof and the thing leaking as well.

Soooooo this had put me back to sqaure one and has made me think of some things .

*Set my budget a bit lower ($12-15 grand) so I can accomodate for things such as stamp duty and other things you guys mentioned. $5 grand is alot of money!
*Dont believe in peoples bullshit.
*Buy a 2nd hand car which has had one owner, full service history, knows their car well and is well maintained.
*Take my time and wait till I find the right one with the right kms and condition.
*Go to my mechanic and find out how much things like general services, brake pads and tyres will be on the car.
*Getting someone from the forum to come with me when ive found the 'one' to help me with this process if i ask nicely :)

I had a drive of some cars today: Drove a 2003 reno clio sport (2L 4 cyl, 1150kgs, 130kw and 200nm) and had a blast! Really quick, great handling and brakes. Only downside i guess will be euro parts and servicing. It was going for 14 grand which is ok but would go down on price.

Also drove a 2002 maza Sp20 (2L 4 cly, 1250 kgs and only 98kw) Was ok but not as good as the reno - charm was missing from it. Plus side is would be cheaper with parts. Was going for 13 grand but could get it down for sure.

Its given me some food for thought which is good, im pretty tempted with the clio but I wont sell my camry until ive bought the car and are happy with it. It runs perfectly well and isnt giving me any issues at all.

So ive got one of two options:

*Sell the camry in feb and buy a clio if i found a nice one.
*Or wait until the camry blows up (which might take 10 or 20 years) then see what I can get for $15 grand.

What do you all think? I know in feb all new car prices are going up buy 30% due to the current economic status and thus will put pressure on the used car market making the 2nd hand market going up in price a bit.

A very confused Hethro :)

Hethro87

23-11-2008, 06:20 PM

BOMI

23-11-2008, 07:58 PM

Alex my advice is,

1. Dont try and set yourself one brand of car.

2. If you do set yourself one brand then stick to it bro.

3. Once you find the car you want and the price is good and realistic and you are 100% you want it, go to the dudes place with a Bank cheque for $1500 or $2000 less then he or she wants and say here is your bank check.

If they dont like the idea then fold the check up, smile, say goodbye and walk off.

Troy :)

savvy

23-11-2008, 08:58 PM

DaveHAT

23-11-2008, 09:18 PM

Just stumbled on this too:

http://www.drive.com.au/used-cars/TOYOTA/COROLLA/Sydney/detail.aspx?id=9939298&lid=9939298&pg=1&pp=2&d=0&nv=1&SG=-2039544404&pt=1

I know its a bit bland, but it uses the celica engine on it and with some black wheels and a decent sound system and some light engine mods could be pretty good!

Toyota tough and wouldnt be as expensive to run.

hhhhmmmmmm :toetap:

Will drive it tomorrow and see how it goes!

Hethro :confused:

Nothing wrong with that Alex ... a lot of kit for the $$$ IMO and being at a dealer cash will talk louder than a private sale.

As mentioned by Troy ... if this one floats your boat ... head to the dealer with $1000 in ya pocket, bullshit them for a while (appearing interested but not overly) .

If you like the car and want to proceed ... say to the dealer, "I'll give you $11000 and I'll leave a $1000 deposit NOW ... pending NRMA inspection or similar.

They''ll no doubt spin you some shit about margins and not being able to budge but remember ... you're the buyer and have all the Aces in this instance. Your choice from there is walk away or "negotiate" but DONT go above $2500.

Let them sweat on it and if it falls over ... there'll be others. :yep:

Another tip ... buy at the end of the month, dealers often will move more in an attempt to get sales in before the month ends.

MrKeen

23-11-2008, 09:23 PM

One thing to remember at the moment is that dealerships are offering next to nothing on trade-ins. So for some people anything they get above this is a bonus. If you are buying a fairly common car (which you are) just thro stupid offers at a few people and you will get someone to bite.Especially at the moment with christmas just round the corner people will be keen to sell there car now.
I picked up my new car on friday (04 CX8 Adventra LS1 with leather) was advertised for $18,800 then they dropped it to $16500 I rang them and said I would give them $12500 tomorrow....they said come have a look.When I got there it was a little untidy, couple of small dints....i said i wasnt prepared tp pay 12.5 and offered 10k....We settled at 11.500...

Car is at sams getting 2.5 system, OTR ,and tune....sam almost talked me into a harrop blower...im like an alcoholic in a bottle shop at that place..

Kyle

24-11-2008, 07:51 AM

GTS Listy

24-11-2008, 10:43 AM

Dont alway believe dealer stamps either in the service book. Get the book and call the dealer that stamped it and and check that it was actually serviced there. Most people will keep receipts from the dealer so ask for these if you dont want to call.
Check the spare too and that it is not a bald tyre left over from a burnout.
Any oil leak, any worn bushes, shocks on there way out, rip in sets, rip in the drivers footwell, electrics, CD player missing or cheap non original etc etc means price negation regardless of what the owner says how small a issue it is. You have to repair it so tell them a price you might have to pay to get it done and take the price off the asking.

If you want to play a bit dirty and this is a third hand car I cought caught out once. When i was young and stupid when I sold my old 4x4 the bloke said that model come with a snorkel stock so he convinced me to drop the price $500 saying that he would have to put it back on. I found out later that it was an option and would of left a hole in the guard.

Hethro87

24-11-2008, 10:56 AM

:burnout: Morning all,

Well i went and drove it, he did the usual spin about trade ins and shonky warrenties etc but i wasnt interested in buying just wanted to take it for a spin.

It goes hard over 6thou rpm but under that its a bit meh. Pretty good brakes and handling is ok but It def lacks the charm of the clio.

My heart is saying go with the clio as is small, zipper and handles alot better but my head is saying go with the corrolla as the parts and servicing will be less and will last alot longer.

I plan to keep the car for 3 years and will be doing 20 thousand kms a year estimated.

Im going to ring toyota and reno dealers this arvo and get qoutes on servicing, tyres etc and then i guess its just the waiting game till jan when i plan to buy.

Thanks for all your help,

No doubt ill be talking about this even more in the next month

Hethro :D

Hethro87

02-12-2008, 10:36 AM

Update!

Hey guys,

Well ive driven more cars and more time to think about things and ring up dealerships and mechanics and find out about parts and servicing for the cars.

1st up the renault clio sport:

Well most mechanics told me not to buy one as they will get more unreliable with age (im planning on keeping the car for at least 2 years 3 max) and if any thing goes wrong with it, itll be horrendous to repair/replace.

However on the flip side one of my friends is selling his 02 clio sport that he has had since new, serviced it by the book and is getting the major service done in the coming weeks and said he can sell it to me for $13-14 grand.

2nd Toyota Corolla Sportivo:

I did some ringing around on this one and as usual being a toyota and all it should survive a nuclear war. Its alot cheaper to service then the Clio but i knew if i bought one i really wouldnt be happy with it, dont know why it is a nice car but it just doesnt sit right with me.

3rd Honda Integra Type R:

I drove one yesturday and all i can say is that people want crazy amount of money for these things. I drove an 02 model one with 60 thousand kms on the clock which had mismatching tyres on it and no log books and it looked like a dogs breakfast and they wanted 28 GRAND! Sure theyre a sporty car with the recaro seats and the vtec engine but the insurance is shocking and paying 30 grand for a close to 10 year old car? Get stuffed. Id much rather buy a mazda sp23 or an rx8 with that sort of money.

So it brings me back to sqaure one, again.

Got some options:

*Have a look at my friends clio, if i like it and i keep in mind the costs of running the car in the back of my mind fingers crossed nothing will go wrong with it well get it and save some dough.

OR

*Save up a few more pennies and re register the camry (due in april) fix it up a bit and get some more cash for it and get something like an 06 model mazda sp23 which is alot newer, wont fall apart in 3 years and will hold its value quite well.

I want to start saving for my house deposit as of next year and as the way things are going houses will just keep on going up and cars as usual will keep going down. Ie im never going to get my money back on a car.

At the end of the day i want a car that is fun to drive, wont need a loan to fix anything on it and will be happy with 3 years down the track.

Thoughts and feed back appreciated.

Cheers

Hethro :)

seldo

02-12-2008, 11:05 AM

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Renaults at all. I bet the mechanics that you asked about it have never even seen one!
You might get some help here from real owners: http://www.aussiefrogs.com/forum/index.php
I was a Renault dealer in another life and they are great cars with a totally unjustified poor image due to people bagging them who have absolutely no idea at all. Parts are not ridiculously expensive (far cheaper than Honda) and they are good reliable cars with a bit of flair.
You'll get a lot of fun from one at a sensible cost. :cheers:

Kyle

02-12-2008, 07:08 PM

Grab a 36 gti6 Alex.. best thing you will evar do...

Or even a S16

Hethro87

03-12-2008, 06:32 PM

:waving: Hey guys

Thanks for your advice Seldo, good to hear it from the horses mouth so as to say!

I think they are great little car for the price and are the best hot hatch of the last couple of years - 0-100 in 7 seconds and a quater mile in 15 seconds is pretty damn quick!

I spoke to my friend whom is selling his:

*Brand new battery and tyres.
*67 thousand kms.
*Stored in garage since new.
*Going in for sub major service - brake fluid etc before i buy it, if im happy with wanting to get it.
*K and N typhoon air intake!

Im having a look at it in two weekends time which will be cool! I hope its in good nick because he has serviced it buy the book and if im happy it ill probs buy it!

Hethro :)

seldo

04-12-2008, 11:59 AM

Hethro - Have a search of the Renault forums and get a recommendation to a Renault specialist - there are quite a few of them around -and get it inspected before you buy. The non-franchised repairers are generally highly experienced enthusiasts who are really into them. There is/was one at French's Forest whose name escapes me, but there's several of them.

DaveHAT

04-12-2008, 12:38 PM

Got some options:

*Have a look at my friends clio, if i like it and i keep in mind the costs of running the car in the back of my mind fingers crossed nothing will go wrong with it well get it and save some dough.

OR

*Save up a few more pennies and re register the camry (due in april) fix it up a bit and get some more cash for it and get something like an 06 model mazda sp23 which is alot newer, wont fall apart in 3 years and will hold its value quite well.

I want to start saving for my house deposit as of next year and as the way things are going houses will just keep on going up and cars as usual will keep going down. Ie im never going to get my money back on a car.

At the end of the day i want a car that is fun to drive, wont need a loan to fix anything on it and will be happy with 3 years down the track.

Thoughts and feed back appreciated.

Cheers

Hethro :)

Hey Alex,

Re: the above comments ... if you feel you're stretched as far as having to cross your fingers that nothing will go wrong with it, WAIT AND SAVE MORE MONEY!

In my experience ... buying a car is the cheap part, KEEPING it is where the dollars can get swallowed up. :)

Not meant as a scare mungering tactic but more that ... if you're going to soak up your available funds on a car (esp without warranty) just purchasing it and you're concerned about potential costs after purchase ... keep what you have a little longer and save some more $$$.

Ya' can't beat the piece of mind ya get from buying ... knowing you have the safety net of some spare $$$ or a warranty (factory).

Hethro87

14-12-2008, 10:01 AM

Update!!! :)

Well yesturday I went and had a look at my friends Clio.

Its in great condition, the interior looks amazing and the exterior is near spotless. The front bumper bar would need replacing and the headlight covers have yellowed but can be fixed by light sanding evidently.

Took it for a spin and as experienced before this model felt tight and fast. Beautiful handling, suspension ride is just right, good power and the gearshift is :drool:

The car has been fully serviced at Col Crawford in Brookvale with general servicing only coasting $200 and he has never had a problem with the car or their service. The car has the same (well theyre new) Michelin tyres as what it came with from the factory and theyre $150 a pop!

So he said he would do the major service for me (timing belt bla bla) and he would hold it for me until the 1st week of feb which is when i finish my grad program so is my little present.

We agreed on $14,000 which is a bargin considering the condition of the car, kms, service history and good driver.

So between now and then im going to get a full mechanical inspection done on it and sort out the insurance which i can get it for cheap with NRMA and will be able to get the bumper bar and the headlight covers fixed under excess.

Ive decided what mods i want to do:

*Darkest legal tint for $250 @ Solatint Haberfield.
*New speakers front and rear, Xmas present from my sister :)
*Professional Stage one detail from DMS after i get the bar replaced.

Apart from that it comes with a K and N apollo CAI and ill just save for some suspension goodies when they come up for sale on ozrenaultsport.com which has given me a wealth of information on the cars. Oh and i might powdercoat the rims black later on the track.

So happy with the car, I cant wait!!!

Hethro :drivin: