Posted: 2010-02-10 13:32:56
Edited: 2010-02-10 13:36:26
In my opinion the best way to go about getting a good second hand car is an auction. Of course auctions offer up ALOT of lemons but that's a risk that can be easily minimised.
I have a 2001 Mercedes C180(non-standard) bought at R55 000 with 150 000 kilos on it. The previous owner was a lady who's kids fucking broke half the buttons on the centre console and the driver's door had an ass indentation on it from where I'm guessing she closed it with her ass. Other than that the only major costs were for the aircon which had a rusty fan, and a family of rats that had moved into the aircon and chewed a wire to the electric windows. I cooked those suckers on a long drive to Durban last year.
The point is, I have a nice car with relatively low upkeep, bought at a relatively low price. The financial considerations here versus buying a new car is that today for R135 000 upwards you can buy a new Fiesta, Ka, Palio, Tiida etc. which are all small cars. You do however get a standard 3 year service warranty. The problem here is that as soon as you get into the car the value drops outright to about R85 000 which is a loss almost as big as the original price on my second hand Merc. Dealers still sell mine at R60k - R65k. I got chased out of a second hand dealership last year for mentioning a possible discount on a ridiculous price for the C240.
When going to an auction one looks at the following to determine whether previous owner looked after the car.
-The radio buttons, are they all there, pull at one or two to see if they come off.
-The upholstery, if there are stains, rips, scratches then chances are the previous owner didn't look after the car.
-The dashboard, stains, scratches etc.
-Under the hood, if the engine is dirty you go past, if its clean it doesn't say much either. What you're looking for is duct tape, half out screws, scratches, 'white' plastic pipes, black pipes become brittle and white with age, if the car was regularly serviced then the pipes should be in a good condition.
-Look at the service book and see if it went for regular servicing.
These are initial warning signs since if the previous owner kept the inside immaculate its a strong indication that he cared about the car and thus kept it in good shape and is probably a good buy.
Second Hand dealerships know about these little aesthetic markers and usually cover them up, meaning you can buy a pretty car but the engine is fucked. They're customer service usually ends upon sale even if they assure you that there's a service plan and all that toss.
I recommend paying a good mechanic for his time and taking him along to an auction to spot check available vehicles. If you're not unlucky then you can get a very good car for alot less than its new equivalent. A new C180, I'm guessing, is way over R250 000 about now.
I love my plucky little merc. Also most of this post is probably irrelevant but I was bored so there you go.
Edit: Last thing, worst case scenario is that you buy a lemon but with all the money you've saved you can easily afford to have the entire engine redone and STILL have money left over for 3 years' worth of services.
Another downside is that it has to be bought cash, since there isn't an option for down payment with an auction car.