Need advice: Buying my first car after moving to the UK

Many people suggest to buy petrol, can I buy diesel if I get good deals?

BHPian GRAND23 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello guys,

I am moving to UK in another one month and need help from you all to understand about used cars and buying tricks. For now, I am keeping price cap as 3k.

I have listed my queries below, please comment on the same.

• What is the range of miles I should select?
• Many people suggest to buy petrol, can I buy diesel if I get good deals? Will buying diesel car impacts any other charges such as insurance or any other sort of?
• Which Brands are best to go? I know few of them like Ford, Toyota are best ones. What about European cars? Are they reliable?
• Which automatic is reliable and easy maintenance in UK? After some time, I want my wife also to take up driving. Just in case, if I get good deals in automatics, then would like to go with the same.
• Which engine is best for both mileage and decent power? I am not really looking for very powerful engine. Just a decent car.

Any other tips to buy is most welcome.

Here's what BHPian Jeroen had to say on the matter:

Congratulations on moving to the UK! It’s a wonderful country with lots to see and do. Where will you be living. Not in London I hope, because car wise that is difficult what with congestion charge and parking.

In Europe if you drive a diesel, you are basically a sales rep. Diesels by and large only make sense when you drive a lot of mileage every year, at least 30-40K a year. Financially it would not make any sense otherwise.

Europe has basically said goodbye to diesels. Many low emission zones. Although you should be ok with a modern diesel, more and more diesels are banned.

Diesel are likely to be more expansive to insure as they are more expensive than the same car in petrol version.

Are you buying second hand or new?

Range is really preference and convenience. There are petrol stations a plenty. So you don’t really need to worry about range perse. I don’t think I have ever bought a car thinking about range.

The UK is a far less harsh environment for cars then India. A lot of the issues you see on this forum are far less frequent here. Also, no offence, but the dealership and independent garages and workshops are by and large very good. But it is not cheap, you are going to get a shock when you see their charges, compared to India.

You might consider joining the AA.

They offer excellent service, (e.g. break down service). Check their website as they also do lots of car reviews.

We have a number of members living in the UK who no doubt will chip in with more information.

Jeroen

Here's what BHPian Sridhar C E had to say on the matter:

Congrats on your move to the UK!

You haven't mentioned the size of your family, so I am sharing my experience of buying 2 cars last year, one in London that my son bought and another in Rugby that my daughter, a dentist bought.

Son: lives in London, needed to upgrade from a 12 year old Infinity to a car that could accommodate the family dog, his family comprising of himself, his wife and a 6 month old baby. So he shortlisted a Kia Sportage GT-line, automatic transmission, petrol version. Autotrader (http://www.autotrader.co.uk) ,provides a wide variety of listings and we were able make a decent shortlist.

He eventually bought a 2019 model that had done about 24k miles and traded his Infinity for about 4k £ and ended up paying £ 18k. He is very happy with the features of his car and I loved driving it too ( ADAS, blind spot warning, adaptive cruise control, lane departure correction to name a few).

Daughter: A dentist who travels about 80 miles to and fro daily, she needed a car that could accommodate a 8 year old and a 4 year old with their car seats. We zeroed in on a Nissan Qashqai, which is a very popular car in the UK. (Incidentally the Vauxhall Corsa is also very popular).

After checking out a few car dealers through Autotrader, we found our maroon beauty at Carshop, Swindon. The 2029, 28000 mile old car cost her about £ 18000. She is very happy with the purchase. This Qashqai is a petrol version.

Most used car dealers offer a 14 day, no questions asked return policy. They also offer a 90 day warranty on the purchase. The ownership transfer is usually very smooth. We Indians can drive for one year in the UK with our Indian DL.

I wish you many miles of blissful driving in the UK!

Sridhar

Here's what BHPian ajmat had to say on the matter:

I don’t have knowledge about your family needs but I would start with a good used Ford, Toyota or Honda. Avoid French cars or Vauxhalls. VWs are hot or miss depending on the maintenance.

Remember that a lot of cars are ex fleet so the maintenance would be minimum.

I would begin with something easy to insure and run. Once you have an understanding of your financial outlays, then upgrade after 18 months. Take your driving test in a manual so that you can drive any hire car when on holiday. Automatic hire cars are usually at a premium.

I pass around Derby a lot. The road to Stoke is quite fun for a little spirited driving. Derby is well located as it is between the M1 and M6.

Here's what BHPian Knight_Kar had to say on the matter:

Our family just moved to the UK ~1 year ago and went through the same dilemma, here's what we did.

Since you are not based in London/Oxford/Birmingham, you do not have to worry about the ULEZ(Ultra Low Emission Zone). This means unless a car is ULEZ compliant, you have to pay a fee to drive it in certain areas of these cities. However, I would still recommend going for a petrol with the ever evolving laws in the UK.

Insurance in the UK is a lot more expensive, however you can use comparison sites (such as www.moneysupermarket.com) to find the best deal. Do remember than if you are buying a car without a UK driving license, you will have to declare that you will be driving on an international license.

When it comes to buying a car, you have many options. Usually starting a search on Autotrader would give you good leads. Always check if the car has a valid MOT, for it to be legal to drive on the streets. As mentioned earlier, ownership transfer is usually very smooth. As soon as ownership is transferred, you will have to tax the car for your use too. Tax does not transfer between owners. Tax is charged on a yearly basis.

We ended up using cinch.com, as they delivered the car to our residence. They also had a 7 day return policy, as well as a warranty. While we weren't allowed to test drive the car or even look at it apart from the pictures, the car delivered was clean and well maintained. We picked up a 2017 Volvo V40 T2 automatic for 13k. From what we have gathered, Toyotas/Hondas and Fords tend to be reliable cars and easy on the pocket.

Good luck with your search!

Here's what BHPian ShankarG had to say on the matter:

Hey. Welcome to the UK. This place is a boon for car enthusiasts and you'll find all possible options in all budget range.

I used Autotrader to get a deal for myself and bought a used Vauxhall Astra (2011 - 120K ODO) and it served me like a charm. No issues at all for 12 months. You may check auto trader and figure out a car based on your budget. Make sure either you ask the seller to give you a latest MOT or ask for an extended warranty on used card from the likes of Autoguard. You may also check for cars sold thru webuyanycar, Cinch or Cazoo.

Few points apart from the ones already highlighted:

Diesel manual will serve you very good. However resale value will be bad. Don't worry about ulez if you aren't regular in ulez area. Just pay the daily charge if are an infrequent visitor.

Your insurance will cost you a bomb. Make a provision for that. Carry your India NCB certificates for last 5-7 years if you have. Companies like Marshmallow will offer you NCD discount on that provided there is no break in the insurance coverage.

Check for car data on cardatacheck or other similar sites. Pay a fee for about £10 and get maximum satisfaction and peace of mind.

Some cars are under insurance claimed category on Autotrader. Avoid it.

Go through the dvsa driving handbook. It'll give you a good idea on road signs, expected road behaviour etc.

As suggested above, take a few driving lessons to get yourself accustomed to driving here. It may cost you about £35-40 per hour but it's worth it.

Finally, we have a Team BHP UK WhatsApp group. Join us when you land and it will be a pleasure to connect.

Cheers!

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