Buying A Used Or Second Hand Car In UK

If you are considering the purchase of your next used or second hand car, you might at this point be very nervous. Its not a purchase you make regularly like going to the supermarket for your monthly shop or buying that next outfit for hitting the town. Its something you might only do every three or four years sometimes longer.

Some popular makes are:

Audi, Alfa Romeo, Bmw, Citroen, Ford, Fiat, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus,Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mg, Mini and Mitsubishi.

Confused? Who should I buy it from? A large garage group, a medium sized independent, a small independent, or a back street garage? The Answer? Whichever of these have the vehicle that you want! (With certain reservations which we will explore later.)

A common mistake is to go out in the car and visit all local sellers in the hope you see something you like, if you do this you will be at your most vulnerable and may well find that you buy something on impulse and may not in the long term be the best for you.

With the world wide web at your fingertips it’s a great place to start. By using it and visiting some of the better used car classified sites you will be able to narrow down your choices before even leaving your home.

Some of the best sites are:

www.autotrader.co.uk
www.autoexposure.co.uk
www.compucars.co.uk
www.ukclassifieds.co.uk
www.freeads.net

Ideally you should list your requirements in order of importance for example:

1. Insurance Cost
2. Fuel type
3. Economy
4. Vehicle size
5. 3/5/4 door etc
6. Price
7. Colour
8. Specification

Don’t get to carried away other wise the whole thing will not be the enjoyable experience it should be. Okay get surfing and find that combination of your dreams.

More of the most popular makes of vehicles to search are:

Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Rover, Seat, Subaru, Skoda, Suzuki, Toyota, Vauxhall and Volkswagen.

Happy hunting and watch out for the next instalment. “The negotiation.”

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3 Exceptional European Automakers

When you think of exceptional cars that are built in Europe, does your mind run strictly to cars made by Rolls Royce, BMW, or Mercedes? Perhaps Jaguar and Lamborghini come to mind as well. Each of these makes deserve all the accolades given to them. Still, there are three makes that are, for various reasons, exceptional. Let’s take a look at Volvo, Volkswagen, and Audi, the three makes featured in this article.

For a country of just nine million to produce one automaker would be amazing enough. To lay claim to two automakers is simply phenomenal. Both Volvo and Saab are from this particular country which is Sweden. Now a part of Ford Motor Company, Volvo has greatly influenced the automobile industry over the years. Safety standards that had been universally low elsewhere are much more appreciated with Volvo. Front end crumple zones, reinforced roofs and specially designed interiors have all had their origin with Volvo. Out of these high safety standards have come a line of cars that are, indeed, some of the best built and safest cars on the road. Fortunately, through Volvo’s leadership, many automakers around the world have incorporated Volvo’s high safety standard. This is what makes Volvo exceptional in my eyes.

The company that brought to the world the first people’s car, the Beetle, is also exceptional. First designed in Germany during the 1930s, the Beetle survived World War II and was one of the most mass produced and loved cars in the world. From the 1950s forward the Beetle managed to make motorized transportation available to people who otherwise could not afford a car. From college students in the US to migrant workers in Mexico and from the gritty cities of Holland to the Irish farmlands, the Beetle made owning a car affordable the majority of the masses. Even after importation to the US ceased during the 1970s, the Beetle was produced for another generation and sold in Mexico.

Without drawing out the point too far, the term that best describes Audi’s quattro technology is “superior handling.” Perhaps that is an understatement but when Audi introduced quattro all wheel drive the company threw the gauntlet down and told the rest of the auto making world that quattro was the standard by which all luxury sedans would be judged. Audi's quattro technology has given the company such a huge advantage over competitors that over the years it has been banned from certain types of racing. Indeed, Audi’s quattro technology provides continuous traction long past when other road handling schematics have reached their threshold.

So, there you have it. Three truly exceptional automobiles from the European continent, exceptional in ways, perhaps, that should be labeled as extraordinary.

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