Gals Guide – Womens Guide to Buying Cars

Find the Right Car


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The smart women's choice

Get rid of the depreciation loss - buy a nearly new or pre-owned and save £thousands...

Now you know how much you want to spend, and where the money's coming from, you're ready to start looking.

The best way to stay in control and avoid the high pressure salesroom chat is to buy online – you won't be treated differently because you're a woman and your finger on the mouse keeps the interaction firmly under your control.

New or Used?

Lots of companies like www.Freeway.co.uk offer quite good new car deals online but if you want to make a smart purchase, consider the advantages of buying a used car this time.

As soon as they're sold, new cars depreciate by up to 20 percent. If you spend £12,000 on your new car, you could be as much as £2,400 out of pocket, just seconds after driving it away.

This is bad news for brand new car owners but it's pretty good news for used car buyers, because that first buyer took the loss for you.

Know your Terminology

In a recent survey carried out by eBay it was revealed that 52% of women don't know what MPG stands for, while 65% remain in the dark about the V5 document.

MPG stands for miles per gallon. The figure generally quoted is or combined fuel consumption, a figure calculated from a mixture of city and open-road conditions; manufacturers usually quote urban and extra-urban figures, too. You'll be lucky to match these figures in real life, though: they are obtained in ideal simulated conditions on a test track, by experienced test drivers. Their benefit is in allowing you to compare similar models, knowing they've been through the same tests. Mainland Europeans now use litres per 100km instead.

A V5 document is the registration document, sometimes referred to as the 'log book'. You should not purchase a car if the V5 document is not provided.

If there are any other automotive terms which you are unclear about then do not hesitate to ask us on the blog and we will answer your queries here.

Buying safely online

You can find cheap second hand car deals at online auction sites like eBay but there are still some huge risks attached to buying this way.

Avoid the risks by looking for online  companies selling such  vehicles as end of lease direct to the public. This so called Fleet to Street route is favoured by the lease companies as it  means they receive higher prices than at the  trade auction and the seller gets a car far below dealer forecourt price.  So both the buyer and the seller win in the removal of the dealer profit. www.carsite.co.uk are one of the few on–line companies offering this offering this new Fleet to Street route when buying online:

  • Look for a full detailed vehicle description.
  • Check the seller's feedback rate if  on  such sites as eBay,  or better still, their testimonials – make sure they've got a high sales record with plenty of positive feedback.
  • Choose a car with an inspection report from an independent, reputable company like the RAC.
  • Look for one that is guaranteed to be as described. If buying through e|Bay - Never pay up-front, or a huge deposit before seeing the car – £200 or less should be sufficient to show that you are a genuine buyer and not a time-waster.
  • Make sure there are lots of clear fully detailed pictures, showing all areas of the car including interior and exterior shots.
  • Make sure any damage mentioned is clearly photographed.
  • Always make sure that the car you have purchased is the car that was advertised.

You need all these facts to make an informed and confident buying decision, which will hopefully eradicate any nasty surprises during the buying process.

Try any of these online sources of used cars:

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/ukautosite - Trusted ebay titanium seller – all their cars are RAC inspected and HPI checked, and you can see the reports online for free.

www.freeway.co.uk – Great deals on new cars direct from the manufacturer.

www.autotrader.co.uk – Online site with volumes of used cars, mostly from dealers.

www.ebay.co.uk – Lots of cars with lots of info – their classifieds are mostly dealer cars.

www.carsite.co.uk – They provide vehicles direct from lease companies such as the Bank of Scotland, cutting out the middle-man dealer profits – they've got lots of impressive testimonials with the buyers of the actual cars.