I've been chatting to a young lady who is a member on here, her name is Suzy, she's recently passed her test and is looking to buy a car.
She isn't sure of what to look for etc, I've tried to give her some advice, which I'll list here, perhaps others could join in.
Please take it easy on her, she doesn't understand all the different types of running costs, services, cam belt changes etc.
1) There aren't really any "bad" cars left out there, the standards the companies who build them need to attain are rather high.
2) Don't worry too much about which cars you often see reported in the news that have been involved in accidents, this is more likely to be that the particular car appeals to the boy racer brigade, than there is anything wrong with the design, the particular car Suzy asked about in relation to that was a Vauxhall Corsa.
3) If your not "into" cars, either buy from a main dealer, or a very good reputable second hand car dealer, this will normally have been recommended by family or friends.
4) At a dealer a car will have been hpi checked, if you buy privately, I'd suggest you always do this yourself.
5) Verify the milage by checking the service record, old mot's etc.
6) A low milage car isn't always a better buy than a high milage one, providing the high milage car has been well serviced it will often be better than one that has just been stop started, shopping and school runs etc.Average milage should be about 10 - 12,000 miles a year.
7) Always look at servicing costs, there will normally be about three types of service, a type one (minor), a type two (intemediate), and a type three (major) The pattern will normally be one, two, one, three and so on.
A service interval is a mixture of time versus milage, eg 10,000 miles or one year, whichever comes first.
9) Cam belts, most modern cars have cam belts, since the introduction of three year warranties, the interval for changing these has dropped to 40,000 miles or four years whichever comes first. Check the price of a cam belt change, some cars ( I think the fiat marea was one) need the engine removed to do this, which makes the job very expensive.
10) If you buy a second hand car from a dealer, check what warranty your getting, Vauxhalls network Q is about the best at the moment, generally being considered as good as a new car warranty.
11) IF buying a car that can have dual fuel as a factory fitted option, consider it, you will get cheaper running costs, tax, avoid congestion charges etc, if it has been fitted as an aftermarket job, avoid unless you can have it verified, it could give you insurance / warranty problems
12) If buying from a main dealer ask them about insurance, a lot now offer a free years insurance, especially with brand new cars.
13) Have a look on the net at reliability studies, you'll probably notice the Japs do better than most.
I'll try and think of some more, anyone else care to add some ?
