Automatic Driving Lessons North Dublin Best Cars For New Drivers
So you have passed your driving test, now the fun part is picking your car and buying it. Unless you know what you’re talking about, it can be a daunting experience. Usually, we will ask our parents, uncle, neighbours or whoever might literally just own a car and we use their guidance. Although these people mean the best, they generally don’t know what they are looking for either and it is a guessing game for them. If they guess right, great but if they guess wrong it could cost you money. Ideally, when you pay out all that money on your first car and pay your insurance, all you really want to be doing is putting petrol into your car.
When buying your first car, say from a private seller, it is important to ask all the questions before you see the car. Questions could include “does the car have a valid NCT and for how long?” “Does the car have any service history?” or “what is the mileage?” A phone call could save you a pointless trip to anywhere. When you make the call, beware that some sellers are trying to sell a problem so they will not volunteer information about certain issues. So you see the car, the car looks ok at a glance, now it is time to have a good hard look at the outside of the car. You are looking at the wheels, tyres, paintwork all over the car, front and back bumper to see if they were impacted and for general marks on the car.
If you are happy with what you see, open the bonnet. Check all the fluid levels are topped up, If the add says “recently serviced” and all the fluid levels are low and the oil is black, the seller has lied and I personally would walk away. Anyway, all looks good, time to start the engine. You are looking for a nice smooth start. Once the engine is started, let the engine “tick over.” This is when you listen. You are listening for the engine revving up and down without pressing a pedal, clanking or banging noises. If all sounds good you could be ok.
Now if the car has an NCT, the NCT gives a brief explanation of what the car failed on or advisors that should be repaired now but the car still passed the test. If on the NCT sheet there are lots of advisories, simply ask the seller if they have been repaired. If they have not been repaired you will potentially have to get these issues fixed soon. The advisories could range from tyres to bulbs etc. If you really like the car this a great bargaining tool as you can ask to drop money from the asking price.
If all that looks good, jump into the driver’s seat and take the car for a drive. While you are doing this, the person you brought along needs to be looking at the electrics. These range from radio, side windows, air-con while you are checking the indicators, lights, windscreen wipers and so on.
When you are driving the car, feel how sharp the clutch feels, feel how easily the car goes into gear, feel the brakes and how reactive they are and listen to the revs on the engine when you are driving. If the revs are shooting up and it doesn’t match the pressure you are putting on the accelerator, this could be problematic for you. If the gears grind and don’t slip in easily, again alarm bells. There are so many potential issues and the car will tell you if you listen to what is happening and feel what is happening.
If you are unsure, do not buy the car. Tell the seller you need a second opinion and ask a mechanic to look at it for you. This could cost you 50 euro but it will be the best 50 euro you will spend.
