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I genuinely don't know dawg! I've never seriously thought about buying a car in India, first or second hand. Never needed it. It's my brother who's a car nerd, I just (barely) know how to drive under supervision in light traffic and play some Forza from time to time.
As long as the car meets the requirements I've listed, the more the merrier, I'm not picky about vintage. I understand that you don't want one that has too many miles on it, and I know if you go too far back a lot of modern electronics aren't an option. That's about it.
Feel free to assume I'm an idiot and discuss accordingly, as basic as it gets.
I've had people try and scare me off German luxury cars before, claiming that they're a pain in the ass to maintain, and said maintenance is expensive. If you think that's overblown or disagree, I genuinely have no clue how I can expect it to cost me over use. And I would prefer a car that doesn't demand too much of me, while still looking good.
Now if I can get one under my assigned budget, all the better. What condition was your Jag when you sold it? Like, that would be ludicrously low price in India for a secondhand Jaguar from the past decade, I imagine it would easily go for double or triple, but I'm no expert.
I've had my brother, the one in India, and cousins there, recommend Mazdas. Not precisely my type, but I'm open to changing my mind.
All I know is that I know
nothingvery little about all the costs, issues and responsibilities car ownership entails. I was putting off buying one till it was a necessity.I think given your budget you probably don't need to overthink it or look too much at advice here. You have enough to afford something recent without too many miles so really the only thing you want to think about is which car you like the look of. Plenty of people don't worry too much beyond that and do just fine.
Any of the prestige sedans will work for you. Some people will claim X brand has so many issues or to avoid one specific car, but most of this will just be anecdotal. No one owns enough cars to say that "every BMW is a pain". There will sometimes be known issues with certain models - e.g. the Jag XE ingenium engine had problems with the timing belt in early models. But these are rare and not normally catastrophic to deal with.
Other than Teslas, which have pretty poor reliability used, you can buy any of Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Volvo, Lexus, even Alfa Romeos are offering reliable cars these days. I would just look through these brands and find the one you like the look of most, then go and buy one. Personally I like the look of Jags, XE and newer XFs. I think the 2010 stylings of Audis and BMWs was a bit safe. Mercedes always does a decent job. I like the Volvo s90 a lot but that might be outside of your price range, and I'm less keen on the lower end volvos.
It's true that maintenance will be more expensive, much the same as a big house will cost more than a small house. Nice things always cost a bit more. But you would still be looking at a yearly service + MOT of around £300-£400. If you have issues it will run up the price, but this is true of any car. Of course you can also spend plenty on valeting, modifications, bodywork, tyres, etc. but this will be your choice.
When you come to buy, there are a couple of things to be aware of:
You're not that likely to get saddled with a lemon in the used car market, and although caveat emptor applies, there is some legal protection for complete deceptions. Mostly just a bit of common sense will be enough.
I highly appreciate the thorough explanation.
If getting a fancy German car second hand doesn't entail that much suffering, then it's something I'll seriously consider. Shame I wasn't around to poach the Jag, heh.
That doesn't sound terrible at all. Not that I'm going to modify it much, if I want my car to look extra cool, I'll just play more Forza haha. At most I might get a paintjob.
Is there a particular source you'd recommend for actually buying a car secondhand? Is it better to close a deal in person or rely on something online?
Should I take it to a mechanic first for an opinion before the purchase?
Also, how large is the premium on automatics? I know how to (badly) drive stick, but I'd rather not.
If you're doing a deal online, it will be with a used car dealer like Cazoo. Which there probably isn't anything wrong with, you'll get peace of mind, but you also pay a big premium. If you're buying from a private seller, you'll need to do it in person, and the best platform is Autotrader.
A lot of private sellers probably won't be willing to take the car to a mechanic for you, and used car dealers certainly wouldn't.
I'm not sure on automatic premium, probably sub 1k for an identical year/mileage car? So about a 10% premium at your budget.
I see. Thank you again. For now, I've just been looking at whatever looks sick on autotrader, and skipping about 80% of them when my brother yells at me. Praying that's enough, or I'll have to pick your brains later lol.
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