Buying Car With Damage?
Hi all 
At the minute I'm looking for a first car, ideally something under £800, and I've come across a 2003 Nissan Micra for sale for £595. The car has only covered a tiny 31,000 miles from new with two owners, and full service history. The only problem is that along the passenger door there are a couple of rather large scratches and small dent, and as the car is being sold as seen I doubt that the trader will rectify it. I've already checked up the car and it is not a Category C or D vehicle, and as its my first car it's bound to get damaged at some point, especially by my workplace, but part me is unsure to purchase a car with damage. Any thoughts?
At the minute I'm looking for a first car, ideally something under £800, and I've come across a 2003 Nissan Micra for sale for £595. The car has only covered a tiny 31,000 miles from new with two owners, and full service history. The only problem is that along the passenger door there are a couple of rather large scratches and small dent, and as the car is being sold as seen I doubt that the trader will rectify it. I've already checked up the car and it is not a Category C or D vehicle, and as its my first car it's bound to get damaged at some point, especially by my workplace, but part me is unsure to purchase a car with damage. Any thoughts?
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The MOT is until February but the car has never failed any MOT test or had any advisories. This along with the mileage and price is really tempting me.
Buy it and re-assess the damage after a few weeks or so;…you may be happy to live with the damage,… or you may feel it’s worth repairing.
If the car runs well what have you got to lose at that price/spec.:)
With regards to the damage this is clearly being accounted for in the price, though there's nothing to stop you trying to get it a little bit cheaper. But don't expect to get hundreds of pounds off, the seller just won't do it.
You might just decide to live with the damage after a little while. As you say, being your first car, it may-well suffer more damage still, once you start driving it around (but I hope not!) If you want the damage repaired then, as others have already suggested, you could have a go at repairing it yourself, or, you could ask a company like "Chips Away" to give you an estimate for the repairs.
Most of us have begun our driving careers driving cars which were not perfect. When I started driving myself, the car I had, a Ford Anglia, was covered in holes caused by rust! You don't have to worry about rust on most cars these days because the bodies are galvanised, which prevents it. I spent a great deal of time, and learned quite a bit about repairing cars by attempting to fill all the rust holes in with body filler and painting the repair afterwards.
As I say, it does sound like a good buy, even with the damage. I don't think, from what you say, that particular car will be on sale for very long.
Do, however, get a test drive before deciding and, if possible, take someone along who knows something about cars.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
The damage is only cosmetic from your description and the price sounds reasonable.
I doubt it would cost a lot to rectify. Enjoy your driving op.
http://www.dentwizard.co.uk/
31,000 miles is very low for a car that age so it should be reliable. At this point that should be your only concern - and at £595 there really isn't any gamble to take.
and to make sure the fluid levels and filters are ok and the front pads have a bit of life in them.:)
I'm probably going to go for it, it's a very nice little car and the mileage is just too good to refuse. With me driving it's bound to be damaged anyway so I think I'll just leave the debt for now, knowing my luck I'd get it repaired only to then damage the car further the next day!
One good thing with a car like that is you don't have to worry about the knocks and prangs (as long as you don't damage anything else in the process)
Sounds a good car at 13 years old
You’ve obviously done your research on the car and if everything is kosher I wouldn’t hang about;
…I suspect it won’t be on sale for much longer.
Are all newly qualified drivers this inept?
This must explain why the cost of my car insurance keeps on rising ...
At that age I would have thought you would be more concerned about the engine, and making sure it starts every time. make sure there is decent tread on the tyres.
you won't loose much when you come to trade it in again.
having said that, if you are bothered about the appearance then factor in the cost of the bodywork repairs, which generally costs a bit more than you would expect.
My experience is that most new drivers will have a couple of knocks whilst they are developing their spacial awareness and general driving skills.
I cant believe a car that ae only has 31k miles on it, has it been clocked or worse gone around the clock and back to 31k? too cheap for a car with that low mileage equates to lowly 2500 a year, I would be very wary, but you only want a cheapy, what have you got to lose?
You’re quite right to be wary. There are many dodgy sellers out to chisel unwary buyers these days,…never been any different TBH.
However, 2.5k miles per annum is not that unusual in a car like a Micra with just 2 owners,…it’s a very popular car with older/retired drivers so no commute to work every day etc.
My old dad who died a few months ago had one;…he only did 15k miles in 10 years from new!
…I’m sure the OP has already done this but the MOT history and mileage records can be checked for consistency by using the DVLA’s MOT History Checker.
I think the online MOT records only go back as far as 2006 though.
The MOT checker is freely available to everyone.
I certainly am not, I consider myself a very safe and cautious driver, however I have to park in a side street by my workplace and there's a high chance of the car being damaged there, also I can't always park on my driveway due to my families other cars so sometimes I'll have to park it on the street, again it could easily be damaged.
If the dent in the door is shallow, and as long as it hasn't damaged the impact beams inside the door, then it should be a simple fix. Do a little research and track down local car body repair outlets in your area. The larger garages that sell cars, at least from what I found last year, don't do repairs anymore - they simply put on a replacement body panel (costing thousands).
Sometimes he'd even walk into work when the weather was good.
Main thing that probably did put the mileage on the car was taking the dog to the local park for walks.