Buying cheap cars could cost you in the long run

16 Jul 2019

Anyone on the lookout for new car deals this summer has been urged to seek vehicles through reputable dealers rather than the local buy, sell and trade groups - because even those that look great could end up costing you dearly in the long run.

To drive this point home, AA Cars has compiled a list of some of the typical faults it sees on used cars, together with the price tag for fixing them if a mechanic has to get involved.

The worst was a failure of the automatic gearbox, which can cost more to fix than it would to replace - an eye-watering £1,000 to £5,000.

Another common one is something going wrong with the turbo functionality, which would typically set you back £1,000 at the local garage.

Issues with the clutch can also often lead to people listing their cars for sale in the hope of shifting the cost to someone else, but if that's you, you might soon be short of around £400.

Furthermore, dual mass flywheels often fail alongside the clutch, according to the AA, so there goes another £800.

Last but not least was the head gasket, words sure to strike fear into the heart of any car owner, with an associated cost of £500 to fix due to labour time.

Chief executive of AA Cars James Fairclough told the Sun it's wise to give yourself the best possible chance of getting a good deal when you need a new vehicle.

"It is always advisable to buy a used car through a reputable dealer rather than a private seller. To ensure that you are completely protected, ideally you should do business with a dealer who has signed up to a quality standard," he commented.

The news comes after surprising research from Warranty Wise last year, which listed the Peugeot 207 and the Seat Ibiza among the most unreliable cars on the market today.