#AskRebecca for help on buying a car

If you love the IS 250, I’d say you could simply swap to a IS 200d of the same era but sadly this was only made in a manual unlike the auto 250 and the diesel isn’t a particularly highly rated engine.

Arguably the best diesel competitor of that era is the BMW 320d, and depending on your budget there are a wide array of options and body styles to choose from. It’s also known for being reliable, but should tick most boxes as it’s also known for being economical and great to drive.

However, it also includes BMW’s versions of the spec you’re looking for. Although it’s an early version of the iDrive it was still of its time, and 2014 320d models also had DAB radio as standard added. It’s easy to use, based on a similar mechanical wheel to scroll through your options on a 6.5-inch screen.

You could also look at other equivalents, such as the Audi A4 or Mercedes C220 CDI. The A4 is known for being refined while the Mercedes-Benz C220 CDI is best if you’re looking for a bit more road presence and a really premium finish. However, in a fair fight the BMW will always come out on top.

The thing with Lexus models is they do have quite a unique cabin, whereas the German alternatives share the same principles for infotainment and seating. Your best option might be to go and try out some of these models to find which one you gel with the most.

For practicality and comfort when it comes to estates, you can’t really go wrong with a Skoda. They are known for being reliable, affordable and have tonnes of space to boot.

I’m going to assume you’re looking to do the conversion after buying, as already converted vehicles are few and far between sadly ⎼ particularly in estate form and with the specific requirements you’re looking for.

My recommendation would be the Octavia Estate. The Superb is larger, so depending on the size of your wheelchair you may need to opt for this, but looking at your budget, space and what’s on offer the Octavia will give you more options.

However, you could also go for something like the Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer, which is cheaper and will save you more money for alterations. The Insignia actually comes with a lot of features for the price and has a large, square boot that means it’s easier to fit large objects in.

A rival to this is the Ford Mondeo Estate and you’ll also find these at a similar price point. The benefit is that you can go for something slightly newer and with less mileage for the price. That doesn’t mean you’d be missing out on much if you went for a slightly older Octavia, and you’d still get a more refined and quiet ride than you’d get in the Mondeo or Insignia.

Your best guide for this will be looking at other cars for sale online or in your area. Depending on how quickly you want to sell it you can price it accordingly. Simply by making it cheaper than what’s available elsewhere you might be able to shift it faster.

The easiest way to get an idea of price is to use valuation tools. If you go to the sell my car section on Motors.co.uk you can put your car’s registration into the valuation tool and that will give you a price based on current market values.

There are lots of car dealers looking to buy good quality stock at the moment, and with that has come more ways to sell your car directly to dealers. You may want to look through these different options to give yourself an idea of the best offers around. This will more than likely be less than what you’d get selling privately but will save you a lot of time!

The value of your car will very much depend on its condition, mileage and specifications. It’s definitely worth being realistic on this front, and a perfect low mileage example will definitely be worth more than one at the other end of the spectrum.

It’s understandable to feel worried about buying a car. It’s a big purchase and an even bigger commitment if things go wrong! The problem with cars is they can be unpredictable, particularly used ones so it’s often better to be prepared for the worst and make sure there’s money set aside in your budget for maintenance, repairs and MOTs.

A pre-inspection check isn’t unusual for a dealer and many will have already included one. If you look out for AA, RAC or other warranty banners, you can ask if a pre-inspection check was included and ask to see it. Typically to have the sticker in the window saying it’s approved, a dealer will have had to check 100 or more things are working correctly on the car.

That’s not to say you should take this all at face value, it is worth doing your own checks but going to a car dealer with good reviews and a warranty available should help reassure you.

The Focus Estate is a great choice. You get a much more practical car but it doesn’t lose any of the good looks of the estate  version and only slightly alters the profile.

Even in standard specification, called Zetec, you get loads of frequently sought options. This includes Bluetooth, Ford SYNC infotainment system with a touchscreen and Android Auto or CarPlay, driving aids such as lane keep assist and safety features such as emergency braking.

From there you have three mid-range options to choose from – Titanium as you mentioned, Active and ST-Line. These all build on Zetec level but in different ways. Titanium is the more traditional step up, Active is mainly about rugged looks and ST-Line is a light version of the sporty ST. It gets improved suspension and larger wheels too. Overall, you’ll notice that there are some light tech upgrades, including things like rain detection for your windscreen wipers, but overall it’s the interior and exterior styling that’s notched up.

There’s now also an ‘X’ level up from these, so we get Titanium X, Active X and ST-Line X. All of these have the addition of larger wheels, 17-inch for Titanium X and 18-inch for the other two. They also get the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster rather than the small 4.2-inch screen – and that’s in addition to the 8-inch touchscreen in the middle of the dash.

Top of the range is the hot Ford Focus ST available with up to 276bhp with the 2.3-litre petrol engine. This has its own unique suspension setup, sportier interior and the ST logo all over.

This is such a painful process and I think a lot of people go through this. Unfortunately, there is no easy fix for your problem.

The best place to start is looking it up on the Government website. This will give you a steer about whether it’s still on the road because of its tax and MOT status, and you’ll also be able to see when the latest logbook was issued. If it’s after you sold it, then you know the person you sold it to has sold it on but if not you might be able to track down who you sold it to.

The problem is that because of data protection the government can’t share personal information about who now owns the car or where it’s located

However, if you’re starting with little to no information about where it is, I’d say forums and Facebook groups are a great place to start. Join as many are relevant to the particular car and you might be able to track it down. Sadly, this will also rely on how niche your car is or whether it’s seen the light of day much since you sold it.

There are websites out there that do claim to store information about specific cars but these are uploaded by previous or current owners. It might be worth trying some though as you never know if your car has been listed!

The biggest difference between those three cars will be price. The Corsa-e is great value for what you get, and if you’re simply looking for an electric car then going for the most affordable option could be prudent.

Although you might not be worried about the range, it’s always worth futureproofing your purchase. Right now, going long distances might not be important, but in a year, things might change. It’s always worth thinking about the resale value too, and range could be a big decider. Of course, I can’t say this for certain because as charging technology improves, we might actually care less!

The three cars you’re looking at are also very different when it comes to daily use. If you’re looking for a family car, I’d definitely recommend the Nissan Leaf. It’s spacious in the cabin and the boot, has great safety tech and it’s really easy to use.

However, if you’re more about the car itself, the Mini Electric will tick more boxes. It’s great to drive, but also feels premium with great quality materials used. It also shows off its electric skills more in its design, whereas the Corsa or Leaf are less obvious.

Vegan friendly cars are becoming more common sights from car manufacturers as well as using recycled products. Only recently, BMW revealed at the Munich Motor Show it will be making even more of its cars from recycled materials.

If you’re looking for a car today though, with these things in mind, there are some options available. Polestar, a newer sister company to Volvo, is all electric but has vegan friendly interiors. It was even given an award by PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals). This should tick all of your boxes if you’d like to switch to an electric vehicle now.

If you’re looking for something a bit more mainstream, the Volkswagen Golf is also available with a vegan interior if you go for the entry-level trim that doesn’t have leather; the Ford Fiesta can also be specified without leather in certain trim levels. You’ll have to ask to swap the leather steering wheel though.

The all-electric Renault Twizy doesn’t come with a leather interior and also has the highest number of recycled materials used. However, you really need the right lifestyle for this two-seater city car.

You could also consider other models that use vegan friendly faux leather, such as Mercedes and its Artico interiors.

If I’m totally honest, I feel like we’ve missed the moment on cheaper BMW i3s. I was really tempted to buy one recently, only to find they’d shot up in value again. That said, it’s still definitely cheaper than a brand-new model – and it’s quite hard to justify a new i3 when you compare its price to other new EVs on the market.

The i3 was first released back in 2013, and newer models didn’t get a huge amount of new features until the car was updated again in 2019. So, if you’re after something that will look cool, drives well, and has a decent range then actually going for one of these older and cheaper models could save you some cash.

With older models, you might see that the batteries don’t last slightly as long after years of being recharged. Yet one of the great features in older models, that BMW no longer uses in newer models, is the range extender. The i3 REx had a BMW motorbike engine that would charge the batteries on the move, just like having a petrol generator, and give up to an extra 80 miles of range. The wheels themselves aren’t powered by the petrol engine at all, it’s just there for an extra boost if you don’t have the time or can’t find somewhere to charge.

The latest generations of XC60 and XC90 are incredibly similar, and on the surface it’s hard to tell the difference, apart from the fact the 90 has two extra seats.

If it makes no difference to you, whether you have 5 or 7 seats, then the XC60 would make financial sense. It also comes with an entry-level diesel engine, but misses out on a T6 petrol engine, although both are available with the T8 petrol-powered plug-in hybrid model.

If you do need seven seats, choose the XC90. However, if you don’t need to, it would be kinder on your wallet to go for the XC60.

Typically, yes, if you were looking to buy something new or nearly new then August would be a great time to get a good deal. In 2021, that just isn’t the case.

New cars are in such short supply that in some cases nearly new versions are selling for even more than brand new models would. The industry is currently in an unusual place where used cars are going up in value and nearly new are in high demand, and that’s because people can’t get hold of brand-new models – all because of the availability of semiconductors.

New cars require thousands of semiconductors to operate the technology on them, and some manufacturers have even been asking customers to change spec on their orders so they can be delivered with less of these chips. Why should that matter if you’re buying nearly new, though? Well, many people don’t want to wait and that’s pushing them into nearly new or used.

Unfortunately, all of this means that there aren’t really many good deals to be had at the moment. However, that doesn’t mean you should be completely negative about buying your next car.

This weird period we’re in, does mean that your current car will almost certainly have gone up in value, so if you’re looking to part exchange or sell your car you could offset some of that extra you’re paying for on your new car.

There are a few important things to check, and I’d start with whether the car actually belongs to the seller. It’s always good to find out in a private sale why they’ve chosen to sell it now, such as is this a personal car or someone who likes to do some dealing from their driveway. If they say they’re selling it for a friend or their name doesn’t match that on the V5 then walk away.

Before you arrive – if they haven’t hidden the number plate in the pictures – check how much MOT it has left and whether it’s taxed. Both of these are a good indication as to how well it’s been looked after and whether it was recently on the road.

When you’re buying privately, it’s ‘buyer beware’ and that unfortunately means you have no comeback if it turns out there was a problem with it when you bought it. That’s not to say you should avoid a private sale, but by checking its condition and how it’s been treated you will put yourself in a better position.

HPI checks are another good way to check if there’s anything outstanding on the car. For example, it might have been bought on finance and the previous owner hasn’t settled that before selling it. This should also tell you whether it’s previously been written off, although the system isn’t fool proof. V-check is another similar service that can show if your car was previously scrapped, but again it isn’t flawless if the car was damaged and went unreported.

The other thing to consider is how you’re going to pay them. Make sure you do this face-to-face, either using mobile banking or cash with the car in front of you. It’s not unusual for people to ask for a deposit, but always be wary, especially if they ask you to pay in full before you arrive as this could be a scam. It’s always a better idea to offer to drive over sooner and pay in full if you think they might sell it to someone else, rather than paying before you’ve met or seen the car.

Green number plates mean it’s a ‘green’ car, and a fully-battery electric one at that. The government introduced the new vehicle branding late last year as a way for EV drivers to show-off what they’re driving.

You’re not the first person to be confused by them though, with research showing many aren’t aware of what the plates mean.

It’s also worth noting that this isn’t compulsory, and if you want to fly under the radar with a more subtle EV or don’t want people thinking you’re displaying your political affinities on your vehicle, you don’t have to.

This change is worth seeing as a positive though, as the government acknowledges that EVs are a mainstream choice for a lot of British drivers these days.

This is another way that the government hasn’t made things particularly simple for those looking to buy an electric car. In recent years, they’ve changed the rules for what they will offer.

Starting with home chargers, you are able to apply for a grant for a home charger – as long as it’s a smart charger. It also needs to be fitted by an accredited person to get the grant.

But it also depends where you live – if you’re in the UK the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme gets you up to £350 off the cost of a new home charging point and installing it. However, if you’re in Scotland you can also get an additional grant of up to £250.

When it comes to buying an EV, currently the plug-in car grant is only available on new cars and was reduced to £2,500 earlier this year. You can also only get this discount on cars costing less than £35,000 and that can travel without any emissions for at least 70 miles. Previously, cars up to £50,000 were eligible for up to £3,000 from the government. You can also get it on new electric motorbikes, scooters, and vans.

That said, there is some good news if you are in the market for a new electric vehicle. When the government announced the cuts, most manufacturers came out with their own incentives to match the missing grant money. There are some great offers, with some manufacturers even including free home charging points.

Currently, it doesn’t look like the Ami will come to the UK, but it sounds like Citroen has had a reasonable amount of demand so there is still a chance.

However, yes, importing is an option, but since Brexit it’s become more expensive to import a new car from the EU. And technically no, it isn’t road legal in the UK, but that doesn’t mean it’s an impossible task.

If you were to try and import a used Ami it could save you some cash though. Because they aren’t currently approved for UK roads, you would need to get a certificate of conformity or a mutual recognition certificate if it doesn’t meet requirements for the former.

When you import a new vehicle from elsewhere in the world to the UK, the VAT and duty is still payable. If you buy a vehicle used, usually the VAT has already been paid but you will still need to pay the duty and there may be other fees – plus there’s the shipping costs to consider.

All in all, it’s probably easier to cross your fingers or keep calling Citroen to ask when they’ll be selling them here. If it’s something you seriously want to consider a shipping company may help you deal with jumping through some of the hoops, and pay the VAT and duty so you only have to spend one lump sum with the company.

There are a few things people feel they need to do at a dealership but my advice is that it’s better to just be yourself.

Don’t feel like you need to pretend to be a car expert if you’re not, and if you think you are then less is more. You might think you’re showing the dealer your expertise, but usually you’re just selling the car for them by telling them everything you love about it.

There isn’t any reason to be embarrassed if you don’t know something. A great plan of action is to think about what is really important to you when owning a car and make sure you ask or check these things yourself.

There are a few things that will potentially annoy a car dealer if you ask them, but they do this every day with several different people so don’t feel like that makes your questions invalid in some way.

The most important thing to not do is turn up when you can’t afford the car. It’s rare for dealerships to negotiate on price these days, so to go for a test drive or view the car and then announce you want the price slashing won’t win you any favour.

There are a few checks I’d do once I knew I wanted a car, but you have to remember I write about car buying and car dealers all the time and that has left me a little jaded and wary. The majority are great, but you need to be wary of the few.

When you’re at the dealership, I’d check the tyres first because that can be a major additional cost and a massive safety issue. If you have the registration before you turn up, take a look on the government website for its MOT history. If it’s passed in the last couple of weeks then that’s great news and should give you more faith you’ve chosen a reputable dealership.

Ask the dealer if they’ve done anything to the car since it came into stock and they’ll likely be happy to tell you about the extra work that’s gone into repairing it. If it’s been serviced, ask them what that actually means. There’s a huge difference between an oil change and a dealer who’s replaced the brake pads and more. Don’t penalise them if they haven’t, as it may not have needed that in the first place, but it’s worth taking a look.

I’m sure most people feel self-conscious like me about these, but check everything you think you might need too. For me that means turning on the heaters, the air conditioning or heated seats, whether it’s summer or winter. I’ll turn the radio on and even plug in my phone, depending on the car, or connect to the Bluetooth. Obviously, turn on the engine and take it for a test drive too where you want to think about the steering, braking, hand brake. This is pretty OTT for a modern car, but what can I say, I’m paranoid.

So, if you’re sure you want the car, do a HPI check or similar. Most people think this is just about checking the basics of a car, but it will also tell you if there’s outstanding finance or if a car has been written off previously. Outstanding finance isn’t always an issue and it may have been paid off but it isn’t showing yet. It’s worth flagging with the dealer though. If you’re paranoid like me, do a V-Check too, which will give you an even more reliable assessment of whether the car has been written off.

I always come in and ruin the fun, but if you have £35,000 to spend on a sports car then I want to make sure you’ve got the money to spend on fixing it too. Vehicles always come down in value, but some faster than others, either because they’re expensive to repair or too many were made.

I am forever looking in this price bracket though, as there are some bargains to be had. I am with you on the Audi R8, and I think this is the one to choose because it’s borderline supercar territory. However, a lot of these cars have been messed about with and wrapped, which can hide all manner of sins.

To save yourself some money, go for the Jaguar F-Type. Ok, you could buy one new for around £60,000 but they’re available on the used market for less than £30,000. If you’re willing to go older, you could also consider a Porsche 911 for well within your budget, and if you want to make money that’s a reliable place to put it.

The other option, that I believe will rise in value, but you’ll need to sit on it for a while, is a BMW i8. Currently you can get these for £35,000, and you’ll have all of the fun of scissor doors and a car that looks like a concept still, but without the crazy running costs. The i8 was at the cusp of performance cars getting hybrid power in 2013, costing nearly £100,000 new then, and it still has a really unique design.

Like all other retail, car showrooms were allowed to reopen from April 12, and there won’t be many more changes to how they can operate before – hopefully – the end of social distancing later in the year.

In fact, many dealerships have said that customers haven’t realised they are once again open for business in a more ‘normal’ way.

However, just because the government has changed its stance on these things, it doesn’t mean you should expect car dealers to welcome you with open arms. Many have made the decision to continue operating on an appointment only basis, and some may not have reopened at all and decided to continue solely online. Make sure to give them a call first and find out when you can visit, if you want to.

When you arrive, you’ll also need to continue to observe social distancing and wear face coverings, but you will be able to do a lot of the process as normal – but with a plastic screen likely down the sales desk.

For example, test drives are now possible once again with many car dealerships offering solo trips for customers to try out the car. Salespeople are allowed to sit in the car with you again wearing a face covering, although you may not get that option.

You might also find that the paperwork side of things has been reduced, but don’t let that put you off. Like many businesses, car dealerships and finance companies have worked on new ways to make the process of buying and selling a car safer in a contactless way.

Many dealerships have made it possible to reserve or buy completely online. While this is great if you want to do so, don’t risk missing out on a car by thinking you can just turn up. Put in a call to the dealer, at least to show your interest, because vehicles are selling fast in today’s market and just turning up will likely have you on the back foot.

If a Tiguan is what you want, then there are certainly some options within your price range, but you’ll find you have more choice if you look for a slightly older model. However, that first-generation of the Tiguan isn’t held in particularly high regard for reliability and you’ll notice a large difference in the most recent generation.

Looking at a Tiguan from 2016, you’ll find all specification levels feature tech like sat-nav. It will depend what else you want from the car, and if you’re like me then the high-spec R-Line with heated seats will be a top choice, but something like SE Nav will cover off most creature comforts for a reasonable price.

You’ll find all of these cars are Euro 6 compliant too, but I would add that if you’re looking for a real-world 60mpg you’re unlikely to get it with a Tiguan, unless most of your driving is on the motorway. Even then, it’ll be at a push. Most reports put them at around 45mpg for a combined cycle for this age of vehicle, and while with careful driving I’m sure you could improve this figure, I’d prepare for the worst if you need to keep within a monthly fuel budget.

To your question about the seven-speed versus six-speed automatic, it’s so rare to come across the fully-automatic as they were only made for a limited time that it’s not something I’d worry about. The semi-automatic is what’s called DSG and it’s the superior option.

Without wanting to sound negative, you might want to rethink your options. If you really want a Tiguan, it will be doable within your price range, but it probably won’t be the vehicle you want. However, if you chose something from the VW family – such as the Skoda Kodiaq or Seat Ateca – you’d get a much more modern car within your budget. Alternatively, within your budget a two to three-year old Nissan Qashqai would certainly be in reach with plenty of bells and whistles.

This is a definite yes. However, in this new way of buying cars online there are a few different options you may want to consider. If you’re unsure you’ll love the car and you’re buying with a 14-day test drive in mind, you will still need to organise insurance. You may want to consider temporary insurance cover just for that period to avoid fees for cancelling a policy later, if you decide the car isn’t for you.

But if you think there’s a good chance you’ll love the car, and just want to give it a go, it is usually cheaper to take out an annual policy, and if you do decide to choose something else you should be able to switch cars on the policy, but likely with a fee.

If you’ve decided to have the car delivered to your home and you have driveway space. This does give you the option to put this off until you’ve had a chance to sit in the car. However, as soon as you put the car on the road it legally needs to be taxed and insured.

This is an answer in two halves, because technically no you don’t need to have a valid driving license to buy the car, but you will need it for some other parts of the purchase. If you’re a learner driver, for example, you might want to buy a car that you will eventually learn to drive in. Or perhaps you’re a parent that doesn’t drive, but you could still purchase a vehicle for your young adult driver to use when they do pass.

The driving license isn’t vital, but you are going to need some form of identification for the seller to check you are who you say, and you’re going to need it for your insurance to drive the car away. These days this can be easily sorted over the phone or on the internet using your mobile, but it’s worth doing some research beforehand.

It’s more about the documents you leave with as the buyer. The seller should give you the V5’s new registered keeper slip, which is proof you’re the new keeper should you get stopped before the actual new V5C document arrives. The V5 form will ask for your driving license number, but this is optional. You can also do this online now and it will email you a copy.

You should also try and get whatever service history, general paperwork, spare keys, and locking wheel nuts that are available. If you’re buying privately these things can be easily forgotten and a pain to go back for.

Buying a car – particularly from a car dealer – is actually a lot easier than people think.

It’s a bit like shopping for a new phone, microwave, or toaster. When you show up at a shop you might know everything about a product, but often we have questions, and luckily there’s an expert there to help you out.

Most car dealers do put a lot of consideration into pricing their cars and have been doing so for years, so that they’re not too high or too low. If you’re walking into a car dealership worrying that you need to cut them on the price, that really isn’t true. If you want to go in armed with some pricing knowledge, though, there are a few places to start.

The easiest thing to relate used car prices to is houses, and like these car prices change with the market. Search on Motors.co.uk for the car you want and consider why some are cheaper than others.

If cars are selling before you can even get in touch with the dealers, you need to be prepared to pay the asking price or likely be told to jog on. You’ll find there is probably hundreds of pounds between some examples of the same car but – back to those houses – if it’s a bit of a fixer-upper it’s not going to be worth as much as one with a brand-new kitchen – and the same can be said for cars.

That’s not to say you can’t negotiate, but going in armed with this knowledge will help you. If you think a car is genuinely overpriced, then telling the dealer what you’re prepared to pay and seeing if you can meet in the middle is fine. If a car has been on the market for a while, the seller might be willing to do a deal to move it on. That said, asking for hundreds or even thousands off the price for no good reason isn’t going to win you any favour.

For more on paying the right price for a car please check out the Motors.co.uk Vehicle Price Guide.

Used cars don’t automatically come with warranties, but something called the Consumer Rights Act 2015 does offer some extra protection for the first 30 days. If something does go wrong, you need to tell the dealer who sold it to you as they have the option to fix it for free first. If you take it to another garage and demand the dealer pays for that work later, you might find you are footing the bill.

If you buy privately, you won’t be afforded any of these benefits. However, if you buy from a dealer, you will often find there is some sort of warranty included. If you’re considering two cars and one has a longer warranty included, there’s value in that. Don’t take it as a given though as ‘free warranty included’ might not mean more than a couple of months while others can be up to a year.

It’s also possible to buy a used car warranty for your car either from the dealer or a warranty company. It’s important to check what is covered under warranty, and what are the common faults for your new car, as you might not be covered for some likely outcomes.