I Wish I Knew What I Know Now When I Bought My First Car

I have teamed up with ATS Euromaster for their ‘I Wish I Knew’ campaign’. The idea behind the campaign is to find out if you would you do things differently when you bought your first car with the knowledge that you have now. Well, I can say without a doubt yes, I definitely would have done things very differently. For starters I know now that a regular car service history shows whoever owned the car before you looked after it properly. 

When I was 17, my only aim was to get driving lessons, pass my test and own the car of my dreams, or least what I thought was the car of my dreams, and I could be one of the coolest kids on the street. Of course, at 17 when you are looking to buy your first car, you have absolutely no knowledge and just want a car that is cool to look at. The last thing on my mind was the MOT advisories, or indeed, the car service history . It just had to be the right colour, make and models. For me, it definitely couldn’t be a car that an OAP would be driving. 

When I bought my first ever car it was a real milestone because I had worked hard and saved all the money myself so obviously, I felt proud of myself. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t have a clue what I was supposed to look for in terms of any pitfalls or possible problems with the car. I was going to pay the price for my lack of experience very quickly. 

Of course, I bought a car that was going to be cool and, what I thought, would make me look good. I never for a moment thought about looking at a service history book, if there was any rust on the car, or what was the condition of the tyres were. The list is endless and to top it all, my first car had done 90,000 miles which is way too much by  most standards. Within just a month I had to buy 4 new tyres and my cool car had a severe oil leak that cost me a lot of money to fix. I know now that the first car I bought really was not safe for myself or any passengers that I was carrying. 

If only I had the knowledge that I have now, then I know I would have been a lot more cautious when looking for my first car. 

If a friend or family member asked for my advice when buying their first car, these are things that I would recommend they look out for. 

1. Car Service History 

This was something that I never even thought about checking when buying my first car.Now, it’s a very different story. I would want to see the car servicing history to make sure the car has had a regular service. A car service is so important to keep your vehicle in tip top condition and also ensure it is safe to drive. The benefits of servicing your car regularly are that you can find the condition of such items as the brakes and how much life they have left in them, or get them replaced if needed. This is great to know because it will allow you to budget accordingly.

2. Tyres and Brakes 

As I mentioned previously, within a month I had to replace all 4 tyres. So, when I bought my first car, I wish I had been with somebody who had the experience of what to look out for, tyres being a perfect example. 

Your tyres and brakes are so important for safety so making sure they are in perfect condition is vital for not only yourself but  your passengers and other road users. 

3. Mileage 

As I also previously said when I bought my first car it had 90,000 miles on the clock and I genuinely didn’t think that would be problem. In fact, I never even gave it a second thought. In hindsight I know that with such a high mileage a lot of the engine parts were very well worn, which undoubtedly contributed to the oil leak.. If I was buying a car for the first time today with the knowledge I now have, then I would make sure the mileage was lower, or the service history indicated that the worn parts had been replaced. 

Looking back, I was probably a little naive when I bought my first car and never for a minute did I think of doing any checks of any sort. I just wanted that particular car because I thought it was cool, which of course didn’t work out too well. 

If I was buying a car for the first time today, I would research what to look for and. more importantly, I would take somebody along with me with that has experience and knowledge so they could simply point out any potential problems. 

Did you make mistakes when buying your first car and wished you had more knowledge? I would love to hear in the comments below. 

This post is in collaboration with ATS Euromaster, but all thoughts and experiences are mine.