Great 'Tips on buying a second hand car' Hunt

My last 2 cars were off ebay - and i cant see me buying anywhere else now.

One was still going strong when i sold it on after 5 years, with just tyres etc needed when i had it - and my current car as been trouble free 1 1/2 years.

You need to pay a bit more attention to feedback. My last seller turned out to be a main dealer in disguise - and i got the car fully serviced and valeted - for 75% off screen price.

I have never test driven - but if you have the time and patience - some will let you do this before you bid.

Set your location and price bracket in ebay search - then leave a shortcut on you pc so you can just keep checking whats available without a new search every time.

Lots of dodgey sellers out there too - but just be EXTRA careful. If in doubt - don't buy!!!!

My top five...

My big tip is to research the weak areas on the cars you're looking at. You can look at honestjohn car by car and whatcar reader reviews for starters. Then find the relevant owners club and ask them. Once you know the common weak areas you're in a much better position to check out any second hand car you're looking at.

If you have transport then don't limit your search to local dealers. I saved £4k by being prepared to buy from a dealer 150 miles away. I did check the car extra carefully though - its much harder to take it back. Though as it still had manufacturers warranty I was covered.

If you're buying a nearly new car, a fair few of them have been on hire fleets. That's not a problem in itself, but some haven't been serviced at the right time/mileage. And even if you're buying it from a main dealer, the 3-year (5/7-year) warranty may be void. I never did get a straight answer on whether the Toyota I was looking at which had its first service at 13 months/13000 miles was a problem (Toyota services are 12 months/10,000 miles).

Don't get suckered in by the 'I need to check with the manager' technique to negotiate. I walked out of the showroom after 15 mins of it, even though I'd travelled 100 miles to see a car. The next day they were phoning me and offering to bring the car to my house to continue the negotiations. I might have done that but I'd already caught the salesman out in a lie (I'd phoned before travelling and asked some specific questions about the car, and he'd said it hadn't been a hire car, when it had). I almost always terminate negotiations if I'm lied to.

Before you start negotiations, ask to see all the car documents. Examine them closely. Check the number of owners. Check the mileages and dates of the services. Receipts for services count for more than stamps in the book. If a main dealer/nearly new car, get the dealer to bring the service history up online and check it matches. I once looked at a mini with 35000-odd miles. Only when checking the documents did I find that it had been at 35000-odd for the last 4 years. The odometer was faulty. Check that all the keys are there. How much tax is on the windscreen. Do this BEFORE you start negotiations.

flash2006 wrote: »

Hi,
give me some tips

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