Aarggh!! dodgy car sellers, and RAC checks

incensicle

Have spent the last few days driving round trying to buy a secondhand car, and am getting fed up! Today we did a 40 mile round trip to see a car that was supposedly a trade sale from a garage, but we were actually directed to the guys sons house, because, they said, he's been driving it around for a couple of days. (despite it not having any tax!) He then tells us its a private sale through him, sold as seen, not to do do with the garage (although if we want pay with a card we can use his parents machine). When I rang the garage back up to ask why its on their stock list, all of a sudden its sold.
Couple of days ago we went to the other side of the county to see a car that we quite liked, as soon as we mentioned an RAC check he couldnt get rid of us quickly enough. The guy today rubbished them, saying they find all sorts of thing wrong - well yes.
So how do you avoid time wasting garages, and is it worth getting an RAC check done on an old car, as it will obviously be a bit rough round the edges.

Mini_Bear

Buy at auction to avoid these middle men (its probably where they buy the cars anyway). With any good auction, when the hammer falls you pay a buyers insurance which ensures that if the the car is stolen/right off - and this is not mentioned during the sale, you can return the car and get the ££ back. i have never bought a car through a salesman. my last car from auction i had for 6 years!!
PM me if you have any questions.
good luck on your car buying quest.

rev_henry

Sounds like you've had bad luck with a couple of charlatans OP. I'd say its definitely worth doing a data check on all cars. Also if you do the HPi one (about £20 or £25 I think?) you get a free weeks insurance to drive your new car home. In future do the aforesaid check before you leave the house, especially if your going a long distance.

From the sounds of it the first guy was trying to avoid the compulsory warranty that comes when buying from a garage (Sale of Goods Act), so presumably knew there was something up with it. The second car wouldn't surprise me if it was a write off. Telling someone not to do an HPi check sets very serious alarm bells ringing IMO. Good luck with your car buying and take care.

charlea

before you set off to view a car - have a list of questions that you want to ask the owner/garage and ask them over the phone
ie can we do an rac check / are you the owner or the registered keeper if so do you have id and utillity bill will this match the log book ect is it a garage or a private sale how many owners millage ect

If they cant be bothered to anwser a few questions over the phone which are perfectly reasonable and you will ask them any way when you arrive to view the car then dont bother going to see them and wasting your petrol and your time

incensicle wrote: »

Have spent the last few days driving round trying to buy a secondhand car, and am getting fed up! Today we did a 40 mile round trip to see a car that was supposedly a trade sale from a garage, but we were actually directed to the guys sons house, because, they said, he's been driving it around for a couple of days. (despite it not having any tax!) He then tells us its a private sale through him, sold as seen, not to do do with the garage (although if we want pay with a card we can use his parents machine). When I rang the garage back up to ask why its on their stock list, all of a sudden its sold.
Couple of days ago we went to the other side of the county to see a car that we quite liked, as soon as we mentioned an RAC check he couldnt get rid of us quickly enough. The guy today rubbished them, saying they find all sorts of thing wrong - well yes.
So how do you avoid time wasting garages, and is it worth getting an RAC check done on an old car, as it will obviously be a bit rough round the edges.

rev_henry

Yes yes and yes.
Also have a good read of Honest John's car buying guide here:
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/buy_sell/buying_used/the-two-golden-rules

On his site you can also find info on every car on the road today, so its definitely worth a look. When I last bought a car I printed all the relevant stuff off there and took it with me.

hartcjhart

Mini_Bear wrote: »

Buy at auction to avoid these middle men (its probably where they buy the cars anyway). With any good auction, when the hammer falls you pay a buyers insurance which ensures that if the the car is stolen/right off - and this is not mentioned during the sale, you can return the car and get the ££ back. i have never bought a car through a salesman. my last car from auction i had for 6 years!!
PM me if you have any questions.
good luck on your car buying quest.

Depends how much you are going to pay for a car,most auction houses give no guarantee on older models and they are 'sold as seen'no warrnty,

Unless spending big money keep well clear of auctions as most dealers dump their bad stuff in them

Anihilator

Op how much are you spending?

incensicle

Thanks for the suggestions, I've been having a look at the Honest Johns site. I hope we've just been unlucky. The trouble is we live in the sticks so it takes ages to get 10 mile down the road.
We did ask some questions on the phone, the guy today just flipping lied to us! But maybe be a bit more searching.
I wondered about auctions, but hubby used to valet cars for sending to auctions and tells some horror stories. Mind you that was a good few years ago.
TBH we just asked the dealer about RAC check to see the reaction. Was suprised how quickly guys attitude changed.

incensicle

Spending £2500 to £3000 on a diesel estate. Had some really useful advice from posters on this site to help us choose.