What to check before buying 2nd hand car?

knightstyle

Can you pay a deposit with a credit card? If so you will get some protection even if you pay the rest in cash.

oldtoolie

Google 'used car buyer checklist'

dogshome

First thing to check on a used car are the number plates - The originals will have the name/logo of the supplying dealer when new embossed on the plates

In a frontal or rear end smash they are the first thing to get hit, and they will be replaced by plates from a Number Plate shop' who'll have thier name on the plate - If the plates don't match get a satisfactory explanation as to why, or walk away

chrestomanci

Thanks! All these are awesome tips.

I was previously looking to buy from a small local dealer, but almost got screwed over; as soon as car hit 50mph on the test drive it started screeching, which he vehemently denied! Was thinking of going to a "big fish" dealer, e.g. Arnold Clark. Do you trust that you're getting a good quality car from them, or should you still take a mechanic with you to check it over?

caz_cardiff87

Just my two pennies...

i bought my car (2002 peugeot 206) back in march 2012 - first car, didnt have a huge budget. Found a trade dealer near me who sells used cars as seen (basically he does nothing to them other than sell them on) but was more than happy for me to take it to a mechanic to give it the once over, literally drove 10 mins down the road the following day to have it checked over. I went back to the dealer and looked through all the paperwork - he let me use his computer to do a history and mot check. Noticed there was no sign of a cambelt replacement in the service history but otherwise the car was looked after really well. Mechanic friend took the car back with notes on possible repairs / issues (not many and all minor things) and the dealer automatically lowered the price to cover the cost including price of a new cambelt (lovely chap!). Gave him 50 quid deposit to hold it for me till pay day. Up to now the only thing i’ve had done that we hadn’t found during the inspection was a faulty injector but it turns out thats a really common issue with peugeots! cost around 100 quid fully fitted.


So as far as your dealer telling you it has had a service and mot, ask to see the documents for piece of mind, but go through them with a fine tooth comb. A service could mean anything from interim, full or major service, the latter two would have checked a lot more on the car. i even went as far as to call the garage on the receipts to double check if they had replaced the cambelt. You can do an mot history check on direct gov aslong as you have the car reg and recent mot certificate number or the V5C reference number. If there’s no paperwork don’t risk it and walk away!

What sort of dealer are they?? Main dealer or just a used car dealer? Do they have their own mechanics? if so always get a second opinion with a local garage. It took me two weeks after having the car inspected and what not to hand over my money.

Never rush things and always be absolutely sure before you hand over any money. The car i got seemed very popular and another guy was interested in buying - apparently he turned up after i’d put down a deposit and offered the dealer 2 grand (laughable as that car is only worth 1300 in good condition!). He could have easily sold it and made more cash but kept his word to me and even stayed late so i could collect after work!

There’s a ton of websites which tell you how to check other things yourself like seeing if the car pulls to one side whilst braking / driving in a straight line, checking under the oil cap for suspicious ‘mayonnaise’, making sure the gears are in a definite position and not ‘stirring custard’, checking handbrake on a hill etc... google is your friend.

Take your time, i visited a couple of used car dealers and got that horrible gut feeling and just walked away. Tried privately with a guy that lives over the road which led to a less than favourable altercation because he was trying to sell me a death trap and a sob story - no offense to him but i’m buying the car for my benefit not his. Then spent another 3 weeks being pestered by a dealer because i’d enquired about finance on their website and decided the interest wasn’t even worth it.

Long story short - do your research, take your time, be absolutely sure of what your buying before you take it home :-)