Buying a private sale car - can any checks be done before hand

steve-L

MrSmartprice wrote: »

There are parts of Sale of Goods legislation that do apply to private sales. Specifically those concerned with the description of the car. So if the ad says 'immaculate condition' then you can sue the seller if it isn't.

The issue is what is immaculate?
The dealer will argue that referred to the interior if the engine fails...
Ultimately you can go through SOGA and small claims but its a long and time consuming process with no guarantees.

There is also a requirement that the vehicle is roadworthy unless sold for scrap. And statements such as 'Sold as seen' on the receipt have no meaning in law.

It must pass an MOT (essentially) but that doesn't mean something won't break.
You do have some rights but exerting them is not easy.

If buying from a private seller, it is worth ensuring he is not actually a dealer claiming not to be. They do that for a reason.;)

Absolutely,half the point of the private sale is to be able to see the previous owner and determine if they are the sort of people that loo after their cars

Its also a criminal offence for a used car dealer to pose as a private seller.

after grilling the RAC and AA, they admitted their car inspections were basically worthless as evidence should the car prove to be a lemon.

And here is the whole issue.
Nothing on earth can say a car will be good for a month, year etc.
If your car ECU goes then nothing was going to predict it....
The RAC/AA or dealer can't dismantle the clutch or turbo and see if its likely to fail in another 5,000 miles etc.

Most of what you can check is 'trivial' worn suspension... etc. that is not that expensive to replace.


Hence a decent dealer will replace these should they be at fault but you are saving a couple of hundred.... but should the turbo fail on a car sold for say 4000 they will do all they can to avoid spending a 1000 to repair it.
Equally, they couldn't have easily predicted it...

To actually strip down a car and check the clutch costs £400+
To strip down a turbo £300 (without actually removing it)
ETC. ETC.
Its just not economic for any test to spend thousands.....

StrongWork

McKneff wrote: »

private sale - no guarantee.

Dont do it, Ive seen it done so many times done to friends that a car has been bodged so that it lasts for a couple of days after a private sale then costing them hundreds of pounds for repair.

Again, don't do it.

Don't buy a car via a private sale?

:rotfl:

Brilliant.

steve-L

StrongWork wrote: »

Don't by a car via a private sale?

:rotfl:

Brilliant.

Yep, and the OP is actually asking what checks can be done!
Obviously

Ive seen it done so many times done to friends

Refers to friends who did EXACTLY the opposite of what the OP is asking!

Hoof_Hearted

I have bought many cars privately -- 10 to 12 -- and only one was a lemon but I learned a lot from this mistake. Take a critical friend not a positive one. Helps to get the price down.

SLITHER99

To be honest you take a risk on any used car. Whether you pay £500 or £6000. You may buy a complete gem, you may buy a total lemon. You won't know until you pay your money and get on board and start using it whether or not it's a good'un or not!

However, the RAC have their checks listed on the website.
http://www.rac.co.uk/buying-a-car/vehicle-inspections/checklist/

steve-L

SLITHER99 wrote: »

To be honest you take a risk on any used car. Whether you pay £500 or £6000. You may buy a complete gem, you may buy a total lemon. You won't know until you pay your money and get on board and start using it whether or not it's a good'un or not!

Exactly....

People who assert SOGA and 'protection from a dealer' have obviously never been through the process.

If you have an issue and if the dealer decides it is not worth their investment in terms of time/reputation then they are unlikely to simply cave in because you quote SOGA.
They know from experience that its a long and drawn out process to go through Small Claims track and that the outcome is never certain .... they also know they can hold onto your money for 6 or 8 months and if they decide the day of the hearing to pay back the original amount you'll likely take it and be out of pocket on expenses whereas they had your money for 6-8 months.

Inbetween they can exploit every dirty trick to try and confound you, refuse to answer letters or even acknowledge you and then CLAIM they kept you up to date by phone and then make up the content of phone calls you had.

In all probability they know they will get away with this and the worse case is they pay you back eventually!

gilbert_and_sullivan

For the online checks Autotrader offer something like 5 online checks for £20 or thereabouts over a period of a few weeks, including the all important finance check which the similarly priced text checks do not, if you confirm the chassis number etc then there is a finacial guarantee attached, worth checking out.

307 isn't one of the best cars to be running used, can suffer with difficult to diagnose electrical gremlins, they are cheap used for a reason.

DUTR

steve-L wrote: »

Ask for the Reg and VIN number BEFORE you go and see and run a decent HPI check from home. When you arrive check the VIN and REG.

When I've been selling a car, if a prospective caller asks for that info , I next to tell them where to get off, same as those idiots that ask "whats the minimum you will accept" or make an offer before even viewing the car.
Indeed the prospective purchaser should seek relevant security checks and a 2nd opinion on the vehicle that they are truly interested in.

albionrovers

I've had 15 years of 5-series for 15K in total all bought off Ebay, 3 separate cars, all 520i SE. And no repair bills, just wear + tear. Magic! Current one running sweet as a nut.

Try and buy off someone who bares their soul to you ie. you view at their house with their wife and kids all running about - why would a seller put them at risk by selling you a dodgy motor? For all they know, you could be a total nutter?