Car inspection and trader guarantees

longwalks1

My colleague is looking to buy a car from a local trader (not main dealer) and having it inspected by a pre-purchase inspection company, such as RAC etc before buying.  We’ve read reviews on the trader and all seems fine, lots of 5 star reviews etc. 

is there any guarantee/comeback if the vehicle has a fault that was missed on inspection?  And buying from a trader/dealer, does the purchase itself come with any guarantee etc? I’ve only ever bought cheaper cars privately - hence me asking on here.

i understand it’s better to pay some of the purchase price with a credit card for the additional protection? 

Mildly_Miffed

Is there any guarantee on the check? Depends on the check. Read the paperwork for what you're buying.

Does the purchase come with any guarantee? It may well do, yes. Ask the vendor. That's different to your consumer rights - and in addition to it.

Pay on credit card? It gives no additional rights - but an additional route to pursue to enforce your rights.

Those rights are tempered for used goods by reasonable expectations for goods of that age, apparent quality, previous use, etc.
So if you buy a four year old car, and it has an issue within a month, the question isn't "Why has this failed after a month?" it's "Why has this failed after four years?". If you buy the cheapest car of its type, expectations are reduced compared to buying the most expensive. Within six months of purchase, the expectation is that the fault was present at the time of sale, but that doesn't mean the vendor can't demonstrate it wasn't - or that it's definitely grounds for recompense under your rights.

Frozen_up_north

longwalks1 said:

My colleague is looking to buy a car from a local trader (not main dealer) and having it inspected by a pre-purchase inspection company, such as RAC etc before buying.  We’ve read reviews on the trader and all seems fine, lots of 5 star reviews etc. 

Is this local trader also a repair/MOT garage? If so, whatever guarantee the car may come with is likely to be OK. If the trader is just selling cars, be very wary.

If the trader is a limited company, you can see their history, people involved, turnover, etc at Companies House, it is often quite an eye opener:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house

Even a “repair and MOT” trader can make a shed on wheels sound good…

The best guarantee is with a manufacturer approved used car from a main dealer, but it won’t be a cheap car.