to worry about DS buying a used car from a dealer with no warranty & insuffient paperwork?

[Masie24]

Having recently passed his driving test, DS is looking for a used car to get to work (very long commute by bus presently) and to be able to do things in the evening in his new town (recently moved for the job). Fair enough but he's in a hurry, wants the car now. Hasn't even applied for a personal loan to cover the cost and only just started looking at insurance.

He's found a car, just under £2k, but it's a very long way from us and from him. A car dealer with a number of bad reviews, no warranty service (unless an expensive one is bought and DS was not able to tell me if the vehicle reg certificate was available. I think the MOT history was patchy but it's passed the last couple. However, I guess Consumer Rights Act would cover?

DS has had a test drive. Liked it. Tires worn - dealer said he'd retreat.
I'm very uneasy about DS buying from a total "buyer beware" dealer. He's fixed on this particular car, model, spec but there are so many other starter cars which would widen his scope and mean that he might find one nearer where he lives or where we do.

Though a long way away, one of us would go to the dealer and accomapny DS back to his home, not least because he hasn't driven on motorways yet and the journey involves one.

I think this could be an expensive mistake and most of all fear for DS's safety. May be one up from an auction but only just.

AIBU to worry and want DS to look elsewhere and think that he should put up with a few more weeks of public transport to find a reliable car with all its paperwork intact even if it costs a few hundred more?

For £2k he should definitely be able to find something with all the paperwork and within a reasonable distance.

Any £2K second hand car is potentially a huge mistake. If you tell us the number plate it would be interesting to look at.

Warranty on secondhand cars arent that useful on old cheap cars as a lot is excluded and the consumer rights act is more useful.

I think he is making a huge mistake. A first car should be one of the common good first cars of which there and thousands for sale and the second is buying a cheap car from tradr and not private

I would never buy a car from an Honest Joe place tbh. It's worth the extra money to go to a proper dealer.

Sold as seen/buyer beware from a dealer would suggest to me that it was a trade in against a purchase from another customer and the dealer simply wants to get rid of it without doing anything to it.

I understand the hurry in wanting a new car, but this is running before he can walk- the new car will be no good to him if he cant afford to insure it. For a first car he needs to get his head out of the clouds and stop focusing on this model/spec being the only candidate and look at whats affordable and dependable.

YANBU... now you only have to get him to listen to you!!

You won't get a warranty worth the paper it's written on for a £2k car.

Nor does paperwork and MOTs tell you much on an old car.

Make, age, and mileage are more important factors along with a decent test drive.

If it does turn out to be a mistake it's not a very expensive one.

If you're worried about safety then realistically he needs to spend far more than £2k but that budget is likely to get him ABS and airbags at least.

As others have said, I wouldn't particularly be concerned one way or another about a warranty or a folder full or paperwork.
But then, I wouldn't spend that much on a first car. If he isn't buying a fairly new one, then it is always pot luck as to how well an older one lasts, so I'd go with spending £500 - £800 and having the rest in the bank for repairs or replacing it - whichever is best at the time.

For his first car he needs to look at what he can afford insurance wise first, then start looking for one of those cars.

Of course, at that age, he probably 'knows everything' and whatever parents think / advise, he won't necessarily take any notice of.

Much as I dislike finance, I think he'd be better off getting a small loan to add to his 2k to get a slightly better car. I did that for my first job and it lasted well beyond the repayments. So maybe another 1k to go somewhere like a car supermarket.

You can view every single detail of the M.O.T including minor advisories online for the whole life of your car.

The worn tyres are a bad sign straight off the bat.

Your DD would be better off looking for a private sale (usually the better option with a low budget when buying a used car), and taking along someone with a decent knowledge of cars to check it over.

Thank you very much for these helpful responses. I've just been onto a RAC site advertising used cars - approved dealer network and 82 point checks. The car DS wants is certainly several hundered to 1 or more thousand more but I felt more reassured looking at it.

Still unhappy about the trader he's been too (though I take the points made about a warranty service) and that DS is focusing entirely one particular kind of car.

19lottie I worried about the worn tyres too and wonder whether in fact the trader will repair. I also though of private sellers. We don't know anyone in DS' neck of the woods who knows about cars but would a local mechanic come out for a fee, I wonder (once DS had gone for a test drive)?

would a local mechanic come out for a fee, I wonder

Check out the AA, they provide that type of service.
www.theaa.com/vehicle-inspection/#/mini-details

@heatherblue

For a £2K budget there's no point going to a main dealer, those are the cars that people trade in and go straight to auction.

@Masie24
You can get the AA or RAC to inspect it, but a better way is to organise with a local mechanic a time and take it there on the test drive.

The key thing I think is to consider the overall budget. I work on the basis that you should budget at least £500 for fixing a car in the first year when buying a car like that.

I bought my car at 93K miles for £4500 knowing that I was going to have to do some work. At 4 months (outside any warranty) the windscreen pump died (£140). At 104K miles I've just replaced the anti roll bar drop links and tie rod ends (did the work my self but still £100 in parts) and had a garage replace the engine mounts and fix a small electrical issue (frayed wire on heated seat and non working socked) that came to £250.

None of that would have been covered under warranty as it's just normal wear and tear.

My view on small first cars for a new driver is that the exact car and trim is irrelevant. At this level and price it's more important to focus on what you're getting for the money and to consider all the usual options like Fiesta, Ka, Yaris, Micra, Saxo and find the best example privately.

Having a quick look on Autotrader £2K can get you a low mileage (

Any car bought from a dealer is protected for 3 months unde consumer protection legislation. That should be more than enough time for any significant faults to show up.

Is there no-one among your family/friends who could check it out with him? DP is very knowledgable about cars (his father was a mechanic with his own garage businesss) and has never been caught out by anything unexpected, and we always buy old, cheap cars.

Any car bought from a dealer is protected for 3 months under consumer protection legislation.

I'm not sure this is true. Second hand cars are sold as seen and as long as any faults can't be proven to have been there at the time it was sold, it's tough luck. You could spend 2k and the clutch goes a week later. The warranty, if offered usually only covers engine problems.

When buying second hand it's best not to get too keen on any car - be prepared to walk away if something doesn't seem right. There's a high likelihood of something expensive going wrong as the previous owner probably hasn't spent much on it just before getting rid. My experience is spending a few hundred on the car, then another few hundred in the first year, then they run ok for a good while.
I'd be inclined to go for something closer and cheaper. May as well buy privately for a car that age. EBay can be a good source.