Buying a second hand car

[andanotherproblem]

I’ve been looking at cars recently as I’m learning to drive, I have been looking on Facebook and local garages, the question is how the hell do you know if you’re being scammed or not? Obviously I’ve been looking for recently MOT’d cars but is it just a risk you have to take or is there an actual way of knowing if it’s too good to be true?

If you buy from a Private seller you will have no come back. If you buy from a garage or a Trader you will have some come back

I work in the motor industry and see a lot of problem cars. This is why I have no plans to sell my current reliable car

Checking the MOT history is a good idea because you can see if there were any advisories. I know a number of MOT testers and they say that with an advisory it will only usually ever get worse

If if you see a car that you like with a full MOT check to see if the advisories have been done/ask the seller. If not, they could become fail items on the next MOT

You can pay the AA and RAC (and doubtless others) to carry out a pre-purchase vehicle inspection.

I used to use my friend's father-in-law to check my cars before buying.

What I did is decided the sort of car I wanted and spent about three weeks looking on auto trader until I learnt what was a good deal and what wasn’t. Things to look out for are number of previous owners and full service history. And the milage. Buying from a private seller is a risk. I wouldn’t do it.

I've only ever bought second hand but always from a dealer. Perhaps look at super reliable makes like Honda/Hyundai, etc.

Don't buy one from Facebook or privately. Buy from a dealer. Get them to throw in a warranty.

Some types of cars are costly to repair. Fords and Vauxhalls are usually OK. Minis, Audis, VW etc expensive. Honda Civics are usually a safe bet.

Cars tend to appeal to a certain type. Avoid those that are bought to project a certain image.

You need the Full Service History. Do some research on what needs doing at which mileage, and that they have been done.

If you know any mechanics, ask them if they know of anyone looking to sell a decent, reliable car, or if they'd come with you to check out a potential purchase.

Do a test drive, check under the bonnet, tyres, dents etc.

Your best bet is to buy a car that is only a few months old.

Buying a used car: Your complete guide | Honest John

You can get some great deals buying privately, as the prices will be lower. Last time I was looking for a car, I found one at a dealer for £7000. I then found a virtually identical one for sale privately (but lower mileage and nicer colour) for £5000. So I saved £2000 and got a better car by buying privately.

True you don’t get comeback with private sales, but even if I’d had to spend £1500 on repairs I would still have been quids in.

I'll admit that my last two car purchases were from private sellers. One was a cheap stopgap and was not great. I still have the second one after about 8 years. It's worth more than I paid for it.

Best car I ever bought was from a dealership. 6 month old ex-demo.
I didn't like how the car looked or the colour, but I needed a car and I thought I would re-sell it in a few months.
It was lovely to drive and I drove it until I eventually scrapped it. It was completely reliable, nothing went wrong and never broke down. Cost me next to nothing in terms of repairs and maintenance. It had gone around the clock.
It was a Fiesta.

I wouldn’t buy privately unless maybe from a friend or family where I trusted the car had been looked after.

All mine have been second hand. My last two cars have been about 3 years old at time of purchase and lasted me 10. I’m looking now and will be going to a dealer who can give me a warranty.

@notatinydancer , my current car I bought from a friend who wanted to still be connected to it.

I've never bought a brand new car and in several decades of driving have only bought 6 cars.

Have owned a car since 1986, never yet had a new one 😄 My newest was six years old, the oldest was the same age as me (and a bit knackered but very cute).

I’m looking for a little cheap ru around car for about £1500 Midlands based is anyone selling anything

Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic.

Even buying from a trader can be a terrible experience. I bought a car from an AA approved dealer which was so dangerous the guy I paid to do an independent report to send to barclaycard (thank GOD I paid on a credit card, so did a chargeback) came out from underneath it swearing and spluttering. Got my money back eventually but it was a horrible experience having the rear axle shear off whilst towing a horse trailer with your daughters beloved pride and joy pony on board! The rust was horrendous and had all been painted over, and then supposedly passed an MOT like it too! Last i saw the garage was still AA approved too 🤷‍♀️

You can pay for an AA health check. It can be risky. I bought from a dealership for this reason but it’s a more expensive way of doing it.
When I was looking I found that looking in car garages in areas with a large demographic of elderly
people had lots of low mileage, well looked after cars.

My best used car was an ex motorbility car through Volvo Select. It was the first time that the warranty actually fixed anything. Small dealerships will often try and flog you a warranty which is worthless, check carefully what's included. Definitely getting one of the AA checked ones if you are new to cars.

We have always bought secondhand. Check out the seller- you can get a feel for the type of person Are they genuine or do they have several cars for sale ? If you phone ask about ‘the car for sale and they if say ‘which car?’ I would be wary
Check mileage and owners, outstanding finance, service history in log book. There must be lots of advice and videos online. Lots of stone chips on bonnet means more motorway driving. Seat belt slackness and a worn steering wheel points to more miles than on clock perhaps ? Is the car well looked after?
Never bought from garage. They will always mark up the price