a used car sold by a private who has a garage himself

[SophiaMan]

DH went to see a used Nissan Note this morning and it turned out that the car's owner holds a garage himself, so all the services are said to be done in his own garage. The price of the car is reasonable, but when we asked if he could provide 3 month warranty, he refused that. I am kind of worried about the car, I think he can very easily modify the odometer. And it seems that we can't find out any other way to verify the mileage of the car apart from trusting him. Any suggestions, plz? It is a 2008 Nissan Note hatchback, with mileage 39000, for the price of 4k

Have you seen the V5 - is it registered to him at his home address? What was the date he became the registered keeper? If it has been registered to him personally for a long period of time then I think he can genuinely say it's his personal vehicle and nothing to do with the garage rather than it being registered to him for a couple of weeks and him trying to get round his responsibilities under SOGA. If you want a warranty why are you looking at privately advertised cars?

Bartman, the garage is a family run business and this car was registered under the father’s name since 2009. They bought it from a car rental company and have kept it till now. We don't actually want a warranty, but since he owns the garage, we think it would be very easy for him to promise the warranty if he is confident in the car's quality. We went to see a used car in a local Ford dealer, everything went on fine, untill the end I was told that I had to pay 99£ for the HPI check. I said if they should be responsbile for the HPI check, and not me paying for that. If I have to pay for it, I have the right not to take it. But they said it was compulsory, and I thought that was unfair, so eventually, we didn't buy the car from the dealer

Why don't you ask to see the MOT certs? The milage is recorded annually on them.

If you don't trust him there are plenty of other cars for sale, it's not worth risking 4k on something you are worried about.

I wouldn't personally buy from a dealer or garage (unless it is a car repair garage) as private sales are much cheaper and can be checked out either by your local friendly mechanic or the AA.

It does sound as though it is genuinely a private sale and I see no issue with that. If you ask for the reference of the V5C then you can check the mot history online. There is the possibility as with any car that it has been clocked before each mot. Ultimately though if you feel that something's just not right then walk away - plenty more fish in the sea!

If you're in any doubt, walk away. Even if it's fine, you'll always have a nagging suspicion about it and won't enjoy the car.

MOTs can be checked online www.gov.uk/check-mot-history-vehicle

I wouldn't personally buy from a dealer or garage (unless it is a car repair garage) as private sales are much cheaper and can be checked out either by your local friendly mechanic or the AA.

Dealer cars can also be checked over by your local friendly mechanic or the AA (or RAC).

A private sale gives you next to zero comeback.

The higher price can be worth it in terms of what's included in the deal (e.g. 12 month warranty, aftersales service, temporary insurance, less hassle, part exchange plus the aforementioned comeback if things go wrong).

As an extreme example, there are cases of prospective buyers turning up with thousands of pounds in cash to be greeted by several burly men with baseball bats and no car.

Not for me WM, husbands owns a garage (mechanic that is). I know too much ;)