Recaro

Seen a car for sale that I'm interested in and I'll be giving the number a ring tomorrow.

But what sort of things should you ask when you first ring up? just "is the car for sale? Can I come and view it?"

Does anybody have any tips? My dad has always told me to look "not that interested", this way their not sure how badly you want the car so are not sure how much to haggle over the price.

dnb

I haven't bought that many cars before (only on my second...) I've always simply asked if the car was still for sale and whether I could come and have a look - then ask for directions (a post code is easiest, as you can www.streetmap.co.uk it )

When you go to view the car, don't ever go alone - a second pair of eyes is worth a lot. Also, if the car is worth a bit, an HPI check would be a good idea. Common sense things really...

Crush

Does it have MOT? How long for?
Tax?
FSH?
What condition is the bodywork in?

Those are the main things

Tiggs

"dont look interested"

as soon as you offer on it you are interested...no one buys a car for the hell of it.

T

negri

i wouldnt pretend you where not interested or the seller id going to think you are a time waster . tell the seller that you have seen a few and still have a few to look at . look interested and drive for as long as you can. then he will think he has you , then if you want it give him a lower offer and see what he says . also try and get him to add new 6 months tax in with the price . there are other things to say but cant really think at the mo .

SiDHEaD

make sure you confirm things printed in the ad, you dont wanna trapse somewhere you were expecting to see a 20k mileage when autotrader have printed it wrong and its a 120k mile car...


Andy

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

If you're travelling any distance, it's also worth asking straight away whether the car has ever been involved in an accident, or has any paperwork irregularities, or whether there are any mechanical defects. Mention that you'll want a professional mechanical inspection anyway.

You've nothing to lose, and it's quicker for a seller to own up to any problems at that stage, rather than waste time with you in the knowledge that your inspector will find things out anyway. Obviously walk away if they refuse an inspection, or try to make it difficult to have one carried out.

A.

paulr

My main rule is from experience...........if it looks too good to be true,be suspicious.Look for a good car,not a good price.

cletterridge

Go here:

http://www.carsurvey.org

And learn all about the problem areas the particular model you're looking at often suffers from before going to see it.

breezer

Grr.. Just pressed 'Escape' and lost all my typing.

What I said was - some car mag's have sections on what to look out for/how to buy a used car, and just be cautious and on the look out for dodgy dealings and work on the car, try and figure out if the seller is genuine.

Don't buy the car away from the seller's house, so you can verify their address and that they own it, don't hand any money over without seeing the V5 first and making sure it gets filled in, try and use any bad points of the car to haggle the price down, eg. tyres low, tax/MOT coming soon, scratches/dents/material torn. Listen for weird noises and odd things happening on the test drive of course, or whether it's really warm and just got back from a warm-up run for no reason in case it has problems from cold. Check exhaust smoke is normal, check steering lock-to-lock, oil level is good (presume you know how), err...

Some websites like for the channel4.com's driving prog and so on might also have advice on buying used.

Is this a Scoob I presume? Does anyone on here know them? If you're paranoid, ring the dealer up who last serviced it and check them out, and can they remember anything about it?

Make sure it doesn't have finance outstanding on it and the other checks on non-stolen/written-off, make/model/colour/reg. plate/engine VIN no. (if you're a member of AA/RAC/.. they might do discounts on these checks), and if you don't have the faintest get a mechanic to come and check it as said. Or at least someone who knows what they're on about.

Err... Good luck, otherwise, and if it's the one for you, hope you don't end up with a turkey.

Dracoro

THE most important things to ensure!

V5 - make sure seller has this and is filled in and you get the green tear off slip if you buy.

HPI (or equivalent) check - this will tell you if any outstanding finance, stolen, crashed(well, insurance claim) and sometimes a mileage verification check.

Apart from that, make a list. 1 for the phone call (e.g. condition, mileage, # of owners, reason for sale etc.) and 1 for the visit (check the internet for thing's to look out for. Parkers etc. have model by model checkpoints.). Make sure you run through both lists properly to ensure all bases are covered. Take a savvy mate if possible as 2nd opinions are good.

BTW - What's the car you're looking for?

GaryK

One thing I always do is check number of previous owners, lots of owners in a short time (typically) means it hasnt been looked after, it only tripped me up once when buying a bag of $hit Renault 5 gordini about 15 years ago, thats about the only dog Ive ever bought!

Good luck

StiShrek

If they live in a deprived area then dont bother. They wont have had the money to maintain the car properly.


Always offer much less than what they want. Haggle hard!!!! Wlak away if they wont budge.

CC

I have learnt from experience that the seller can you usually tell you alot about a car. If they appear shifty, nervous,....just dont seem genuine, then the car usually isnt either. Also, and I hate to sound prejudiced here, but looking at cars from 'rough' areas has turned out more than their fair share of sh1te cars in my experience. People with money can tend to look after their cars and not scrimp and save on services etc.

Just my experience!