Advice on buying your car
To make sure you don't get stung, when you buy your next car we have produced the following guides:
The car's condition
- Look along and around the vehicles body work for dany dint and dents, check the bumpers for scrapes and cracks (these can tell you if there has been crashed), and scrutinise the wheels for kerb contact. Is the paint a consistent shade all over? Any of these can show a careless owner and offer a bargaining point to help lower the price.
- Does it look too shiny? What's the seller trying to hide. is the engine oily, Honest grime is no bad thing, but look for excessive oil or fluid leaks.
- Some rust will be obvious to spot, but feel under the wheel arches, doors, cils and bumpers for rough edges. While you're crawling around, look at the tyres for excessive or uneven wear.
- Inside, does it does it look clean and tidy? Does the general wear and tear tally up with the car's mileage? and age? Worn seats and shiny steering wheel and pedals on a low mileage car are giveaways. check the milage against a typical car for that year. also ensure the mileage on the service documentation does'nt contradict the whats on the mileometer reading, most people keep all the MOT documents which have the anual reading wrote on them
- Ensure all the electric work fine, especially if there is some form of ECU (these can be very expensive when faulty) test all the buttons and knobs to see all of the electrics work.
- Check the bonet for heat, this can be done with out making it obvious, by running your hand accros the bonet, some people warm the engine up to ensure it starts first go, then start the engine, leave the engine to tick over whilst listening to it, check the exhaust for excessive smoke
- Take a lengthy test-drive. Look, listen and smell for anything untoward. ensure you take it for a decent drive, testing steering and brakes, as you may buy this vehicle and now is the time to ensure you dont get a dud.
- If you purchase this vehicle, ensure you receive the buyers part of the log book, also ask for a receipt including the time and date of the transfer, as you never know of any pending speeding tickets that have issued (Its the UK).
Some quick things to look out for
When taking a car for a test drive please look out for the following
- Are brakes defective?
- Does car pull to one side when you brake?
- Do brakes squeal?
- Are there other unusual noises?
- Is hand brake defective?
- Does steering wheel shake/vibrate?
- Does car pull to one side?
- Is changing gear difficult?
- Does gear lever skip when you brake or accelerate?
- Does clutch grab or slip?
- Does engine sound different if clutch is pressed when car is idling?
- Is there a strong smell of petrol or oil?