Despite all the horror stories of how people have been badly burned financially whist buying a new car, if you take reasonable care then you can avoid this happening to you.
Although everybody likes to get a good deal, getting a car for the least amount of money should not be your priority as it is cars at the lower end of the price lists that are likely to be the most problematic in the long run.
Before you visit the seller, after viewing online at Motors.co.uk, you should check whether the seller’s insurance covers you for a test drive. If it does not then you should arrange fully comprehensive cover through your insurance company.
use printed used car magazines or to see what is available on the local used car dealer’s forecourt. If you have time, then you can combine all of these. Whether you initiate a conversation with the seller by telephone, or in the case of the local car dealer in person, you should have a list of questions already prepared.
Obviously you will need to find out everything about the general condition of the car that you can; whether there is any rust or bodywork damage, the condition of the engine and the tyres, how long ago it had its MOT; information on the car’s service history. Also you should attempt to find out the reason the vendor is selling the car, and try to find out if anything is being kept back from you. You might also consider doing a local motors vehicle check just to make sure that the car is legal and really does belong to the person selling it rather than to a finance company.
Before buying any used car it is very important to give it a proper test drive and really put it through its paces. Take a friend who knows about cars with you if you can.
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