What To Look For When Buying A Used Car
On this page, we tell you all the things to look for when buying a used car. The guide gives you a used car checklist that’s both simple to understand and comprehensive.
On this page, we tell you all the things to look for when buying a used car. The guide gives you a used car checklist that’s both simple to understand and comprehensive.
Used cars are cheaper than new ones. That’s a simple fact, one that you don’t need to use a money advice service or independent car review to confirm.
But the risks with buying a second-hand car are that you might buy a duff motor and get ripped off, making them a poor investment in the short, medium or long term.
You should always check a second-hand motor before buying it, but you need to go beyond just taking it for a test drive to see if the car pulls or steering wheel heaviness is an issue.
This guide lists all the essential details you need to look for when you’re buying a used motor, from documents to its green credentials.
We’ve also highlighted some other key ways you can manage costs if you’re buying a used car for your business.
Documents are the first thing you must look for when buying a used car. The car paperwork tells you if it’s safe, if it’s the correct vehicle and if the person advertising it is allowed to sell it to you.
These are the key documents you need to review:
Each piece of paperwork tells you something different about the car and there are some things you should look for in the documents. These are the things to consider:
V5C
MOT certificate
Service and full car history
Is there a service history? If there is then you should check for any issues highlighted and establish if they’ve persisted or been corrected.
A car’s mileage can be a good indicator of how long it may have left.
This is particularly true when you compare diesel and petrol cars because the former can remain useful for many more miles than the latter — though you shouldn’t overlook the mileage on electric cars.
But it’s not only the number of miles on the clock that you need to look for. These are some of the other things to be aware of when checking the mileage of a used car:
Is it in keeping with the MOT test number mileage? If it isn’t then it may be that someone has altered the mileage.
Damage signs are any physical issues with the car that lead you to believe the seller is covering up a problem or indications that the car might require work to be done.
In theory, these signs should be simple to spot — so long as you know what you’re looking for. These are the warning sign you must be aware of:
All of these signs indicate that cover up work of some description has been carried out on the car.
These signs range in seriousness, with an uneven paint finish potentially being more innocent than unusual welding. However, you shouldn’t ignore these red flags and we advise you to question them with the seller if you spot any of them.
Safety checks are the most important thing you need to carry out when buying a used car.
We’ve given these checks a designated section even though we’ve covered some of these elsewhere in this guide. For example, odd-looking welding (a sign of damage) is also an indication the car might be unsafe.
While we recommend you take note of any safety pointers we’ve raised elsewhere, these are some of the key checks to conduct to ensure the used car is safe:
Are the lights and windscreen washers/wipers operational? Test them out to see if they work as you’d expect them to.
When we talk about engine problems we mean a range of issues, from whether the clutch works to if the oil warning light goes off once you’ve started the engine.
Engine problems are a big issue to be aware of, as they could be either an operational concern or a safety hazard.
These are the main issues you should look out for when you’re assessing a used car:
Has the cambelt been replaced recently? If the cambelt looks old, it could break when you’re driving. The engine might seize up, which will lead the brakes and steering to fail
Alongside the easy to categorise checks you should make, there are some general issues you need to remember when purchasing a used car.
These are the things to look for:
Outstanding finance: is there finance to be settled on the car?
Green credentials are already important and will only become more so, as the government introduces new clean air zones (CAZ).
The greener your used cars credentials are the better it will cope with CAZ requirements and the wiser an investment it will be for you.
These are the most important green credentials to check the car for:
Engine size: this can be a sensible way of measuring the green credentials of older cars.
A car’s vehicle identification number (VIN) is a unique, 17-digit number that is stamped onto the chassis of a car. Unlike a registration number, you can’t change the VIN. This means that any information recorded on public records to the VIN is certain to be accurate.
With this in mind, you should check the car’s VIN to confirm the identity of the vehicle and to establish if there are any issues with it.
You can check the information recorded against a car’s VIN by using a tool like this.
You generally have the following two options for purchasing a used car:
Buying from a dealer means you’ll usually have a better range of options, as the seller will have a variety of second-hand vehicles for you to choose from.
Buying from a private seller means you’ll probably get a better picture of the state of the car, as they’ll likely have been driving it prior to offloading it.
There are upsides and downsides to both private and dealer purchases. The key is that you focus on the car you’re buying rather than the sales method it’s available through.
Buying used cars is a good way for businesses to keep tight management of the company expenses, as the upfront costs are lower than purchasing a new vehicle.
Managing expenses is a vital part of any successful company and if vehicles are key to your business model then you can use fuel cards to keep running costs under control.
Fuel cards are like company credit cards for diesel and petrol. You and your drivers can buy the fuel you need immediately and then pay for it at a more convenient time (either weekly or monthly, depending on the card) for your business, one that ties in with your payment cycle.
The credit element of fuel cards is one way they help you keep fuel costs under control but it’s not the only example, particularly if you link the card with telematics software.
Combining fuel cards brings the following cost control benefits to your business:
iCompario is the free online marketplace for business products and services, where managers and owners can research and rapidly compare fuel cards, vehicle tracking systems, insurance, telecoms and other essentials. The team follows up online queries by telephone so every site visitor finds their ideal, future-proof product at the best price possible.
Your company can save money by using iCompario to compare the best fuel cards, telematics devices, your fleet company’s own car insurance and a range of other key business expenses.