Checking the Car Out

Getting the Car's History Checked

Several organisations will check the car's history for you to make sure it is not on any registers as having been an insurance damage write off, a finance bad debt, or stolen. All you need is the car's make, model and registration, so this is something you can do before you even make a trip to view the car. Don't assume that you'll get lucky and find a clean car - there are many tales of buyer who have thought the same, only to end up with a car that was stolen, written-off or had finance outstanding.

These operations have extended their services to a limited mileage check (where past mileages have been recorded). Mileage records depend on honest information having been supplied in the first place and are not always up to date for every car.

The best advice is to treat all odometer readings as suspicious and to get in touch with previous keeprs listed on the car's V5C. Make sure that you always see all the paper work, including the the V5C before parting with any money. The V5C VIN number should match that's stamped onto the car. You can usually find the car's VIN in the engine compartment, though this varies from make-to-make.  If you are buying from the first keeper of the car and he is a man of the cloth, then the mileage is probably correct. If you are buying from a freelance commercial traveller, then, if the mileage is low, it is probably not correct.

DVLA introduced a new red V5C in August 2010. The new red V5C is more secure, customer friendly and highlights the need for buyers to check the legitimacy of the vehicle presented for sale.

From 4^th September 2011, when a vehicle is taxed or declared off the road (SORN), DVLA will automatically send the registered keeper a new red V5C if they haven’t already been issued with one. Registered keepers will be advised to destroy their blue V5C and to use the new document in any future dealings with DVLA or the Post Office®. Click here to go to the DVLA's dedicated site.

If the seller has a blue V5C with a serial number between BG8229501 to BG9999030 and BI2305501 to BI2800000, do not go ahead with the sale. Click here to find out why.

For what to look for in individual models see the Car by Car Breakdown Reviews.

First Impressions

When you first see the car, what do your instincts tell you? Do you get a funny feeling in the pit of your stomach?

Trust these feelings, because they are your natural defence mechanisms at work. All too often we ignore our instincts and talk ourselves into making a bad decision.

That's what salesmanship is all about: getting you to think nice thoughts about what you're going to do with the car or how easy it will be to pay for it, and to put out of your head the obvious fact that the car is a heap of junk.

Beware the car dealer who pre-qualifies your financial status over the phone so that, when you arrive at the car lot, the finance is set up and all you have to do is choose a car. By that time, you are pre-sold on buying a car from that dealer come what may and, when you leave home, you leave your brain and your instincts behind.

Assuming - and only assuming - you have a good feeling about the car, you can check it out yourself or have it independently inspected. The downside of an independent inspection, of course, is that it may take some time to get an appointment, the vendor may sell the car in the meantime, and you'll still have to fork out the inspection fee.

So, even if you're not mechanically minded, it makes sense to carry out some preliminary checks before you go to the expense of an independent inspection.

Having the Car Inspected

If the vendor has the time and patience, it makes sense to have the car professionally inspected.

Used Car Inspections: www.usedcarchecks.com, www.dekra-expert.co.uk and www.rac.co.uk/web/vehiclechecks.

Vehicle inspections: Independent inspections, including specialist, classic and modified cars: www.eliteinspections.co.uk.

Vehicle Inspections in Scotland: www.scotiavehicleinspection.com.

Inspections tend to cost £100-£250 for the average car, the inspectors 'come to the car', and you are provided with a written report afterwards. Some include an HPI status check.

Sports and high-performance cars need specialist inspections by experts in the particular make and model. An AA or RAC inspection of a Porsche, for example, simply isn't enough. Best to get a written report from a Porsche dealer or Porsche specialist and to pay the extra for a compression test on all six cylinders.

The problem is, no vendor with any sense will give you right of first refusal on a car subject to inspection at a later date unless you pay them a non-refundable deposit. If you can't cut a deal like this with the vendor, they will simply sell the car to the first buyer who comes up with the right money and you could end up forking out an inspection fee for a non-existent 'sold' car.

Condition of Older Cars

Where cars are more than ten years old, whatever the make, there is likely to be some rust somewhere.

In general, except for Mercedes, German cars with metallic paint finishes seem to rust the least. But this is an oversimplification because German build-quality slipped quite a bit between 1988 and 1992. Since 1986, all Audis have incorporated hot-dip or electro-galvanised panels, but, since 1988, so have most FIATs, starting with the Tipo and carrying on even with Unos and Pandas from around 1990.

Where the car has spent its life also affects its propensity to rust. Nothing rusts a car worse than a saline solution that allows corrosion batteries to form on a car's body and suspension. In northern counties such as Northumberland, roads are heavily salted from November to March, and if you go into any Northumberland market town you can see the effect this has on the cars. Cars in coastal areas are affected by airborne salt and sea spray.

In general, cars that have spent their lives in the South East and at least 20 miles from the coast are least likely to have been affected by premature rusting.

Keeping a car in a garage does not necessarily prevent rusting. If a car is put away wet and salty in a poorly ventilated garage, the atmosphere in there will accelerate the rusting process. On the other hand, a warm, dry car driven into a dry, well-ventilated and possibly even heated garage is least likely to rust while stored. Remember, though, the floors of most garages, even integral garages, are usually below the damp course of the house and condensation is likely inside such garages during the winter.

Inspecting a car yourself