Planning to buy a used car at some point soon? If this is an option you’ve been entertaining, ensuring you’ve safeguarded your purchase first is vital – and there are plenty of simple checks you can make to authenticate the vehicle.
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5 Key Factors You Need to Check When Buying a Used Car
There’s no doubt that buying a used car can offer plenty of great opportunities. Nonetheless, making sure the car sale is genuine and honest first is vital. Luckily, the following five tips clarify some of the main things you need to keep in mind.
#1 Complete a Car History Check
As a first step, it’s vital to check your car’s history before you agree to the purchase. Indeed, even if you trust the seller completely, it’s vital to start with a cautious approach; after all, they could just have well been tricked when they purchased the car, too.
A car history check can provide a plenty of useful information regarding a particular vehicle. Just a handful of the different things these checks can outline include the vehicle’s MOT, writeoff status, stolen status, number plate information, mileage records, financing information, etc.
#2 Does the Car Match the Description
One of the first things you’ll need to consider is whether the car matches its description. If you notice that the description of the listed car doesn’t appear to match the photos provided, this could be a significant red flag. Make sure you also check that the pictures of the car match the vehicle when you first see it in person.
#3 Ask to See All Necessary Paperwork
Once you’re confident that the car matches its description, you’ll want to check all of the necessary paperwork to ensure this is genuine. Not only should the seller be able to show you the paperwork happily, but the details should always match the vehicle description; you should also check that the paperwork has all the necessary watermarks before going any further.
#4 Look for Signs of Damage
Any external signs of damage could indicate a potentially serious issue with the vehicle; in accordance with this, we strongly recommend that you inspect the vehicle carefully for any signs of dents, scratches, or rust. While these will often be superficial, this isn’t always the case; in some cases, this could be a sign of a more serious issue.
Use a reg check report to confirm that the vehicle matches with the provided documentation, thereby confirming the absence of any write-off related details.
#5 Does the Car Run Smoothly?
When purchasing your new vehicle, making sure that the car runs smoothly is vital. Indeed, it’s easy to overlook how many issues can be hidden or masked with a little clever repair work, but you could end up getting caught out with these down the line. So, always check the car runs smoothly, ideally with a test drive; alternatively, if the seller isn’t happy for you to be behind the wheel, at least make sure that the car will turn on and drive smoothly with them driving.
Final Thoughts
Buying a used car shouldn’t leave you feeling overwhelmed or unsure. Fortunately, today’s quick guide covers everything you need to know to help round out this decision. Most importantly, you will need to tell DVLA you’ve bought a vehicle, this will allow you to get an updated V5c for the car.
