Buying a used car privately - hints and tips
Discussion
I've purchased cars privately with even some being high value and here is my advice...
- Confirm the Service History with the Main Dealer and check it's been serviced at the correct intervals.
- If there is outstanding finance, you should pay the outstanding finance direct to the Finance Company and the remaining amount to the seller.
- I tend to do my HPi checks with vcheck,uk as they check against salvage records as well.
- I've never done an AA or RAC check but can't see any harm in doing so.
- There is a little comfort if there is main dealer warranty still on the car as it tends to stay with the car.
- Buying privately, I try to gauge what the Seller is like and that sometimes gives an indication of what the car is like (not always)
Good luck!
- Confirm the Service History with the Main Dealer and check it's been serviced at the correct intervals.
- If there is outstanding finance, you should pay the outstanding finance direct to the Finance Company and the remaining amount to the seller.
- I tend to do my HPi checks with vcheck,uk as they check against salvage records as well.
- I've never done an AA or RAC check but can't see any harm in doing so.
- There is a little comfort if there is main dealer warranty still on the car as it tends to stay with the car.
- Buying privately, I try to gauge what the Seller is like and that sometimes gives an indication of what the car is like (not always)
Good luck!
How is the person going to clear the finance prior to sale?
I'd be asking why the person was selling it, I appreciate there are a number of reasons...
Checking the service history the dealer would have done a visual health check, is a copy of the latest one available?
Rather than AA/RAC you could arrange for it to go to the main dealer and pay for a health check.
Do a vcar check.
From a visual inspection are all the panel gaps the same size, any slight colour variants on the paintwork etc
I'd be asking why the person was selling it, I appreciate there are a number of reasons...
Checking the service history the dealer would have done a visual health check, is a copy of the latest one available?
Rather than AA/RAC you could arrange for it to go to the main dealer and pay for a health check.
Do a vcar check.
From a visual inspection are all the panel gaps the same size, any slight colour variants on the paintwork etc
Try and insist on meeting the seller at their home address and check to make sure the V5 is for the same address. Wouldn't be a major red flag if you can't but would be a little more cautious.
Do you have a friendly mechanic or mechanical friend you can take along with you? Even if not, a second pair of eyes is always a good idea.
Years ago I came up with my own checklist of cars I was viewing to do and stuck by it. That checklist is now more in my mind, but it does help having something physical you can tick off.
Do you have a friendly mechanic or mechanical friend you can take along with you? Even if not, a second pair of eyes is always a good idea.
Years ago I came up with my own checklist of cars I was viewing to do and stuck by it. That checklist is now more in my mind, but it does help having something physical you can tick off.
- check V5 is in the name of the seller and that you are viewing the car at their address
- that the car is taxed and insured (via dvla portal)
- check mot history
- run hpi check with v-check
- if its not >15-20% less than a main dealer, you may as well go to a main dealer
- how long has car been owned by vendor, short ownership then id be concerned
- ask for a copy of the finance agreement - you should pay directly with balance to vendor (never all to vendor)
- consider getting car inspected by a main dealer or specialist
- Id specifically ask the vendor if they've had it from new (or for an extended period) to confirm its fault free and has not sustained any damage or been repaired during their ownership and ask if they would be happy to put that on a deposit receipt before paying a holding deposit
- take somebody impartial to look at it with you, check panel gaps are uniform, paintwork has appropriate degradation for age etc
One thing I do is to research the vendor's social media posts. Of course there might not be anything, but I've often found LinkedIn, Facebook and car forums to be useful. I was close to buying a BMW 5 Series a while ago and the vendor assured me it had never had a paint repair. Sure enough, I found a post on Facebook from him - complete with photos - asking for advice about a repair when his wife had reversed said 5 Series into a concrete bollard. I wonder what else he was fibbing about? I didn't pursue my interest.
If it's a BMW with a genuine active BMW warranty on it then you're off to a good start.
If you go to the BMW Warranty page to get a quote and put the reg number in it'll tell you if there's already a BMW warranty active on the car. You can check the iDrive for service history. Each entry should have a five digit number next to it. These are identifying codes for BMW main dealers. If any of the codes are "00000" then the car was serviced at an Indy. Not an issue in itself as long as the garage is VAT registered and used genune parts. If the "OK" next to each entry is green then the services were done on time. Check the MOT history for signs of neglect. It never ceases to amaze me how many high end BMWs I check and see tyres worn down to the cords in the MOT history! Other than that, do a V Check (or similar), to be sure there's no outstanding finance or it's a write off, etc. Shouldn't be any issues but even cars with decent provenance can slip through the net sometimes.
If you go to the BMW Warranty page to get a quote and put the reg number in it'll tell you if there's already a BMW warranty active on the car. You can check the iDrive for service history. Each entry should have a five digit number next to it. These are identifying codes for BMW main dealers. If any of the codes are "00000" then the car was serviced at an Indy. Not an issue in itself as long as the garage is VAT registered and used genune parts. If the "OK" next to each entry is green then the services were done on time. Check the MOT history for signs of neglect. It never ceases to amaze me how many high end BMWs I check and see tyres worn down to the cords in the MOT history! Other than that, do a V Check (or similar), to be sure there's no outstanding finance or it's a write off, etc. Shouldn't be any issues but even cars with decent provenance can slip through the net sometimes.
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff