Advice when buying a second hand car

[Shogun]

Remember an MOT only means the car is roadworthy on that day and is not a guarantee of it being fault free for even a day after. A car can break down for all sorts of reasons not related to those things tested as part of the MOT.

Some simple things to remember when buying from a dealer:-

1. Try to get recommendations for dealers/garages from trusted sources.

2. Always test drive the vehicle.

3. Take a knowledgable person if you are not confident.

4. Never pay screen price.

5. If they are offering a 3/6/12 months warranty get details of the warranty and what it covers.

6. Check the service history and any repairs etc..

7. If you are in any doubt WALK AWAY, there's loads of choices out there.

It dose not matter who or were you buy a car from if is the car you want at the price you want then buy it, it is always a good idea to take someone along who mite know about cars for a bit of help,but you have to look at the whole big picture if it suet's your purpose and is it value for money is it low cost on fuel and tax insurance ect if you are not happy walk away,have a think about it and come back latter,as for the price of a car if you are happy with the car sometimes it dose not matter all that much if its a nice car you don't mind paying a bit extra,some cars mite develop faults after a few weeks but its not the end of the world get it fixed and it will be back on the road again, remember some you win and some you loose,buying any kind of car whether it be a new one or an old one stuck at the back of garage its a gamble.

[Shogun]

Been said but don't take it to the main dealer, find a good local garage to check it over, if possible a specialist. When I had a Volvo I took it to Gelders on Sharrowvale road, now I have a Saab I take it to the Saab bloke in Attercliffe. Both know the cars inside out and don't rip you off.

As for main dealers it all depends on the car you have,you would not want to take your £30k Merc to a charlie Browns or a guy down the road,as for a run of the mill car repair you will get stung if you take it to a main dealer,it is hard for some one who is not very knowledgeable to find a good garage to trust,a good idea is to ask a few people and friends that mite know of someone they can recommend,tell the garage to ring you first before they do any repairs,you don't want a big bill you cant afford.

[Ducky1]

RASAESPANOLA - can you empty your in box please i can not send a message.

[TJC1]

A few months ago I sold a nice little Vauxhall Corsa to bloke who was buying it for his daughter,it was a good little car that past the MOT first time with no problems at all, I always take my cars to charlie browns on penistone rd as they seem to be OK,the car ran very good and I took it for a long test drive and gave it a good service before selling it at a lot less than other ones the same type advertised ,two weeks later the bloke rang me up and said that the clutch had fell to bits and the gear box had seized up due to not having any oil in it,he said he had took it to a friend who was a mechanic and he had striped it down and could not get it to work properly,he then sent me a bill for £144 for a gear box and £125 for a clutch that he said his friend had paid for these parts,when I sell cars I always say if you have any problems with the car bring it back or ring me and I will see what I can do,if the clutch or gear box was faulty I would have replaced them with out hesitation as I have loads of parts and things for Corsas and they are not the hardest car in the world to fix,but as he had some one else messing with it any kind of agreement we had went, the next thing he is sending me recorded delivery letters threatening all sorts action to bring about my demise,

 

Corsas are crap, would never buy one, heard too many bad stories