Its nearly time to replace my car. I have in the past bought cars second hand, but this time looking to spend a bit more, say £5-6k.

The car will probably come from a localish garage – the type I am normally suspicious of.

I am pretty competent at looking over cars to make sure sills are sound etc, but am not used to spending this much on a car, what checks should I do?

HPI, insurance, is it worth getting AA or RAC to look it over?

Your thoughts/recommendations please.

If you’re going to get an rac/aa inspection then you can look at private sales too as you’ll still get a view on the condition. HPI should always be done, only cost £3quid now as well for some.
If you’re nervous about things going wrong then consider private sales and buying yourself a warranty.

if you’re going private may be worth asking the seller to take it to the local independent specialist and paying for an hours of a mechanics time to give it the once over. They’ll be able to get it up on a ramp which the AA / RAC can’t do for one and it should be significantly cheaper. Also, if you can find a decent specialist (try owners clubs) they’ll have a decent idea of what they’re looking for / common faults etc.

HP etc always worth doing, private or trade. If the latter you’re supposedly better protected but a bad garage / dealer is going to be a pain the arse same as a bad private sale…

sorry for thread hijack.

Can anyone recommend a good dealer/garage/auction where I could buy a T5 from? Also with vans, is it worth getting an independent inspection? I didn’t with my last MTB van but i’m wanting something that will no doubt cost more this time so don’t want to buy a dog?

If your looking at cars in that price range, they are likely to be new enough not to worry about corrosion yet. If its a diesel you are after, be more paranoid of noisey flywheels / smoking and warning lamps on, most warranties they provide wont cover most of this if the car still moves! it will almost certainly cost a fortune to put right. I’d stick to petrol now unless i did stupidly high miles. On the whole though, newish cars are generally reliable, but remember that many are sold when the owner faces a large service bill – especially diesels with DPF fitted.