Buying a used car, history etc

Use the DVLA MOT history checker. I think most of the ones that give you detail on outstanding finance and any insurance write-offs charge a fee.

Mot history on the gov site will give a good indication of how well its been looked after.

Unless it comes with a folder stuffed full of old invoices and service history the best you can do is check MOT history.

I always avoid anything that has constant advisories or failures.

Unless it comes with a folder stuffed full of old invoices and service history the best you can do is check MOT history

I've traded in a car recently with 10 years of history - every last receipt in date order. All was binned due to 'data protection' and apparently they have a lot of second hand car buyers who turn up on a previous owners doorstep when the car breaks down 3 years later....
So all the new owner gets is a stamped book - and a vague idea of if the timing belt was done by a tick.

I bought a used car last year - the enclosed paperwork had redacted previous details.

You can also do a V5 check to see when it was last issued - handy if buying privately but no point if from a dealer.

Other then the MOT checker its going over the car itself with a fine tooth comb.

Used cars have always seemed to be pot luck, even with the .gov MOT checker you’ve got no real guarantee it hasn’t just been waved through.

Think some places will let you send the AA out to go check it over, it costs. Never done it.

https://www.theaa.com/vehicle-inspection/

Car Vertical is worth a shout for a very comprehensive vehicle check. It’s not free though, but a discount code of SR10 gets you 10% off.

Another recommendation for Car Vertical.

What sort of budget are you at?

Shedding at £1k or so, some receipts would be nice, check the oil, matching legal tyres is the jackpot.

£2-5k, best buying privately... you'll have little come back against a dealer at this age/miles of car anyway, and you'll be able to get a feel for the previous owner and hopefully the unredacted service history. Some keener prices as a lot of sellers will be seeing if they can get a bit more than the part-ex they've been offered.

£5-10k, a blend of private and trade for me, and maybe starting to consider paying for the info services like HPI or CV mentioned above. Depends slightly on your attitude to risk and how bad it would be (to your financial position) if the car got taken from you due to outstanding finance or similar.

£10k+, definitely due diligence time. The cost of the checks becomes a small part of the price.

Other then the MOT checker its going over the car itself with a fine tooth comb.

This is key really, whether you use a service to help you with that, do it yourself, or bring a friend along.

4 matching, decent branded tyres is a good start. Mismatched tyres of different tread depth will be some indication to the previous owners attitude towards servicing and maintenance.

Same with MOT history. Same advisories year after year might suggest the owner doesn't care much for fixing them until absolutely necessary. It'll give you a good idea of mileage.

If a private sale, you'll get to weigh up the owner yourself. Ask them what kind of driving it does. Daily trips to the shop will have given it a hard life.

Some mechanical knowledge will help with the rest. Clunk's and bangs. Smoke. Noisy engine. Clutch. Gearbox. Does suspension feel tight.

Service history. Is it the bare minimum, or full bells and whistles? coolant changes, brake fluid, etc.

If a car has had no expense spared it'll probably be fairly obvious, though unlikely in the vast majority of cases, so you're really looking for something that hasn't been used as a consumable item, and preferably not been used for stop start short journeys constantly, though that's a bit more difficult to gauge.

Bought an 11 year old car earlier this year with lots of history, no worries on MOT history and in VGC for it's age. Since then it cost £500 on tyres and tracking + £1500 after it shat it's clutch in France.

You can be as careful as you want but second hand cars are a minefield so good luck.

Do a bit of research on the car type you want. the MOT logs are useful, especially for 'repeat' advisories.

Picked up an Aygo in November last year from a dealer quite cheap. Bodywork was good, recent MOT. On purchasing I decided to gove the car a good going over. Wheels off, cleaning suspension etc and rust prevention. Given it had just had n MOT, the front pads and discs were shot - next to no material on the pads, and only 'biting' hald the braking surace. Fortunately, new discs nd pads were just £38. you could tell noone had had the wheels off since the tyres were changed 4 years prior. Back brakes checked also and they were fine.

Despite an 'oil change', the filter was old, as was air filter and even the spark plugs were no-where near manufacturers gap - possibly not changed in years. Car ran fine though. I did all these jobs. AC wasn't working, but traced it to a leak from where one of the sensors screwed into the low pressure pipe - had it regassed professionally and leak tested, but it wasn't spotted. Re-filled with DIY kit.

Unfortunatly there was one costly repair. The exhaust was crusty, so I'd allowed for it to be replaced, until one evening, son arrived home and the exhaust was blowing from the manifold - the cat had snapped off the manifold - common issue with Aygo's. That added up as two lambda sensors wouldn't come off the old exhaust. All in, cat, full exhaust, and two sensors stung for £700 with labour.

More recently, flat battery, caused by a faulty alternator drawing power when the car was off (alternator was buzzing slightly and warm - so pulling power due to a failed component). New battery and alternator was just £150, although battery was used on son's car when that failed.

We paid about £1k under the list price (£2k rather than £3k), but by the time the jobs were done, and brought upto an excellent standard, it was another £1k.

Daughter is now learning to drive, so it's all 'good to go' when she passes her test. We use it a fair bit for local trips as it uses so little fuel.

I automatically dismiss anything with cheapo Chinese or remold tires and also anything with a towbar. Plenty of cars out there - a lot are white goods/disposable but in amongst that lot are the ones like my 18year old Partner/Berlingo I bought last year with a thick wad of paperwork, matching new Continental tires, decent battery and Mann filters. I also found a tube of denture cement on the storage shelf which gave a clue to the previous owner profile.

My Berlingo came with an inch thick folder of every mot, service, repair, wiper blade, etc.

Got 2 years out of it before the clutch pedal snapped and that's anoyingly what's writing it off. It was an absolute shed though.

Conversely the previous C-Max I'd diy'd for the 120,000 miles I had it but was imaculate with not even a hint it was going to go wrong. But I'm not organised so had zero evidence of any of that.

Give it a good poke, go for a test drive, look at a few similar cars so you get a feel for what's good/normal.

@thisisnotaspoon

Got 2 years out of it before the clutch pedal snapped and that’s anoyingly what’s writing it off. It was an absolute shed though.

If yours is an M59 Blingo - I preemptively changed my clutch cable last weekend and like everything else on the car it is dead easy to do. I did it on a pair of ramps and the only thing I unbolted was the clutch pedal. Took 30mins in total.