Are you thinking about buying a new (or second-hand) car? Buying a new car can be a minefield. At Trust A Trader, we work hard to bring you a list of approved second hand car dealers. Whoever you are buying a car from, it’s important you don’t get ripped off.
1. Buy from a reputable dealer. The best way to prevent being ripped off is to buy from a trusted dealer. Ask around, look for reviews and recommendations to help you to find a trusted one.
2. Check the details. If you are interested in buying a car, it’s worth doing a few checks to make sure the information you are being given is genuine. Via the DVLA website, you can check up on a vehicle’s MOT history. For £19.99 you can even check to see if there is a logbook loan to tell you if the vehicle has any insurance outstanding on it, if it has been registered as stolen, or if it has been written off by an insurer.
3. Give the car a good once-over. Don’t be shy, check everything from bodywork, to lights, to seatbelts and tyres. Bald tyres and broken seatbelts may not affect the overall value of the car, but they can be costly to fix and will cause it to fail its MOT test. On a test drive, try driving in towns and at speed, and test an emergency stop. Listen out for any irregular noises.
4. Check the mileage. An average car’s mileage is about 10,000 miles a year. Obviously, some do much more, and some much less. If the mileage is significantly higher than 10,000 a year, you may well face wear and tear problems sooner than you would normally expect. If the mileage is ridiculously low, there is a remote possibility that it has been tampered (the single old lady who only drove 50 miles a year is usually fictional). If you are unsure, you can check the MOT certificate and DVLA details, which should show the mileage at the time.
5. Don’t Trust “Sold as Seen”. If a dealer says: “sold as seen” or “no refunds”, it means they think there may be a problem. Don’t buy a car from a dealer unless it has some kind of warranty: if they don’t trust the vehicle to last, you shouldn’t either.
6. Know your rights. Often, people opt to pay for a vehicle by credit card, so they know they have some recourse if things go wrong. However, regardless of how you pay, you have rights as a consumer. Don’t be afraid to clarify your terms of sale, and if you’re not happy, be honest. It’s your money, your choice!
By following our easy advice, we hope that you will find buying a new car as easy and stress-free as possible. Tell us about your good and bad car-buying experiences on Facebook or Twitter?