You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Wife's car has pretty much given up, so looking around the market for a replacement. Given the cost of secondhand cars now I'm relegated to something a little bit older, and not from a main dealership. So I've found a Fabia from a local small garage, 2015 with 70k on the clock.
I can happily check all the easy to see stuff, but I'm a bit worried about being stung by a ringer. The garage gets good reviews, and the car comes with a 3 month warranty - but is it worth paying £200 to get the car properly checked over by the AA/RAC?
There's never any guarantee a car won't turn out to be a dog - I've always gone on gut feeling.
I've never used the AA/RAC type inspection services as I imagine they are like house surveys - so full of arse-covering there's little comeback.
Look at the reviews for the garage as they can be a good indicator as to how reputable they are.
As it happens I was reading this the other day. Not a good outcome for an inspection.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=10&t=2037330
Thanks - Ideally I'd like to ask the dealer if my garage (used them for years on all my cars and trust them) could give it an inspection. Is that a typical thing to ask?
Is that a typical thing to ask?
Lot's of people take mechanics along with them to look at cars.
If the dealer won't allow it, you know it's time to move on and look at another car.
The only thing you won't be able to do with most dealers is get it up on a ramp. But you could do that as soon as you bought it - buying from dealers gives you some come-back if not as described.
snip...is it worth paying £200 to get the car properly checked over by the AA/RAC?
Only you can decide that. What happens if they couldn't reasonably see a fault, e.g. corrosion covered with filler and paint or rodent damage to wiring behind the dash? Read their T&Cs
If the car has been bought by them then they'll almost certainly have run their own online check, ask to see it
Check the MoT history, it's free online and should show mileages, MoT problems, etc.
VIN numbers are easy to find these days and if you're really lucky, the engine number too.
EDIT deletion due to X-post with the-muffin-man 🙂
Thanks for the heads up on being able to check the previous MOT notes - didn't know that was possible.
For £30 or so you can do an online history check. It does some decent stuff like check there is no outstanding finance, checks it is not stolen and will check that it has not previously been an insurance write off.
The main thing it gives is piece of mind over title, so you know the car legitimately belongs to the seller i.e. isn't stolen or owned by a finance company.
They also wrap up the MOT history (as advised above) and include mileage records and sometimes service records if the car had online records. It can also include damage photos if assessed by an insurer. And uses mileage history to suggest if it has been clocked.
I would say it is well worth the small price. Use code SR10 for a 10% discount!
About 35 years ago I used to buy MOT failures, do them up and sell for a profit.
I have never had the AA or RAC inspect a car before I buy it. The only times I tried the lead time was about 3 weeks!
The next time I buy a car I am planning on trying something like car vertical. Cost is low, it's an online service so results are almost instant.
There are normally referral codes drifting around the internet and if you give them your email address they will give you 10% off
I'm not linked in any way and I am not offering a code/referral.
as above, deff worth doing some of the online checks you can on cars. there's plenty of companies that do them online for around £10 a pop which will pull together various info resources into one report - some publicly available (like the MOT info) and some not easily available (car accident / claims history). we've been helping our teenager look for her first cheap second hand car, have found a few that have looked attractive but then the report throw up that it's been a cat-s write off with photos on the salvage
you want to vcheck.uk any car you buy as a minimum. Ive recently purchased an RS4, out of the 6 i viewed 3 had been in an accident and came up clear on hpi! only reason i found out was it came up in salvage history.
Who is the dealer warranty with? If it's an AA one it requires an inspection anyway. If the dealer has good reviews and is well established you will have decent comeback if the car turns out not to be legitimate. Local garage is a much better bet if you have concerns about checking for mechanical or structural issues.
Car Vertical is a massively overpriced service that offers no guarantee for your money. Something like vcheck is a much better alternative.
You mention the dealer offers a 3 month warranty
For what it’s worth, I understand that all used cars sold by any dealer comes with a legally binding 6 month warranty
“If a fault comes to light between 30 days and six months of buying a vehicle, you’re entitled to a repair, replacement or refund.
It’s assumed in law that the fault was present at the time of purchase unless the seller can prove otherwise” Source:
All dealerships, big or small know this, but try to avoid their legal responsibility by offering a 3 month warranty, with many consumers not knowing or challenging this should a fault develop between 3 and 6 months of ownership
I honestly believe that there are very few "honest" car sellers now. buying cars i feel that the garages have done minimal checks at best just to avoid someone dieing as they drive off the lot. Anything else they arnt bothered about as its covered by the warranty/ insurance that theyll have in place to cover the first 3 months.
I've had a couple of vehicles I was selling inspected by potential buyers. It's a bit like a house survey, mostly a lesson in arse covering with a very slim chance of actually finding an issue.