Used cars

I need a car. I'm tired of walking everywhere and having to depend entirely on Scotrail.

I also don't have a ton of extra money so I need something cheap.

I'm seeing cheaper cars for sale by owner compared to dealerships. What are the common pitfalls when buying from a private owner? Are there any common scams I need to keep an eye out for?

Thanks!

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I need a car. I'm tired of walking everywhere and having to depend entirely on Scotrail.

I also don't have a ton of extra money so I need something cheap.

I'm seeing cheaper cars for sale by owner compared to dealerships. What are the common pitfalls when buying from a private owner? Are there any common scams I need to keep an eye out for?

Thanks!

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I got my car from what I would call a used car lot, so it was less expensive than it would have been if sold from a dealership but had more safeguards than a private sale. I think I actually talked them into a year's guarantee!

It's always a bit of a crapshoot. I've bought a bunch of used cars over the years and have gotten mostly lucky. I've tried to buy from people I know (a couple from relatives). One I bought here was through the mechanic we use for our car....he has a friend that sells the occasional car at his shop. If something went wrong (the window stopped going up and down) they were more than happy to make a fix. The only other thing I would consider doing is if you do have a mechanic you can trust (which is a VERY good thing to have) is to take any car you want to buy to this person so they can just give it a quick look-over. It may cost a little money....but may be worth it.

A good thing to look for is a vehicle that has a lot of time left on the MOT.  That's the annual check that a vehicle has to have to be roadworthy.  A vehicle that still has 10 months left before it's next MOT was just "cleared" two months ago, for example. 

I know we have a used car lot near us that has a whole section of cars under £1,000.  You may have something like that near you.  You can definitely get a decent car for a small outlay here. 

I just bought a used car on Tuesday . I got it from a local garage that is also a trade seller.

It's a 2011 Honda Jazz, with 49,000 miles on the clock and 3 previous owners (I usually don't like to buy a car with more than 2 previous owners, but there weren't many cars for sale locally and looking further afield would have meant driving 300-400 miles round trip). It has 11 months left on the MOT, and it's being serviced this morning. It seems to be in very good condition, with just a couple of minor cosmetic issues (just wear and tear, really - a few scratches on the interior, a tear in the gearstick fabric etc.).

I think it would have been cheaper to buy from a private seller (which I have done before), but most of the cars I've found online this week were from garages and dealers rather than private sellers.

The main things I check for when looking for a used car are:
- number of previous owners
- whether it has a full service history
- how long is left on the MOT
- current mileage and how many miles it has done between MOTs
- whether the car has had any modifications
- if it has a history of being written off before (not normally something you can check with a private seller) - if you look on a site like Autotrader, you can filter out Cat S/C/D/N cars, which are cars have been written off in the past and rebuilt.
- if it has had any changes made to the odometer (i.e. a car that is several years old but only has say, 10,000 miles on the clock might look suspicious)

I just bought a used car on Tuesday . I got it from a local garage that is also a trade seller.

It's a 2011 Honda Jazz, with 49,000 miles on the clock and 3 previous owners (I usually don't like to buy a car with more than 2 previous owners, but there weren't many cars for sale locally and looking further afield would have meant driving 300-400 miles round trip). It has 11 months left on the MOT, and it's being serviced this morning. It seems to be in very good condition, with just a couple of minor cosmetic issues (just wear and tear, really - a few scratches on the interior, a tear in the gearstick fabric etc.).

I think it would have been cheaper to buy from a private seller (which I have done before), but most of the cars I've found online this week were from garages and dealers rather than private sellers.

The main things I check for when looking for a used car are:
- number of previous owners
- whether it has a full service history
- how long is left on the MOT
- current mileage and how many miles it has done between MOTs
- whether the car has had any modifications
- if it has a history of being written off before (not normally something you can check with a private seller) - if you look on a site like Autotrader, you can filter out Cat S/C/D/N cars, which are cars have been written off in the past and rebuilt.
- if it has had any changes made to the odometer (i.e. a car that is several years old but only has say, 10,000 miles on the clock might look suspicious)

Do you usually look for cars on auto trader? How would you find out the MOT history?

Also in the market for a used car because I'll have the funds next week!

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In terms of scams, you should be careful that the car has not been written off, like Ksand said.  You should also check that there is no outstanding finance debt on the car.  Sometimes dodgy people sell you a car that somebody still owes money on and that turns into a problem. 

I think both of these things can be easily checked by texting the registration to a premium rate text number.  It costs a fiver and they text back immediately having checked all those things.

My first car here cost £500 and was perfectly serviceable.  We ran it for a few years and then literally gave it to the guy I bought my second car from so I could drive the new one home. Don't fear the extremely cheap car as they really are cheap here.

Do you have any mechanic friends or know a trustworthy mechanic?  There is so much choice for really cheap old cars that you can buy whatever model your mechanic likes by searching autotrader.

If you are going to buy from a dealer, I would be very careful about getting credit to pay for the car from them.  I don't ever buy a car on credit but if you feel you must, I've heard you can arrange finance through your bank or a building society, then buy the car like you are a cash buyer.
If buying from a dealership, conclude the sale on the last day of the month and know exactly how much the car is worth first. That's also easy to determine on autotrader.

If buying from a dealership, conclude the sale on the last day of the month and know exactly how much the car is worth first. That's also easy to determine on autotrader.

Why the last day of the month? I genuinely don't want to wait til the end of April to have freedom again but will if I have to.


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Both Tami and Margo, you should be aware that buying the car is only the first expense.  You will immediately have to buy a tax disc and that will cost £250 or so, then insurance  as well. Even filling it up with gas will be £65

Do you usually look for cars on auto trader? How would you find out the MOT history?

Autotrader was the main place I looked, but I also searched for local area websites and other used car sites.

Usually the advert will state how long the MOT is valid for, and also mileage, owner history etc.

We also went to an actual Toyota dealer so I could test-drive a used Yaris, for comparison... I did not like that experience at all though. All I wanted to do was go in, test drive, tell them it was out of my budget, and leave, but we got stuck at the dealer's for almost 1.5 hours, while they filled out paperwork, talked me through the sales pitch, tried to sell me various add-ons and insurances, and then gave me a quote that was £2,500 over my budget (plus they wanted a £129 admin fee just for buying a car)! They also would only give me £50 for my old car as part exchange, whereas we managed to part-exchange it for £250 with the garage I actually bought from.

Also in the market for a used car because I'll have the funds next week!

Good luck .

Do you usually look for cars on auto trader? How would you find out the MOT history?

Also in the market for a used car because I'll have the funds next week!

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I don't think there's anything special about an MOT history, you just want to be aware of the total mileage and make sure that the mileage is consistent across the entire service history.  You will want to see the whole service history and be sure that the car has been serviced regularly.  You might want to check on the Internet for any upcoming major maintainance tasks like a timing belt replacement.

Both Tami and Margo, you should be aware that buying the car is only the first expense.  You will immediately have to buy a tax disc and that will cost £250 or so, then insurance  as well. Even filling it up with gas will be £65

I'm aiming for buying something in the next 2 months so I'll make sure I have enough cash to cover a car, insurance and tax. But thanks for mentioning this. Just move to save for.

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Both Tami and Margo, you should be aware that buying the car is only the first expense.  You will immediately have to buy a tax disc and that will cost £250 or so, then insurance  as well. Even filling it up with gas will be £65

Yeah, I have factored all of that into my budget for the car cost. My husband will be getting driving lessons too so will be contributing to the expense.

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Both Tami and Margo, you should be aware that buying the car is only the first expense.  You will immediately have to buy a tax disc and that will cost £250 or so, then insurance  as well. Even filling it up with gas will be £65

It would only be £250 for tax if the vehicle has high CO2 emissions.

The tax on my new car was only £115 for the year (CO2 emissions of 121-130 g/km), which you can either pay in one full annual payment, or you can do monthly direct debit payments for a little bit more.

Current tax rates for cars registered between March 2001 and March 2017:
https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-rate-tables/rates-for-cars-registered-on-or-after-1-march-2001

Why the last day of the month? I genuinely don't want to wait til the end of April to have freedom again but will if I have to.


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You'll just get a better deal when negotiating as sales quotas end at the end of the month.  If you can't wait, you can take the hit or buy from somewhere where they don't negotiate like I think KFDANCER said Car Giant