Advice on buying from a private seller

In general terms: look, if it isn't dead right walk meet the seller, as above inspect, as above see paperwork, as above test drive, as above if expensive get an hpi check this costs 37.50 and can be done instantly on the web if expensive get an aa or rac type check. if all is well and you can agree a price then get a receipt and pay cash. don't forget to insure it before driving.

the above is the essence of it, take a friend that knows the right stuff if you can.

mrcheerful

What is classified as expensive though? £3,000? By RAC/AA check you mean a car inspection? This sounds good and costs around 200 pounds, (185 for members) and includes and HPI check but what put me off is the fact that you have to arrange a time and date for the sellers car to be inspected. Apparently they need a time slot of at least 3 hours and can test drive up to 10 miles. If the seller isn't there for the inspection you lose all your money if the inspection does not go ahead. Anybody had experience of organising one of these? The

There is also the problem of not being fully comp insured to do a test drive. I am starting to think perhaps buying from the trade is a lot easier than dealing with a private seller.

Get a copy of Parker's, and work out the price from the mileage guide. Assuming it's pretty ok, you should be aiming to pay no more than the auction price. He'll probably be asking the 'private sale' one.

If there is no proof of mileage - ie old MOTs and service receipts going back to near new, assume the worst - especially if it's the type of car used by businesses.

the above is the essence of it, take a friend that knows the right stuff if

And ask how long the seller has owned it. A couple of years is ok. A few weeks might be bad. When you ring them ask if 'The car is still for sale'? If they say "Which car", be suspicious. Is it their own car, or are they selling it for a friend/sister/neighbour who has gone abroad? Is the engine warm when you arrrive? Might be ok, but might mean it's a poor starter when cold. Don't let them start up until you have checked the oil level. If it's a gungy blob on the end of the stick, not good. If it's full with fresh clean oil- excellent, but might mean that's the first service it had in a lifetime. Check coolant level and appearance. Muddy brown bad, green or blue- good. Don't bother with starting the engine until you have had a good look all around. State of upholstery and carpets- knock off lots of £££'s for cigarette burns.Look in the boot- chipped paint off and tatty carpet might mean a very hard life. Check spare wheel and tools. Open the drivers door and lift to check for hinge pin wear. Any movement here means it's had a harder than normal existence. Mileometer showing 30,000 miles on a five year old car when it looks care worn and tired is telling Meltons. (Heard that the other day- good eh?) Check the tyres- well worn will mean replacement in a month or so, but you might be able to reduce the price by more than it will cost. Same with rusty looking, blowing exhaust back box. Road tax is a big item so if it comes with several months, that's a bonus. MoT- at least six months is essential. Don't buy if it hasn't a current MoT certificate. Same goes for Registration document. If you like the look of it, open the bonnet and start the engine. Should start immediately, no rattles, no excessive smoke from exhaust. Operate all equipment, lights, radio, horn, wipers, washers- everything. Now rev it up as it's been ticking over for a few minutes. Watch for blue smoke from exhaust. Do a static brake test. No loss of pressure. Have a test drive- you drive so long as you are insured. On level road hold the wheel very lightly and brake firmly- should be effective and stop in a straight line. Is the steering wheel level across? Go to the steepest hill you know and confirm that it pulls as well as that type of vehicle should. Go to the worst road in your area and listen for rattles and thumps from the suspension. If the seller drives, watch him closely for oddities, like double declutching, holding the indicator stalk down etc. There's loads more to be wary of. Take an expert or get an RAC inspection if you're not confident. DaveK.

It is, but in general you pay more for the car. The bargains are to be had in the private market. If you can, take someone with you who knows enough about cars to check it over, so you're in a position to seal the deal at the time. IME genuine bargans have to be agreed when you first see them. An owner would be foolish to hang around waiting for you to get a car checked, if another buyer comes along, prepared to settle on the spot. I know I wouldn't wait under those circumstances, unless I was given a worthwhile non-returnable deposit. As far as a test drive is concerned, if you're insured to drive other cars, ask to drive it. IME most owners of cheaper cars will allow you to. Mike.

aren't likely towont be around long enough to cars in the In your position, it would pay you to My advice If you're in a position to, it makes sense to buy

I'd rather buy private any day. If you find a nice, reasonable private seller, the whole experience can be infinitely more pleasant than buying from the trade.

Grunff wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@individual.net:

Indeed, the last time I bought a car (as opposed to be given a wreck to rescue :-), about 5 years ago , I had a nice chat, cup of coffee and a cake, and that was with the guys pregnant wife, he was at work! Car was around 3k from memory and a mate and myself went to test drive and haggle, done a deal over the phone with the guy, left the pound notes, shook hands and drove off :-). I've sold a couple of cars since and always find the experience quite enjoyable. I think you can gain quite a lot of information from just the sellers attitude.

Keep well all,

Will

I used to be quite skeptical about buying from small traders operating from home but in fact I have had three good experiences of these recently, at around the £2k mark. These guys all seemed to be dealing only in "tidy" trade-ins from bigger dealers that would otherwise go through the ring. Whereas the same money in "forecourt" type places in the tattier parts of town seemed to get you rougher looking stuff. Had a couple of these through CarFinder and Autotrader sites (good if you are after a particular model).

================= Remember that you're buying in rather a 'grey' area and if these traders claim to be 'private sellers', as you'll have no protection from Trading Standards. On the other hand, if they admit to being genuine traders you're not much better off because they're unlikely to have the resources to offer a proper warranty. You take a chance either way but if you're confident of your own judgement you can often get quite a bargain.

Cic.

You take a chance either way but if you're confident of

And there are lots of offers on brand new cars at about £6000 nowadays. Amazing compared to my early life. A decent car (I remember drooling at a Ford Corsair at £701) cost eighteen months average net wages. This has caused the bottom to severely drop out of the second hand car market in UK, hence the low prices for pretty good stuff. Strangely, new cars in continental Europe (& Eire) are cheaper there but second hand stuff goes for silly high prices. Irish friends-find a car to buy in Liverpool. Flog the old old banger in the Emerald isle. Come over on the easyJet-Do the Beatles and City of Culture stuff, pick up the car and return on the ferry. You get the fun for free. Davek.

A couple of things- Make sure that you buy the car from the address on the registartion document - it is no guarantee but if you knock on someones door and the car is in their drive you can use some common sense to see whwther it looks like the person is selling their own car. I sell cars with a 'sold as seen with no guarantee' BUT I would prefer to buy them from private (my last two were) with 'Sold as seen with no known faults.' There as a UK law that came out recently that (I think) covered the responsiblility of a seller even if private to mention faults that were known. It won't help things like a tyre that would fail an MOT as soeone could legitimately say that they didn't know, but it would cover obvious mechanical and electrical things that might prevent it working. I just bought another car and decided to but from a dealer who included an HPI check and 12 months MOT(new MOT) in the price and as it was from a (I hope) reputable garage, I must assume that they didn't interfere with the car after it took its MOT otherwise if I ever found out they'd have hell to pay from the Trading Standards and it wouldn't be worth the risk. Alos got a warrenty but thios can be VERY variable. One dealer (as opposed to a garage) said he'd give me 3 months labour but I'd have to buy parts so if the engine blew up in those 3 months it would be a write off as far as I would be concerend. Oh finally if it is private I would much prefer to see full service hisory even if not 100% complete, or as a fallback, as many MOT certificates as possible. Always test drive the car yourself even if you know the model. Yes - it is a risk if you have a shunt and only have 3rd. party, but you could get the vendor to do a lot of the driving and you could just do a small amount to make sure that the clutch/gears change is OK etc. Good Luck