traders V5 and wary of traders selling from home?

That's how it works when an average punter transfers ownership of a car to a trader - trader fills in the yellow bit of the logbook, punter sends that off to DVLA and gives the rest of the log book to the trader, so he's got the log book then and there and can sell the car straight away.

If they've advertised as being a trader then at least you won't have to try to prove they're a trader rather than a private seller in the event of the car going majorly wrong and wanting any comeback, as per the sale of goods act. But at the end of the day, as has been discussed on here, it's up to you to check for obvious faults, so you know what you're buying. Also, the trader might not know when the cambelt was last done, and often won't fit a new one prior to sale, so rather than not ask the question then moan when it snaps, ask first. A lot of the problems people complain about when buying second hand cars could have been avoided with a bit of common sense and knowhow.

The last keepers name and address, not the dealer. What should be missing is the red part which the dealer sends to DVLA.

They are correct. If you actually bothered to look at a V5 you'll notice a red section. A dealer detaches this and sends it to DVLA, keeping the rest of the V5. DVLA then know its at a dealers so the previous owners don't get fines etc. Once you've bought it, you sendoff the V5, keeping the green bit, and get it put in your name.

Why wouldn't there be any warranty? You can buy warranties for a couple of hundred quid so its not impossible and the trader will have HPI'd the car to cover himself because its him who;ll carry the can if it turns out to be stolen.

Why? Do you not check a car over when you're buying it? Why do you think a dealership will do any better?

Only because you're not knowledgeable. TBH you'll be able to screw down the price alot more with a small trader and unlike a dealership, you'll not be lulled into a false sense of security. A dealership PDA is a joke.

Though IIRC it's yellow these days on the new V5Cs - the red bit is if you've scrapped it. I may be wrong though (it has been known).

Yes Car Credit's "Stevie Wonder service" being a shining example.

So don't buy it. Simple really. Go to the dealer and pay the extra.

The street corner independents are for those people who want a cheaper car, who maybe know a bit more about cars and what they're doing with them, and have the experience to recognise the warning signs and avoid the dogs.

Steve

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Or buy from a private seller. With a few precautions, this can work well.

1) Do your own HPI check. 2) Meet seller at his home address and check that log book matches. 3) See car in daylight and inspect thoroughly. 4) The seller should have no problem supplying manuals, radio code, service book, bills and other paperwork.

You can sometimes get bargains from them. My neighbour is exactly this sort of person, and will have up to 5 cars on the garden/drive (we get on just fine as I can't seem to get mine below 12!). He has a trade insurance policy and buys cars for next to nothing; often he drives them for a week or two until somebody buys, so there is usually nothing wrong with them; I know he does, or gets done, any vital work, and usually sells them with a full test (local council test depot so nothing dodgy!). He can then afford to sell them for less than many private owners ask! I have often known him have problems put right after the sale (like last week's Peugeot that broke its clutch cable the day after) and he'd rather give people their money back than have serious hassle with them.

I'm not saying that all home "traders" are like that, but they too have reputations to build or keep.

As far as I'm concerned any used car is a gamble, and warranties are often virtually worthless - the last one I had was on a Merc 230 where the garage's response to losing a pint of oil a week was to tighten some bolts and put in seal conditioner - the crankshaft oil seal still leaked until the head went!