The last time I bought a car privately virtually destroyed my faith inhuman nature! I discovered too late that the car in question had beeninvolved in an accident and had been cleverly disguised to conceal thedamage.Of course, under the "sold as seen" policy there was little Icould do about it and I had to resell the car at a thumping greatloss.My latest car (bought through a dealer) has served me well but it isnow time to upgrade to a newer model. Having taken the car to severaldealers I was intrigued by the way they "examine" a car in greatdetail (sic) before offering you a price in p/x for one of theirforecourt models. Without exception, the salesman will walk around thecar once, rev the engine, and that's it! It's almost as if they have asixth sense and instinctively know when a car looks right.Surely any fool could examine a used car if it was that easy, so whatwas their secret?It would seem that the salesman is only interested in identifying wearpatterns and common faults when he examines a car - the rest is purelydown to instinct.It's really a question of knowing what to look for without beingside-tracked by trivial faults that have no real bearing on theoverall condition of the car in question.I am tempted to consider buying privately again as I feel the bestbargains are to be found via private sales.Any views on this?Regards,MuzzelP.S I have prepared a factsheet entitled 'The do's and don'ts ofbuying a used car. To obtain your FREE copy please click on thefollowing link:

Dealers often don't want your part ex car, they do however know that peopledo want rid of their old cars. Often they'll just give you money for the carthat would be discounted off the one they're selling you, and bung your carinto an auction, where the buyer will only be able to do what the dealer hasjust done.That said, with experience you start noticing things like resprayed paintand ripples in the bodywork etc. a lot more.

Is buying privately just too risky?

Nov 03, 2003 64 Replies

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Dan405 22 years ago

No one seems to have an answer as to how a car should be run in :)

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Nom 22 years ago

Certainly not like that :)

New Cars used to have a specific procedure. When you bought one, the dealer would say "Don't go over 4000rpm for the first 1500 miles" or something like that.

Nowadays, it doesn't really matter. You're just supposed to "Take it easy for a while".

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gaz 22 years ago

It is not just the engine that needs running-in on a new car, the brakes also need to bed. Some also say the tyres need to be run in for a few hundred miles too.

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Trooper 22 years ago

Some would say exactly like that. Allows the valves to seat correctly.

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Duncan Wood 22 years ago

If the valves aren't seated once the cams run in they it needs building properly

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