I’m a car expert… here’s my 4-step guide for buying a used motor in the UK & how to save £100s
A CAR expert has revealed his four-step guide to buying a second-hand car in the UK and has shown how you can save hundreds of pounds.
YouTube influencer Grant known online as ‘Scottish Car Clan’ gave his guide for buying a used motor in the UK to his 44,000 followers on the site.
Find a car
Grant advised that the first step is to actually find a car you want to buy and to do this you need to look everywhere, including the likes of eBay, Auto Trader and even Gum Tree and Facebook Marketplace.
Plus, you need to decide if you are ok with buying from a private seller or would rather go through a car dealership.
He said: “The big difference between the two is in your consumer rights if it turns out soon after purchase that the car you’ve bought has got a problem.”
Grant said that with a car dealership the onus is on them to help you out whereas you have far less protection with a private seller.
However, he added that you will usually “pay a premium” by buying through a dealership.
Once that was sorted, the next stage was to call them up.
He advised it was best to actually call the seller rather than send a generic message.
Grant advised doing this so you can get a “much better feel as to what they’re like in a phone call” and also they are much more likely to take you seriously as a genuine buyer rather than a time waster.
He also said to use that call to ask any questions that might have been left out of the ad or not made clear which could include service history, what damage there was, if any, and any known issues with the car.
You may also want to ask for information which is specific to that car.
Grant used the example of a Ford Focus where they are meant to have their timing belt changed every 10 years or 100,000 miles.
He said it would be unlikely any seller would inform you of that, especially if it hasn’t been done.
Vehicle History Check
The next step is to do a vehicle history check or HPI check.
Grant warned that “not every seller is going to be completely honest” about the motor they are trying to sell so this stage was “so important”.
He said that he personally used vehiclescore.co.uk because it gave out some information for free and collates the MOT history,
The site, he said, also did proper HPI reports but you would have to pay for that service.
Regarding the MOT history, Grand said this was “really important” as it will flag up anything that may need attention in the near future, such as tyres or the brakes getting lows.
While those issues wouldn’t usually put him off buying a vehicle what would deter him would be if a car had a high number of repairs for, say, something like rust which would indicate the car is likely to have further issues in the future and would make the motor one to avoid.
Insurance
One areas people tended to overlook, Grant said, was to get an insurance quote and to do this as soon as possible.
He said: “It’s no use going to view a car and wasting your time and the seller’s time if it turns out that insurance just isn’t possible or is way too expensive.
Grand advised to get on the big comparison websites such as Go Compare and Confused.com to get an idea of how much it is going to cost.
Another factor to consider before even turning up to view the car is to work out how you are going to pay for it.
He advised that turning up to an unknown location, meeting unknown people with thousands of pounds in your back pocket probably wasn’t the best idea.
If you intend to do a bank transfer, it is best to have a word with them first ahead of time.
That way they can add a note to your account meaning it is less likely to get blocked by the bank’s fraud department.
Also, with that in mind you may want to consider the day and time you are going to see the car.
If you are trying to do a bank transfer, say, on a Sunday and you encounter problems with the money going through, there is no way of heading down to your nearest branch to sort things out.
Now that you have done all our preparation, it’s now time to go and look at the car.
Grant said: “Take your time looking it over if you’ve got a list of faults from one of my buyer guides check each point thoroughly.
“Don’t be distracted by the seller trying to show you something they think you should look at.
“Take your time and check all the points that you feel are important and make a mental note of anything that you notice.”
Pay attention to things like any deep scratches, holes in seats as these can all be brought in when negotiating the price.
Next, he advised, is to have a test drive.
He said he was amazed at how many people bought cars but didn’t take them for a spin.
Grant said you didn’t need to be a mechanic in order to listen out for “untoward noises” or “strange driving characteristics”.
Plus, you needed to make sure you were covered by insurance as well before taking the car out.
Transferring
Once you’re back from your test drive and you want to make a purchase, now is the time to start thinking about the price.
Grant said he is not an advocate “for just haggling for haggling’s sake”.
But he added: “If there are items that aren’t disclosed, things you didn’t know about before you went and saw the car then bring them into the negotiation.”
Bring up things like any deeps scratches that need attention or tyres that may need replacing and that way you may be able to split the cost with the seller.
While you need to be fair also make sure you get a reasonable amount off to cover yourself for any work that needs doing.
Once you have agreed a price and transferred the money, the seller needs to transfer the car into your name.
Grant said the best way to do this, so both of you can see what is happening, is to just Google I sold my car and follow the prompts on screen.
This service though is only available between 7am and 7pm.
After this point the seller will retain the old V5 document and pull off the green new keeper slip and hand that to you.
You will need this to tax your new car and to keep it safe for the future.
Once that is completed you can purchase the car insurance you set up previously.
The car also needs to be taxed using the code that is on the green slip and can Google tax my car and simply follow the prompts.
Once you have paid your money, you are now ready to drive off in your new car.
