Buying a used car is a risky business. It’s never easy to tell whether the seller is genuine or trying to sell you a piece of junk. That’s why you have to have your wits about you and know what you’re doing when you go in.   It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of buying a car, but you should try to remain detached from the situation and assess the car as clinically and carefully as possible. You don’t want to discover that fault when you get home; you want to notice it while you’re still on the forecourt. Here are some of the main things people forget about when buying a used car, get reading!  

1. Do Your Research First

  Why more people don’t do their research before buying a car baffles me. It’s a vital way learning which car you want from an objective source. Remember, a car salesman isn’t there to find the best car for your needs, he’s there to sell. Don’t forget that.   Compare cars online and read as many reviews as you can. This shouldn’t be too much work if you’re a car enthusiast already. But even if you’re not it’s worth making as much effort as possible.

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2. Take Someone Who Knows Cars

  When you’re buying a car, having someone by your side who knows about cars can be invaluable. If you don’t know anyone who knows about cars, take someone who can pretend they do!   But seriously, someone who knows what they’re talking about will mean you don’t get sold a dud by an unhelpful salesman. They can take a look under the bonnet and see what’s going on whereas you and I may not have a clue what we’re looking at.  

3. A Good Dealer is Key

  Don’t blindly trust any old person with a car they’re looking to offload. Try to find a reliable dealer who’s been in the industry for a while. Use a company, like imperialcarsupermarkets.co.uk, that has customer reviews available on their website. No dealership is your friend; they want to sell you cars. And that’s fine. Just don’t be too sucked in by all the sales patter.  

4. See the Documents

  A salesman may give you half-truths but a cars documents won’t. Make sure you look carefully through the cars MOT history and are aware of any repairs its had done in the last few years. Also, make sure you get any deals and agreements in writing. Handshakes and guarantees aren’t really worth anything these days. And if the worst does happen, that handshake will be long forgotten. My advice would be, go for cynicism over the benefit of the doubt.  

5. Negotiate

  A lot of people say haggling over the price of a car is old-fashioned and out of date. But I don’t agree. You should always at least try to get a better price. Many dealers will respect this and if they say no, what have you lost? If you don’t ask, you don’t get.