Advice for buying a used car

[Spinney]

Ask the owner how long he has owned the car. If he says a few months, beware, as it is likely to be a bad one .
Otherwise, plenty of good advice already given. Good luck and see you on the road, probably on your way to college in bad weather.

And whatever he says, check this matches with the dates on the V5.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

advice as above but to reinforce the advice about MOT - it is only an accurate assessment of the car at the moment it isi issued, it isn;t some magic shield against faults, significant failures or bent sellers once it is outside of the test station. You can't even be sure its the same tyres on now that were the ones on at MOT, do not trust it or give any value to it other than as a legal necessity to be in posession of.

Another place where vehicles can start to rust out from is around the numberplate, particularly around the screw holes if it is a screwed in one and under the rubber seals around windows. As far as you can, get to look behind the plate and under these seals.

suprrised nobody has mentioned service book or receipts for servicing, work done etc. have a look in the glovebox to see if there are any manuals, bits of paperwork the owner has left in there or ask for them. again a good hint as to what may have gone wrong with it, if anything, and maybe a mileage confirmation or to see if its been left unused or fluctuated over the years that might be worth asking about.

Although with all of the above. its a 13 year old car, there will be bits of stuff gone or going wrong and the service schedule has probably become less and less important as it has aged.

 

[Andy_R]

[QUOTE 2754467, member: 45"]Find yourself a skoda.[/quote]
wot 'e said

 

[Brandane]

One thing you might have overlooked about the Ka. I doubt that you'll be able to fit your bike into the back of it. Polo or Corolla with back seats down it's no problem. Just a thought if you are planning to cycle further afield. Racks in my experience are not the best way to transport a bike.

 

[Brandane]

Almost forgot THE most important thing! Make sure it has a suitable spot on the dash for mounting a camera so that you can film all those nobber cyclists cutting you up and generally being a PITA .

 

[Piemaster]

WRT a test drive, assuming it's a private seller. Are you or your Dad insured to drive it? If you're not, not only are you committing an offence, so is the seller by allowing you to drive it. I'm sort of assuming insurance costs are a big influence on your choice of vehicle. German/Japanese always seem to have attracted higher quotes for me.
Thinking about what you're looking at, it's an old car, ebay prices are for a few hundred. If it runs stops and drives AND you reckon it'll last the year of it's MOT (eg. enough rubber on the tyres) don't worry about it and plan to be getting something better in a years time. An MOT then will reveal if it's worth keeping or not. Google 'bangernomics' and think of it as disposable. Keep it legal - you really don't need to be having to tell your insurance Co about points for a bald tyre.
This is your first car? You'll learn lots in it. Driving a heap on a cold winters morning and wrestling with a knackered gearbox is a different experience to getting in a nice warm driving school car.

 

[swee'pea99]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that two places you can look for good guidance on wear & tear are the steering wheel and the driver's seat - particularly the edge nearest the door. If both look very worn, can be a sign it's had a longer/harder life than advertised.

 

[helston90]

I always try to arrange to see the car when the vehicle is cold- you can then check for start up problems, black or blue exhaust fumes, warm up time on the heaters etc. a lot of problems can be masked by the owner getting it up to temperature before letting you near it.

 

[Matthew_T]

One thing you might have overlooked about the Ka. I doubt that you'll be able to fit your bike into the back of it. Polo or Corolla with back seats down it's no problem. Just a thought if you are planning to cycle further afield. Racks in my experience are not the best way to transport a bike.

I do have a bike rack but plan to take the back seats out of the Ka. It will just give me a bit more room and make it a bit more fuel efficient (removing excess weight).

 

[Brandane]

I do have a bike rack but plan to take the back seats out of the Ka. It will just give me a bit more room and make it a bit more fuel efficient (removing excess weight).

Clearly, the laws of physics agree with you, but in reality I think you will find that removing the back seats will make no noticeable difference to your MPG..

 

[Matthew_T]

A bit more information:
The car is a 2000 model and has apparently done 75,000 miles. Seeing as my dad owns a Mercedes E320 CDI which has done over 120k miles, I am a little suspicious of the mileage. However, from the pictures the seller has sent me it doesnt seem to have any major rust areas. It is of course totally different when I go to view the car because pictures could have been taken a while ago or it could have been repainted.

The V5 is present and the guy said that he will even tax it on the day if I want it (he can do it before 12. Not sure how correct this is).

Thanks for the advice so far. Plenty of helpful comments and tips.

 

[fossyant]

We've got a 99 Yaris and had it since new. Fantastic little cars, but won't be as cheap as a Ka. All you need to look out for on older Yaris is crash damage.

I personally wouldn't touch a Ka. The engines are pants. My nephew had a KA and it was crap. Even new cars can be crap. My niece has just sold her fiat 500 for a Mazda 2. It was a nightmare from day one, bought brand new. We did tell her to get Japanese, but they have to learn.

 

[fossyant]

That mileage is ok. It's similar to what my wife's car has done. Mine is a bit higher. Those E class Mercs are rust buckets too.

A decent year 2000 car won't be rusty. Ours aren't.

 

[Brandane]

he will even tax it on the day if I want it (he can do it before 12. Not sure how correct this is).

Did you mean CAN'T rather than can? The VED must be due to expire at the end of this month. You can't renew it until a certain period before expiry, presumably that is the 12th day of the month in which it expires. Renewal notice for my car must be due to fall through the door any time then. Goodbye £200 .

OK maybe you meant 12:00 on the day you buy it.... Is that when the Post Office closes?

 

[fossyant]

Don't take the seats out. Just fold them down if you need to transport a bike. Too much messing.