Tips on buying a vehicle

When it comes to buying a car, many people buy second hand in order to save the costs of a new car which of course often come at a premium having had no previous owner.

However there are risks involved with buying a vehicle second hand, as indeed is always the case when it comes to buying any second hand goods. Here we look at a few things to consider.

Before you go and see the vehicle, you should first source a reputable source of adverts. You should try to get in touch only with people who have landline phone numbers, because if something is dodgy this is much easier to trace than a mobile phone number which can be very hard to hunt down.

If photos of the vehicle don't show the registration number, then this is something to be wary of, according to advice given by the DVLA.

You should find out the location of the vehicle's VIN, or vehicle identification number, so that you can check this against the V5C, or registration certificate.

When you do see the vehicle, you should be sure that you see it in daylight rather than at dusk or night where it might be harder to see and visually inspect the vehicle for any problems that you might encounter. You should arrange to see the vehicle at the home of the owner, and check about the financing of the vehicle and specifically whether it has outstanding finance or not.

Related Articles...

driving theory test
Who needs to take a theory test
A theory test is part of the process required for anyone who wants to become a qualified driver in the UK. There are two stages to being a standard car driver: first passing a theory test, and then...

How Pass Plus Works
What does pass plus contain? Well, it has six different modules and each of these ones focuses on a different set of conditions in which you might have to drive. These are in and around the town,...

Mock Driving Theory
On our Mock Driving Theory page you can practice no fewer than fifteen different mock tests. Each of them...

Driving and Eyesight Requirements
If you require glasses in order to meet the requirements for driving legally, then you must ensure that you wear them whilst you drive (or corrective lenses). There are some conditions that...

What to do with keep clear markings
Keep clear markings are quite straightforward to understand, although amazingly some people either ignore them or do not appear to understand what they mean! You will often seen keep clear...

Reading or hearing difficulties and the theory test
If you have some sort of reading difficulty, which might be but is not limited to dyslexia, then do not panic. You can get the questions read to you in English or Welsh (or indeed if you want the...

Vehicles that cannot be used for a practical test
The vast majority of drivers will of course use the vehicle of their instructor or driving school when they take their practical test and so will not need to worry about the vehicle. However...

Switching to driving an automatic
When you switch to an automatic car it could be for a wide range of reasons. Of course number one on that list could be that you are simply given an automatic car or you are driving in a country...

What to look for when you see a vehicle
Here is a simple check list of things to take into account when you check a used vehicle that you are considering purchasing. Firstly, look at the engine carefully, and see if you think it has...

Using emergency telephones
There are emergency telephones along motorways. There are telephones that occur roughly once per mile along the motorway which are connected to the emergency services. There are also blue and...


Back to home page of driving theory test questions