Buying a Vehicle

With so many scams out there its important, if not vital to be streetwise when buying a vehicle from anywhere. Here's a few tips we've picked up along the way which hopefully will help you out, and maybe save some serious cash. If you want to buy site unseen, for example ebay, chavbook marketplace, then you do so entirely at your own risk.

Never buy any vehicle without running a history check. Make sure you've seen the vehicle, make sure there's absolutely no sign of tampering with the VIN number under the windscreen, make sure this matches the one under the bonnet and in the door jam and there's no sign of tampering there either, then run a history check with both registration and VIN. There are a number of sites out there office vehicle checks for a small fee and its well worth the effort, trust me on this. Crooks will absolutely not want you to do this, it'll expose past insurance writeoff's and potentially identify a stolen vehicle. Remember, if you buy a stolen vehicle the police can take it from you without any comeback and you're left both out of pocket and minus a vehicle. Speaking of the Police, before you purchase any vehicle, even if the history check comes back as zero finance, zero insurance writeoff, and not reported stolen, call your local nick and as them to check the REG/VIN against their database, they will (should) do this for you, and its just another check to confirm you're ok to proceed, or not.

Look out for any signs of tampering to any of the identification plates (under the windscreen, door jam, under the bonnet), any of the steering mechanism (where the key goes in or the cowling around the steering wheel).

Turn the ignition on and make sure all the warning indicators light up for a few seconds, especially the engine warning light and any of the red lights, its common practise to just remove the bulb (or break it) so a buyer doesn't see the warning lights. On newer vehicles this is harder to do because its also on a LCD display but even so be aware.

Check the oil level and make sure its NOT white and creamy, it should be anywhere from a golden clear colour to black, not any other colour.

Check the coolant, it should be clear and pink, blue or green, if its any other colour then its a bad sign particularly if frothy or just clear like water (which would indicate a coolant leak).

Look around the engine bay for any signs of leaking, whether that be oil or coolant, it shouldn't be hard to spot, and check the ground under the vehicle for any signs of fresh drops.

Ask the seller to start the vehicle whilst you're standing by the side, note any smoke that's produced as it starts, there could be a small amount of black smoke which immediately goes away but there should not be any persistent smoke. Important: in cold weather a freshly started engine will produce what looks like white smoke but is infact just water vapour and that'll go away once the exhaust heats up.

If you have a clutch, then test it. The clutch should push all the way to the floor and the biting point should be a little before the pedal is all the way back up, if you get a bite almost at the floor then the clutch is worn or badly adjusted. This might not be a deal breaker, but be aware the cost of replacing a clutch so you can factor it into your decision.

Check the ATF fluid (if possible) with the dip stick, it should be clear and red, if its dark brown or black then its in a bad way and will need a replacement at some point. This may also not be a deal breaker, but familiarise yourself with the cost of a replacement transmission so you can factor this into your decision.

As in automatic clutched transmission, aka ZF Agile or similar, in this transmission the clutch is pushed automatically within the transmission, its hard to know the lifespan of the clutch without a scantool because it constantly adjusts itself but as a rule of thumb, a clutch will last for about 1m shifts, but that's hard to translate into years or miles because it very much depends on where its been driven. The best option when the vehicle is >5years old and/or >50k miles is to consider that a replacement clutch may be on the cards in the near future, and budget accordingly. If you have a scantool, then you can interrogate the transmission and it will tell you exactly how many shifts its completed, and an estimate of lifespan remaining, but you need a good professional tool.

This section applies to motorhomes which are built on the back of vehicle chassis, and whilst the vehicle and chassis are included in the MOT test the actual habitation area is not. Look around the vehicle and make sure all the trims are tight and there are no gaps, crinkles, ripples or suspicious looking bends anywhere. Once the structure starts to fail it can cost a fortune to repair it involving a strip out and rebuild. Be are of any spongy flooring, the floor should be rock solid but spongy sections means its delaminating and that's expensive to fix. Be aware of any freshly decorated area's and query what was done and why, then be sure you believe the reason.

The vehicle you're buying will probably have heating, water, water-heater, toilet, fridge/freezer, microwave, TV, and so on. Check it all works, check the fridge works on gas, mains and 12V, check the water heats on gas and mains, check the heater works on gas and mains, check the loo flushes, the microwave and TV work and so on. Be aware that fixing any of these fitting can be expensive so note anything that doesn't work correctly and raise it with the seller. Some older vehicles have fittings that are simply no longer available and would need replacing so just be aware ok.

One of the many scams is a HAB check or Habitation check, which vary greatly in quality and reliability and there is no legislation governing the credentials of anyone doing them. I can do them, you can do them, anyone can so just work on the basis that there isn't a hab check. If you're buying a motorhome (or caravan) then damp can cost you massively, so spend a little money, buy a proper ultrasonic damp meter and do your own check. You're looking right across the ceiling and the walls around the windows.

Never buy anything sight unseen, its a huge risk and rarely worth it, always go see it, drive it, do the checks above and then consider all the options. Don't impulse purchase despite being told;

There's another buyer coming shortly, if you want it I need to put them off I already have x other people seriously interested so if you want it I'll need a deposit to secure it There's already an offer on the table, and I need yours today Its the end of our month and I'm under pressure to close this sale so I can offer you… Anything that sounds vaguely like this, they all do it, its always bull and many people fall for it, don't be that person.

NEVER PAY CASH, no one is reasonably going to want that unless the vehicle is only a couple of grand, anything over that either finance it or do a bank transfer. If the seller gives you some excuse about bank problems, or moving banks, or VAT quarter or any other made up nonsense, then walk away, trust me on this.

If you're paying bank transfer, make sure the name on the account you're paying into matches the name of the business for business sales, if its a personal sale, then the bank account should match the name of the seller. Don't be convinced by any waffle about selling it behalf of or for someone or anything else and just walk away.

If you're buying private, then ask to see some ID, no one reasonably will refuse because its an obvious thing to do, but if they refuse or provide excuses why that's not possible, then walk away, its not worth the risk.

If you're buying from a business, then check online and look for any reviews of the business, and check the company at companieshouse.gov.uk and make sure it didn't start trading a week ago. If you need to recover money from a business, you can only do that from businesses that are solvent (in profit) with a trading history, a business without any trading history is no different than a private sale in terms of risk.

REMEMBER: If you're buying from a business, then the vehicle must be AS DESCRIBED or you can reasonably return it, but if you're buying privately then no such guarantee is in place and it is totally at your risk.