Questions to ask when buying a car?

spunkymunky

Hi guys.
Im buying my first car and have found a few that suit. Both privatly and dealers. When i ring to enquire what type of questions should i ask over the phone? Never done this before so totally lost.
Also face to face, should i meet them? (I know to bring a mechanic or at least someone who knows a but about cars)
Thanks
SM

Eoin

If it is a private sale and when you ring them, do not mention the make of the car - e.g. "Hi, I am ringing about your car for sale".
If they have to ask which car you are enquiring about, you could be talking to a dealer who does not want to sell the car through his garage because of it's condition.

If not mentioned in the advert, ask about the NCT, tax, any specifications (electrics), mileage etc.

I would just go to see the car, and don't bring a mechanic unless you are pretty sure you want to go for the car, or it can add up if you end up bringing a mechanic to several cars you are viewing.

O.T. - I think your sig should read "contentment" ?

jhegarty

spunkymunky wrote:

Hi guys.
Im buying my first car and have found a few that suit. Both privatly and dealers. When i ring to enquire what type of questions should i ask over the phone? Never done this before so totally lost.
Also face to face, should i meet them? (I know to bring a mechanic or at least someone who knows a but about cars)
Thanks
SM

If going private , make sure that you meet the person at their house , not a car park or something...

Has it ever been crashed ?
Make sure there is a full service history...
Check if there is any finance / garda issue outstanding ...( i think there was treads on checking those over the last few days...)

Khannie

jhegarty wrote:

If going private , make sure that you meet the person at their house , not a car park or something...

Apologies for dragging this one back up......but why meet at their house?

I am meeting someone this evening to view a car. They live in wexford but are up in Dublin to visit a relative in hospital.

How important is a full service history? (I don't have one for my current car, though I have maintained it well).

There's a year to go on the NCT. Is that a fairly reliable sign that the car isn't a piece of poo?

I have a good understanding of how engines work. Would it benefit me to bring a mechanic along? I have close to zero experience of buying used cars.

As an aside: I think a sticky on buying 2nd hand cars would be very useful.

jhegarty

Khannie wrote:

Apologies for dragging this one back up......but why meet at their house?

I am meeting someone this evening to view a car. They live in wexford but are up in Dublin to visit a relative in hospital.

How important is a full service history? (I don't have one for my current car, though I have maintained it well).

There's a year to go on the NCT. Is that a fairly reliable sign that the car isn't a piece of poo?

I have a good understanding of how engines work. Would it benefit me to bring a mechanic along? I have close to zero experience of buying used cars.

As an aside: I think a sticky on buying 2nd hand cars would be very useful.

the reason for meeting at the house is for when the real owner of the car comes looking for it next week , and all you have a pay-as-you-go mobile for the person who has all your money...

lets say he robbed the car from someone he knows was away on holiday for a few weeks .... plenty of time to get in without breaking locks , all the documentation left in glove box... the first thing you know is when real owner comes back from holiday and calls the cops...

full service history is good , but not necessary... it depends who you buy off... if it looks like someone who changes their own oil and filters fine without one... little old lady who only "drives to mass" and who thinks oil is the same as petrol make sure you get one

lomb

u need experiance to buy a used car right, most irish cars are shagged and some never even have regular oil changes. i bought a car with service history and the original 6 year old brake fluid was in it as black as night and the engine was gone, the bearings inside were rattling and the crank was about to snap

Khannie

lomb wrote:

u need experiance to buy a used car right

Something I'm short on.

Anyone recommend a mechanic in the rathgar area? goldenpages.ie has nothing. I'm just looking for them to have a look at this car this evening. I'll pay a reasonable amount for it.

Paul (MN)

Khannie,

Depending on how much you are spending, and what type of car you are buying, it might be a good idea to use the AA's service. It's expensive (€300+) but I used them before and they did a thorough job and I decided not to buy the car after it. I was about to spend 7k on a BMW coupe. The €300 was worth it as maintenance/parts on that car would have been expensive.

If you are looking at spending <4k on a Punto etc etc then it might be overkill. Then again, if you saw Car A for €4000 and Car B for €4300 and found that Car A had sold.. would you really dismiss Car B for €300. Probably not. So perhaps this might be a route for you.

If you get the report, why not post the major items up here for comment. The AA are so thorough it can seem like there's alot wrong, but people here may be able to comment and give you an indication of the cost etc.

Downtime

There is some excellent advice here http://www.topgear.com/content/used_cars/features/buying_a_used_advice/

Duckjob

I would recommend in the first instance, bring a friend or relative who is 'car savvy' enough that they would be able to pick up on any danger signs on/in the car. If they don't find any, then arrange to bring a mechanic, or, better still, arrange for the car to be brought into your mechanics garage.

Khannie

Thanks for the advice lads. I've to meet yer man at 7.30pm, so I think the AA check is out for today anyway (though I would prefer that). I'll try and get my hands on a mechanic.