Making a few simple vehicle checks before you buy that used car could save a lot of pain later…

Cars are complex and usually worth a lot of money, so it’s easy to be daunted at the idea of buying one and being caught out big time. After all, the stakes are potentially very high. But make the right vehicle checks before you hand over any cash and you can minimise the chances of getting caught out. These are the key vehicle checks that you should be making.

Vehicle Check 1: The HPI Check

It’s easy to think of an HPI Check as little more than a vehicle history check, but it’s far more than that. You’ll receive a comprehensive report on that potential buy and whether or not there’s anything dodgy about it that you need to know.

Among the 80 pieces of information that you’ll receive in return for your money, this comprehensive vehicle check includes details of whether or not the car has ever been written off, if there’s any outstanding finance on it and if it’s been the subject of any registration plate changes.

Other information included in the HPI Check is a rough guide to how much the car is worth, whether or not the car is currently reported stolen and also whether it has been clocked. Bearing in mind that one in three of the cars put through an HPI Check has something dodgy in its history, it’s the best investment you can make before buying any used car.

Vehicle Check 2: Service history

The whole point of doing any sort of vehicle check is to ascertain that you’re buying a car that’s been cherished rather than abused – or worse. A service history allows you to do just that, because if it’s incomplete or missing altogether you just know that the owner hasn‘t doted on it – which means it could be on its last legs.

The other thing about a car’s service history is that it allows you to track its mileage over the years. If the last service shows a mileage higher than what’s currently displayed, or it goes up then suddenly drops down before rising again, you just know there’s something amiss. Not convinced? Then check out our blog on the importance of a service history.

Vehicle Check 3: Professional inspections

Of all the vehicle checks available, the professional inspection is the most costly of the lot, but also potentially the one that will give you the greatest peace of mind, as you can read in our guide to how professional inspections work.

Suffice to say that a professional inspection is relatively costly – but tends to be worth every penny as it looks at a vast number of aspects of the car. Usually included is a vehicle history check and should you buy a car that later turns out to be a duffer, you should be able to claim against whoever conducted the inspection.

Vehicle Check 4: The MoT

Can’t afford a professional inspection? Then why not opt for an MoT instead? Think of it as Professional Inspection Lite – a vehicle check that typically costs just £50 but which could highlight all sorts of issues with that potential buy. The MoT will ensure that a huge range of safety-critical things are checked, including its brakes, suspension, lights and seatbelts. Its emissions will also be tested along with its structural integrity, so if there’s any significant corrosion, that should be picked up too.

Vehicle Check 5: The paperwork

Cars come with a pile of paperwork and any vehicle check means ploughing through as much of it as you can to see if anything comes to light that doesn’t seem quite right. We’ve already looked at the service history, which is perhaps the biggest paperwork area, but there are others to consider too.

The most important document that accompanies your used car is the Registration Document, or V5C. To find out why it’s so important, check out our blog on the most common V5C scams.

It’s also worth looking at the last MoT to see when the next one is due and also whether or not there were any advisories the last time round. An advisory means the car still passes, but will probably need some money spent on it before it’ll pass the next one. Potentially lots of money…

Vehicle Check 6: Recalls

More than 1 million cars are recalled in a typical year, as you can read in our blog on vehicle recalls. As a result, there’s a good chance that car you’re thinking of buying is subject to an outstanding recall. But for just £2.99 you can buy a recall check so you can see if that potential purchase needs any remedial work to make it safe.

Vehicle Check 7: A personal inspection

If you can’t afford even an MoT, the cheapest vehicle check that you can make is the personal inspection. If the very idea freaks you out, then fear not as checking a car over before you buy is easier than you might think, if you’re methodical and you work through a decent list.

To help you conduct your own vehicle check we’ve put together a variety of articles that will guide you through the process. These include a complete guide to buying a used car along with a blog on how to test drive a used car.

If you’re struggling to get to grips with some of the terminology we’ve also produced guides for you that explain some of the key motoring terms, how insurance write-off categories work  and how some of the most common used car scams work.

Read all of these and absorb them, and you’ll have new-found confidence in your abilities to spot a dodgy car. But no matter how good you are with your physical checks, you probably won’t spot a car that’s been stolen or is on finance, so whatever you do, make sure you invest in an HPI Check too. After all, you’ve got a one in three chance of it paying you back very handsomely.

Richard Dredge

June 2016