The private car buyers check list

Buying cars privately has always been a bit of a mine field, mainly due to the fact that nearly all private sales are ’sold as seen’. Many people believe this is a byword for “heap of rubbish”, and sometimes this is the case. More often than not its used by sellers to state that the car is sold like it is and no warranty of guarantee is offered. It is up to you to conduct your own checks and ask the right questions about the vehicle.

The private market does come with some downers though, like no guarantees, finance, or money back options, and often the need to haggle for a good price, but if you’re up to the task and can stick to your budget and be direct and polite, the game is yours and you can walk away with a really good deal.

First things first –

Choose your motor, learn about the costs.

Choose the type of car you are looking for and do some homework too.

There are plenty of free sites and sources of information that are easily assessable to conduct research into vehicles. If you research well you can avoid buying certain problem cars which may have many re-occurring issues. The 2001 Honda Civic hatch for instance has transmission problems across that model year, no other model year has any issues like this. Certain Rover and MG cars are fitted with K-series engines which have a bad service record. Half an hour on a computer before you go and look at a car can save you money, hassle later on, and possibly the petrol there as well.

Consider your insurance and tax options, if you are looking to save money on running costs, be sure that the car you are looking to buy is actually cheaper, as this may not always be the case at first glance. The 1997 Vauxhall Astra Arctic 1.6 is usually cheaper to insure than the Vauxhall Astra Merit 1.4 (Hi-T) of the same year, even though the Merit is a smaller engine and has a lower level of trim.

Tax costs are also a big consideration as above 1.4ltr engine capacity the cost of your road excise license (Tax disc) almost doubles from £130 a year to £240 per year (2013). If you’re buying an even bigger engine be sure that you know what its going to cost. This may sound obvious but many people are caught by that fact that bigger cars; 1.8ltr - 2.0ltr for instance, can often be cheaper to buy initially. If you are willing to buy an older model, very good ones can be picked up for peanuts. On the flip side,  smaller cars (1.4 and below) can often be much more expensive initially. The offset is the running and servicing costs, make sure you are aware of this. A bigger more complex engine (2.0ltr 16v multi point injection twin overhead cam zetec engine) is going to be more expensive to run an service than a smaller simpler engine (1.4ltr 8v single overhead cam single point injection).

Also allocate an expenditure limit for any possible repairs it may need directly after buying and make sure they don’t out-weight the cost of the car otherwise you will be throwing good money after bad. Obviously the condition of the car is up to you, if you are looking for a project then you may not be too worried as much of the fittings and fixtures will probably be replaced. If you need a family run around or car for work, then you want to be able to drive it right away with no problems.

Be strong:

Often buying a car privately can be an awkward task, you have your head filled with what you are looking for in that vehicle but don’t forget what you are really looking for, a good deal on a sound car.

If the motor you are looking at doesn’t check all the right mechanical and/or aesthetic boxes, no matter how much you like it or however good a price it is, have the strength to walk away. There are plenty more cars out there. Also don’t get caught up on small details if the car is good, you need to be able to look past minor faults and fancies. For instance if the car has a great interior, service history, tax, and MOT, no mechanical faults and runs great, you can look past a cracked bumper or missing wing mirror. Likewise a rip in the back seat and faded paintwork don’t spell mechanical disaster.

Another part of being strong is to know when and how to change the price to a more favourable one and negotiate a sale. Often people who sell cars privately have a price in mind that they will accept. They can often work that into the asking price; I want £1200 for my car, so I’ll list it for £1350 to give room for negotiation, if I get £1350 then I’m £150 up anyway, if they drop me £150 I get what a wanted. Being aware of this can help you negotiate a better price, be tactful, talk to them, work up a rapport if you can. Ask about the car, see if there is anything that could help you justify a lower price. Sometimes just seeing the cash can be enough for some sellers, it’s a psychological thing. If I want a car listed for £500 for £450 or even £400, sometimes just taking the wedge of cash out of my wallet can be enough (I usually use £10s, as £400 in 10s looks much more than £400 in £20s and £50s), I’ll say something like “well I think I’ve seen enough. I’ve got £450 for you here if you‘ll take it”. I’ve started this sentence with a possible negative “I’ve seen enough”, I’ll pause and let them think “oh, well, better luck next time I guess”, and then I come in with the money on show with the “£450 for you” part. The “for you” part is quite important, it says this money is yours all you have to do is take it. This won’t work 100% of the time, and sometimes you get people who just won’t budge because the car is worth the money and they know it, or they are that stubborn. Most people will come down a bit so its worth trying your luck and testing the water with them.

Last but not least; don’t feel like you have to buy the car just because you have gone to see it. It is perfectly acceptable to thank the person for there time and walk away, just be polite enough to let them know you’re not interested.

Don’t go over budget:

Set yourself a firm limit on how much you are willing to pay for the car, and don’t be beaten on price. See if you can nock them down a few quid before sealing the deal, its money you can use later against tax, insurance, MOT, or fuel to get you home.

If you are buying a car to do up a bit and sell on or just do up, make sure the price of the car doesn’t’t eat into your ‘doing-up’ money, if you haven’t got a figure for how much you want to spend after buying, you need to decide on one.

This comes back to researching the car you are going to view, forums are often a good online search result to look into more, and most cars have forums dedicated to certain makes and models packed full on owners or prospective owners just like you. A quick read can reveal a lot. Most forums are also free to join and only take a couple of minutes to register. You can ask hundreds of people about their experiences with the car you are looking at buying, most forum members are happy to help. If you’re not sure what a car is worth, you can find out.

If the car has no tax and/or MOT or faults be sure that the price represents this realistically. Tax and MOT contribute a very high percentage to the asking price; a £1500 car with 6 months tax and MOT could be worth about £600-1200 with no tax or MOT (vehicle dependant). Also if the car has short tax and/or MOT the price should represent this as well. Also something to keep in mind is that an MOT is not a representation of the mechanical soundness of a car, it just states that at the time of issue the vehicle satisfied certain basic tests. 

Take a torch:

Grab yourself a small torch like a maglite or similar, engines and wheel arches are dark places and sometimes you need to throw some light on the matter when you’re poking around under the car.

Check list:

The mileage:

Check the mileage against the year,  standard road car mileage is around 10,000 miles per year, so a 10 year old car bang on the mileage marker will have completed around 100,000 miles, you ideally want to be looking for a car that falls under that mileage marker, i.e.: a 10 year old car that has done 60,000 miles.

Also calculate for engine size when considering mileage, 95,000 miles might not be a lot on an 11 year old 2ltr car (it falls within the mileage marker), but on a 1ltr it is, simply because smaller engines develop less power and torque so they work harder for their living.

Mileage can be discounted sometimes dependant on the engine type; diesels on the whole are much stronger than petrol engines and certain manufacturers are much more reliable than others. A 10 year old Mercedes C class 2.0 diesel with 150k on the clock with a full Mercedes service history would be a car I’d look at twice for sure, maybe even buy it if the price was right. But a 10 year old 1.2ltr petrol Ford Fiesta with no service history with 110k on the clock wouldn’t be a safe bet.

FSH? (Full service history)

A lot of private cars do not come with this or it will be a partial service history, this is not too much of a worry if you have some mechanical knowledge or a friend on hand who does. Try and look for cars with FSH or part service history as it is very useful in determining a good price for the car and helps if you want to sell it on. It may also illuminate recurring problems the car may have had such a constant non-starting or repeated call-outs to the garage for issues etc.

Sometimes though, service history, even a long one can count for nothing if the car develops a big fault or many small ones after purchase. Service history is just an indication of how well the vehicle may have been looked after previously.

Things to look out for in the service history:

Take your time looking at the service history before you part with any cash (if the car has it) if you are hurried along buy the seller; they may have something they don’t want you to see until after you have parted with your money, be aware of this.

Look for regular servicing on there, oil, filter changes, tyres, brake pads etc, these are all ‘consumable’ parts that you need to change on a car periodically, check dates on common items, if the tyres have been changed more than three times in a year ask why. It may because they fitted budget tyres and drive a lot, it may be because the car was ragged about a lot.

Check for any major fault rectification, such as gearbox problems, cylinder head gasket, rocker cover replacement, anything to do with the engines main components like pistons, con-rods, crank shaft, drive shafts, CV joints, and anything to do with the steering, suspension, wheel bearings, chassis, and any major bodywork repairs or alteration (this is usually a tell tail sign of a crash) if a bumper has been changed this is nothing to worry about, if the bumper, front headlight, grill, and wing have been changed in one sitting, this is most likely a crashed car, the crash may not have been serious but be aware that crashes can do more than bend bodywork, they put immense stress on internal parts also. 

If they tell you that the cam belt has been changed or the brakes done recently, or another major mechanical job check for a receipts of the work, cam belts if fitted incorrectly will destroy an engine, brakes stop you hitting things, it is paramount these are fitted by a competent or trained person.

Often a seller will tell you the car has new ‘this and that’ to make it look better, always consider why they have replaced items, obviously brake pads, tyres, fan belts, cam belts, bulbs, and such are consumable parts that need be changed periodically. Brake discs, valves, crank shafts, wheel bearings etc are not consumable parts, and you should always ask why they have been changed, if they seem evasive, take note of this as you inspect the rest of the car.

Engine Bay:

The engine is the singularly most important piece of kit in a car, pay close attention to this. When you lift the bonnet the engine will usually be less than clean, but with a little practice you can quickly tell what is everyday engine-muck, and what has more serious connotations.

Look out for leaks, or evidence of leaks from engine components, and look out for excessive oil splatter around the engine, a bit of oil here and there is fine, also look out for areas that look ‘too’ clean, this may be evidence of an oil leak or other leak/splatter that has been cleaned away prior to you arriving to hide the evidence so to speak. Pay particular attention to any oil splatter or evidence of leaking around the rocker cover gasket or head gasket, rocker cover splatter may be caused by a blocked breather, this is not serious, anything around the head gasket could be.

Check the pipes in the engine; squeeze them to check they are not cracked or failing, check they are fitted properly and are not hanging off or have split under the fittings, or have been tucked behind something to look good when really it should be connected to something.

Check around the radiator for coolant leaks or residue of coolant around pipe ends and under the radiator. The overall condition of the radiator should also be checked as rust kills radiators.

Look at the HT leads and coil, for wear, split leads, or loose fittings.

Check the battery connections for furring, or if they have been changed very recently ask why, also look at the battery to see if it has been topped up recently, people often use a flat screwdriver to pry open the filling points or unscrew them. This is usually nothing to worry about but you can soon tell if the battery has been repeatedly filled, this is not a good sign.

Take the oil filler cap off and look on the inside of the cap, this gives a good impression of the condition of the oil, usually it will be blacky-brown but still a little see-through, dip you finger into it and rub it together between your fingers is should still retain some if its original golden/orange colour, if it is very black and sooty looking this car is well over due an oil change, and you have to consider how long it has been run like that. Also look out for extremely clean oil this will probably be due to an oil change, so check the dipstick too this is a good thing obviously, as long as the filter has been changed as well. Smell the engine oil filler hole, it should smell a bit like petrol and oil, that generic ‘enginy’ smell, any overly metallic smells, or foul smells point to problems inside the engine.

Listen to the engine running from outside the car with bonnet up, any rattles, knocks, or tapping can point to a number of problems, in older cars this can be common until the engine warms up. If it persists, consider the possibility of more serious problems, valves, piston slap, manifold cracked etc.

Also listen for any loud whining, whizzing, or rev inconsistencies, modern engines run quiet and smooth, whizzing and whining can point to bearing failure or drive belt failure. Rev inconsistencies can point to a number of things including, ECU problems, the engine not breathing properly, fuelling and ignition problems, or any one of the many sensors that control flow and monitor temperatures. Also check it is not labouring when it starts, engines should turn over on the slightest turn of the key, unless they have been standing for a while, so ask when the car was last driven.

Turn your ear to the exhaust and listen for any blowing from under the engine through to the centre pipe and back box. This could mean an exhaust change or a simple repair so whip out your torch and take a look while the engine is running. 

Turn the wheel to full lock and check the drive shaft gaiters behind the brake discs, squeeze them to look for any cracks or failure therein, grease splatter in the wheel arch is a good sign of gaiter failure. While you’re under there check the brake discs for scoring and the pads for wear (you should be able to see some of the pads at least, sometimes there is a hole in the caliper designed for this purpose). Also look at the brake lines for wear and surrounding areas or leaking brake fluid - walk away.

Check the engine mounts, by placing your hands on top of the engine block and trying to rock it forward and backwards, it should barely move, in fact you will probably get more movement out of the suspension, any movement on the engine can be a sign of worn or broken engine mounts, get your torch out an look for them to see if they are cracked or poorly mounted, if the car jolts when drive is taken up or it is awkward to change gear smoothly this can be a sign of worn engine mounts as well.

While you conduct all these checks leave the engine running, be careful when poking around in the engine bay obviously. By leaving it running you will be able to tell if anything changes once it begins to get up to temperature and noises that may occur after a few minutes ticking over, or of the engine heats up too quickly or develops something else out of the ordinary.

           
Get back in the car and take the engine idle speed up to 2000 rpm and hold it there. It should run smoothly, if rev inconsistencies show up this can point to a number of issues from breathing to vaccum hoses, ignition or even ECU.

Clutch, gears, handbrake, and steering:

The handbrake can be checked while stationary, by taking it off and then re-applying it, just make sure it doesn’t come up too far. You should be looking for 3-7 clicks dependant on the car, if it seems loose or flappy, the cable is probably stretched, if it seems overly tight, the cable was probably stretched and then adjusted for play. Most cars have a tightening screw somewhere under the rear of the car, look for this and if it is overly tightened this is a sign of a stretched cable, not to much of an issue, but be aware. Another cause of over-pull on a handbrake can be overly worn rear brake shoes, difficult to check as rear break drums shield the actual brake shoes from view. If the shoes are worn a lot and the cable stretched the handbrake may not keep you stationary on a hill, so check it when you test drive it.

Check the wear on the clutch by putting it into gear with the engine running and then lifting the clutch slowly to see when it starts the pick the bite up, the higher up the pedal the more worn the clutch, but this can also be down to the clutch cable being stretched or in the case of hydraulic systems, one that has been poorly setup. You can check for wear on the clutch by pulling away on the flat on just the clutch, if the car picks up smoothly and progressively as you raise the pedal this is fine, if it seems reluctant to pick up the bite this is a sign of a worn clutch, it will slip as more torque is put through it, it won’t pick up smoothly or the engine will rev and nothing will happen at all.

Also check for action while driving the car both changing up and down, see how the clutch and gearbox handle the changes, look for jerkiness or notchiness when changing gear, (as long as it isn’t your clutch control) jerking when pulling away and changing gear can be a sign of a worn clutch and/or broken or worn engine mounts, make sure the gears engage properly and don’t slip out of gear under load. Check for play on the gear stick as well, you will probably find some, but you don’t want to be “stirring the rice pudding” in neutral or flapping about in gear. Sometimes a gear change can be a little notchy on the way in, this could possibly be clutch not disengaging completely or just a top up of gear oil.

Steering is pretty obvious, you want the car to go where you point it, any deviation or uncertainty from the car is a bad sign. Look for static play in the steering while stationery, turn the steering wheel from side to side and see when it takes up the front wheels, anything over and inch of free-play, or any play while steering; walk away.

Look for any wander or wobble while driving, make sure if you get an opportunity, to take the car along a duel carriage way, so you can get it to 70mph, this way you can tell if there is any imbalance in the wheels (it may only show up at over 50-60mph for instance), this again is not too much of an issue but unbalanced wheels if they have been ;like that for a while will put unnecessary strain on the wheel bearings and cause other problems. If the car wanders either to either side this is a sign of either under/over inflated tyres on the front or rear on one side, or tracking, it is obvious here which is more desirable and cheaper to remedy.

Wheels and bodywork:

Check the tires for any uneven wear which might point to over/under inflation, tracking or alignment problems, excessive outer edge wear often points to aggressive cornering; a sign the car has probably been around the block pretty fast. 

Reach in through the wheel and run your fingers up the brake discs to check for scoring (make sure you don’t do this soon after driving because they will be very hot.), minor ripples are common as brake pads don’t wear evenly, but major scoring or cracks on either side will need replacing.

Grasp the top of the tyre and rock the car, listen and feel for any excessive play or knocking which generally means the wheel bearings have had it, that or the wheel nuts have not been tightened properly, equally as bad. Sometimes this can point to suspension problems as well.

While you’re down with the wheels look up into the wheel arches to check for rust, tyre scuffs, and look at the suspension for any leaking or major rust therein. Tire scuffs usually appear on cars that have been lowered but not set up correctly, so that when the suspension compresses under load there is not enough resistance to stop the tires scrubbing on the wheel arches. If the suspension has been modified and not set up correctly this can impact the cars stability around corners and at speed.

Look behind the wheel at the brake lines, check they are not bulging in places, split, or leaking, or have any evidence of wear, scuffs, scratches etc, brake lines are tough pipes, and not too costly to replace, but if they are split, cracking or failing, you might not make it to the garage to replace them……

If the car has alloy wheels, ask if they were fitted as standard ‘OE’ or a later ‘aftermarket’ fitment, this in most cases should be fairly obvious. This is not an issue unless they have used standard steel rim wheel nuts to fix the alloys. Look at the alloys for cracks, as alloy wheels can be prone to hairline 

fractures after an impact, this means replacement. Chips around the edge are unfortunately common on alloy wheels and are a sign of curbing, this is usually not an issue but can impact tracking if curbed hard or at speed, this can also cause tyre wall damage so check for this too. Also ask if the tyres have ever been flat on the alloys, if yes, ask were they re-seated at a garage as alloy wheels if they go flat need to be re-seated and sealed as opposed to just pumped up again because of the way that tyres are beaded into alloy wheels.

Steel wheels are self explanatory, if they look ok, they usually are, and steels will take ten times the pounding an alloy wheel will take and shrug it off. They can be buckled though so check for this by driving the car. Any signs of side to side self-steer on the wheel generally means the front wheel/s are buckled, any severe shaking on the rear means the same. It does take a very hefty impact to buckle a steel rim though.

Look out for rust around the sills of the car and nose around underneath with your torch, pay close attention to the exhaust and look for any rust therein, a bit of minor surface rust is to be expected on older cars, especially around the wheel arches, and door sills, just make sure there are no significant rust holes in the main chassis, arches, and exhaust pipes. 

Interior:

           

Interior is pretty much up to you as to how scrappy you are willing to have it, but it tells a cars story quite well. Obviously if you are buying an ex decorators or builders van/car, then don’t expect it to be tip-top.

Look for things like cigarette burns, dog hair, torn carpets, seat edges, an interior will often tell you how well the car is maintained, most people who look after the interior, look after the rest of the car too. Though there are exceptions to this of course; scrappy interior – perfect engine. Super interior – never mind the rest of the car. Just be aware of this and how much you are willing to take if the interior is awful.

Make sure you check the spare tyre too, make sure it isn’t flat or bald, see if the original jack and tool kit/wheel brace are still with the car, if not; ask where they are, that seller may have bough the car without it. This isn’t a big deal just remember you will need to get a jack otherwise you’ll be stuck if you get a flat. The spare wheel well tends to get neglected, this generally isn’t an issue at all. You can tell if the rear of the car leaks as it tends to drain into the spare wheel well. If this is rusted badly then the car  leaks, a little rust can be ignored especially on older cars. Ideally you don’t want to see any though.

           

Modification:

How much aftermarket modification you are willing to take on a vehicle is again up to you, but one thing you must understand about AM modification on standard road cars, is that it rarely if ever adds to the value of the car unless very professionally done. Also your average driver doesn’t want modifications, so when it comes to resale of the vehicle unless you can return it to stock, your market is limited. Equally don’t be drawn in to paying more for the car just because it has non OE alloys, a bumper kit, and fancy tail lights on it.

The most common modification is alloy wheels; this is not something to worry about as long as they fit the car and the tires are good.

Other common modifications include rear lights, front lights, gear-knobs, air intakes/filters, stereos, bumpers, and exhausts. All these if fitted professionally or by someone with skill in the trade or decent vehicle practical knowledge bar the gear-knob, should be fine as long as they work and comply with the law, but do ask if they have the original part/s as well.

Be wary of lowered suspension, if done incorrectly this can have adverse effects on the cars stability. Also look out for oversized tires; i.e.: a car that usually takes a 120 section/14” rim fitted with a 190 section/17” rim. This would require arch and suspension work, though a lot of people don’t bother, this is again self-evident; the wheels/tires will most likely look too big for the car, or “scrub” on the wheel arches when cornering and braking. Ask if they have the stock parts if you’re not happy.

Things like air-filter and exhaust boxes are commonly fitted by boy-racer types as a ‘power’ or ‘noise’ upgrade, be aware that these cars have probably been around the block a bit, and fast too. Though you will get the exception to the boy-racer guy/girl, who is the 17-20 something person who really knows about, and looks after their motor. Try to avoid categorizing them before you have met them and seen the car. However a higher flow intake and higher flow exhaust means higher fuel consumption as a rule of thumb. It can also lead to breathing/ignition issues as the stock air intake system is tailored for optimum resistance and fuelling, be aware of this and look out for it when the car is running.

Head or tail Light modification is fine as long as all the lights work in the way that they are supposed to, and they will pass an MOT.

Bumpers and skirts are usually fine if fitted well and as long as you like that kind of thing, but do be aware that very low body-kits though they may look good don’t go too well with speed bumps, and do ask if they have the original parts too.

Another thing you need to be aware of is the additional cost of insuring a modified car, you may think “I won’t tell them”. But consider if you crash and need to make a claim, an assessor will come by to look at the damage, and sees you have undeclared items on your car, don’t be surprised if your insurance won’t pay out.

Throwing good money after bad:

Naturally it is entirely up to you on what car you buy and in what state you purchase that car in but you have to consider the ‘cost’ of that vehicle. Cost here is meant to be that which you spend after purchase.

Though there are a whole host of mines to step on listed above, plus many more I have not mentioned. Buying a second hand car privately shouldn’t be a daunting prospect if you keep your wits about you and do your research beforehand. A touch of basic mechanical knowledge can go a long way too, either yourself, or a knowledgeable friend.