Checking the History When Buying a Used Car

There are many moments in life when you need to change your car. One of the biggest reasons for changing a car is when you decide to have a family. Unfortunately, that trendy, sporty motor is no longer fit for purpose, and you now find that you’ll need a more practical car so that you can fit a child car seat in easily. Of course, in addition to this you’ll also want a good boot size for everything you need to take everywhere you go with a young family.

So, when you start your journey of looking for a used car it’s very important to check out the history behind the vehicle you have in mind. Of course, many garages will do all the leg work for you, for example when you are buying from used cars NI.

So that you can have peace of mind when purchasing a used car, I’ve put together a list of checks or questions you should be asking to make sure everything is all above board and there are no hidden problems that you find out further down the line that could cost you.

1. Service History

All cars when they are new are issued with a service history book. When you’ve decided on the used car that is going to be your next car it’s very important to ask if they have a service history book. This will tell you if your possible new car has had all the services done at the right times and it will also show you if the previous owner took care of the car and kept it in tip top working order.

2. MOT

Having a long MOT is very important. This is something that has to be done every 12 months. You don’t want to buy your new used car and then discover there is only one month left on the MOT. A lot of used car dealerships will, if there are only a few months left on the MOT, renew it for 12 months for you so it’s an important question to ask.

3. HPI check

A HPI check is very important to make sure there is no outstanding finance on the vehicle. This is something you can do yourself at a small cost, but a reputable used car dealer will normally have done this for you, however it’s a vital question to ask because you don’t want to get a surprise later on and find out there is outstanding finance because legally the car will not be yours.

4. Previous Possible Accidents

This is something that not many of us will ask, but it’s important to know if the car you are thinking of purchasing has been involved in an accident, or worse still, been written off in an accident and then repaired to go back on the road. This is very important because it will affect the value of your car, as well as the potential safety of the vehicle if it doesn’t have a new MOT since the accident.

So that is some of the must ask questions when you have decided on your next car to be asking. It’s important that you have a settled mind that what you are buying is safe and in good working order. After all the main passengers in your car will be your children and you definitely don’t want to take risks where they are concerned.

If you have any other tips I would love hear in the comments below.

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