Getting a mechanic to check out a car before buying it

levi

In the process of buying a second hand car. A lot of the cars get snapped up before I could get a chance to get a mechanic to look at it...

I'm going to test drive a car on Monday which is doing it's NCT on Monday... would it be safe enough to assume the car is in good working order if it passes it's NCT?

I'm going to spend about 2.5-3k. I don't mind paying for the mechanic it's just I think it's gonna be difficult to get him to look at it at short notice.

What are people's thoughts on this? Should I take the chance and go for it or should I wait and get a car that I will have time to get checked out by a mechanic?

Muckie

I never assume any car no matter how good it looks is gonna pass
the NCT. I'd honestly wait till the car has passed the test and get
a mechanic to give it a good look over, you don't want to be spend
time and money trying to fix it once you've bought it.

levi

I'm not assumin it's gonna pass it's NCT, I'm just wonderin if it does pass it's NCT should I risk missing out on the car by wasting time getting a mechanic to look at it...

-Chris-

Depending on the value of the car, it's probably worth it.

An NCT won't spot whether a car's been crashed, badly repainted/repaired, negligently driven or predict any future issues - it's a basic test of roadworthiness.

It shouldn't replace the opinion of an expert.

levi

Cool, that's what I was looking for. Thanks Chris.

I've been looking at cars that are about 3k and the ones in good nick seem to be snapped up very quickly...

bongi69

-Chris- wrote: »

Depending on the value of the car, it's probably worth it.

An NCT won't spot whether a car's been crashed, badly repainted/repaired, negligently driven or predict any future issues - it's a basic test of roadworthiness.

It shouldn't replace the opinion of an expert.

+1. An NCT tests the cars roadworthiness on that particular day. You could drive it out of the center, and the suspension falls off (extreme example, I know).

I'm lucky enough to have several family members that are mechanics, and I wouldn't go out to look at a used car without at least one of them, preferably 2 (2 sets of eyes better than one). The AA do vehicle inspections where the guy comes out, be it to a dealer or someones house if a private sale. They'll be somewhat impartial anyways

levi

My mechanic said he'd look at a car for me... I'm just anxious that the car might be bought by someone else before he can make it out to look at it...

levi

Also, another quick question... how much should I pay for an 02 Clio with 50k miles on it, with it's NCT til Jan 2012 assuming my mechanic gives it the all clear and it's in good enough nick inside? It's listed at 3,250...

-Chris-

levi wrote: »

My mechanic said he'd look at a car for me... I'm just anxious that the car might be bought by someone else before he can make it out to look at it...

If you see a car you like, put a deposit on it on the provisio that you'll definitely buy it if your mechanic finds nothing wrong with it, but if he does find an issue that your deposit will be refunded and you'll walk away from the deal.

As long as your mechanic can view the car in a timely manner, no reasonable seller should have an issue with this arrangement, and if they did it would make me suspicious that they had something to hide.

levi

Cool, thanks for the advice

Anan1

-Chris- wrote: »

If you see a car you like, put a deposit on it on the provisio that you'll definitely buy it if your mechanic finds nothing wrong with it, but if he does find an issue that your deposit will be refunded and you'll walk away from the deal.

As long as your mechanic can view the car in a timely manner, no reasonable seller should have an issue with this arrangement, and if they did it would make me suspicious that they had something to hide.

+1, just make sure it's all in writing.;)

Bodicea

Hi, I did just that, got a mechanic to have a look over a car I was considering buying privately. Car was E2.5k 2002 with 70k miles. Garage was charging E50/hour for checkover, but only had it for half an hour so E25 for check. Well worth it, or so I thought!

I drove home, dropped it into my local garage for change of oil/filter and service....and was told it was burning oil, as evidenced by the soot/exhaust fumes, theywere blue greyish. You can imagine how sick I felt.

Brought it to the dealership and they told me approx E1000 cos it could be both the valves and seals, or just one of em, they wont know til they strip it back..So the car is gonna cost me E3.5k.

I went into the garage that did the check over and he said there was no indication of oil burn, that the seller could have had high performance oil in the car that would totally cover it up. I know expensive oil would probably help reduce oil burn..but not to the extent that it would cover it up completely.

So make sure its a mechanic/garage you trust to do the job right and if anything raises your eyebrow, listen to your gut instinct. I saw the soot in the exhaust, said it could be burning oil, but when the mechanic dismissed it I gave heed to him....when I shouldnt have.