Buying a used car in Ireland guide

L-M

Lately I'm hearing of a lot of inexperienced people going to view, or buying, used cars only to realise they've been caught out in some way or another. After reading this guide I hope you'll be able to be go, with confidence and buy a used car in Ireland.

Where to start?
There are a number of ways and means to view used cars for sale in Ireland. From newspapers, websites and onto the Dealers forecourts. I'm going to take you through buying from both a Car Dealer and a private seller.

Privately - Where to start?
Buying privately can be a daunting task, and sometimes it can be very risky. So where do you start? Assuming you have picked your car from a website or newspapers there are a number of free, simple things you can do before you leave your seat.

What can you do with just the registration? Firstly, you can check if someone else has just bought this car and realised their mistake and trying to flog it off before it costs them any more money. Motortax.ie offer a service by which you can see if the car has changed hands within the last three months.
https://www.motortax.ie/OMT/changeOwnership.do
By typing the registration of the vehicle into the above system you will either find it will say
"No Vehicle Registration Certificate issued in the last 3 months" This means the car hasn't changed hands in the last three months according to the system.
Note: The car may still be in someone else's hands, just not the registered owner. This is why you should always check a form of ID with the seller and check the logbook to see if it's the same. If it's not you should then ask how they acquired the car. In a lot of cases it could be they have taken it as a trade in or selling it for a friend etc. This is when you should be more vigilant.
"Transferred to an Individual on" This means the car has changed hands in the last three months.
Note: 3 months is a very short period of ownership for a motor vehicle. They could have a very genuine reason for selling (They don't like the car, it doesn't suit their needs etc.), but more often than not there is something wrong with the car that the current owner only realised after they purchased the car. Tread carefully with this car, it may very well be one to avoid.
Or "Purchased by a Dealer on" This means the car was taken into stock by a Dealership in the last three months.
Note: No need for concern here, it simply means whoever you are buying the car from is a Dealer.


Time to make the call
Once you've checked this and you are happy, you have a little bit more information to back you up before you go and make the first bit of contact with the buyer. In my personal opinion it's always better to ring the seller. It's a lot harder for a seller to think up of a lie on the spot. Before you ring, take out a piece of paper so you can write down everything the seller tells you, make sure all this information corresponds to the advert. While on the phone they may tell you they're selling because of the arrival of a new baby, but in person it may be because of the loss of a job, it's always handy to have this information so you can question the buyer, and reveal a few hidden facts. Ask as many questions as you can, it may be better to have these written down before you call, so you don't get sidetracked yourself and forget to ask.
You're first question to ask someone when you ring is,
"Hi, I'm enquiring about the car you have for sale on/in x-website or y-newspaper" and say no more.
What this does is it makes sure the person you are buying the car off only has the one car for sale. If they say "Which one?" you can then go on to ask a few more questions like are they a Trader etc. Being a trader isn't necessarily a bad thing, it all depends on what kind of a trader they are.
You can then go on to ask if they car has ever been in an accident and if the mileage displayed is correct (You can ask is the verified by a documented service history). For both of these questions look for a direct answer, don't let the seller sway off the question with an indirect answer.

So, if after the initial contact it may now be time to arrange a viewing. If it's the case that the car is in the same county as you currently live in, you may leave a car history check until after you have viewed the car. If it's the case that you a travelling from Dublin to Cork, it may save your time and fuel costs to do a history check before hand.

Car History Check
As long as you have the registration and mileage you can now do a Car History check. These checks can show up nothing (No news is good news, in most cases), but they can also show up lots of reasons for you to stay away from a car. The likes of motorcheck.ie and cartell.ie offer a history check service. By entering the registration into their system, it will first give you a brief description of the car. If this matches the car you are buying then you can move on to paying the fee to have the full check done. (As above, this should only be used prior to viewing the car if it's a long distance away and if you are seriously considering buying the car) Once you get the results of the full check, the website themselves will highlight any discrepancies. Simple things you can do yourself are to make sure the car is the same colour, how many owners it has, how often the owners have changed etc.
Note: Any irregularities with this you can either contact the company themselves or you can contact the owner and query it. If they owner sounds as if they knew it all along, and are starting to shy up or mutter their words, it's time to look for another car.


Viewing the car
Once you've done all your checks and gotten as much information about the car and its history you can then decide whether to view the car or not.

Day or night?
If you decide to arrange a viewing, day or night it doesn't really matter. In daylight you'll be able to see the condition of the car and depending on the weather you'll be able to see the condition of the paintwork. At night time (don't forget your inspection lamp) you'll obviously be a lot more cautious. The strong light of the inspection lamp will show up more than normal sunlight, which when buying is always a good thing. At night time just be more careful are thoroughly look through the car, in case you miss anything. Never view a car in the rain, it's the worst possible weather, not only because you can't see what the bodywork or engine bay is really like, you'll naturally want to get out of the rain and you will rush the sale along unknowing to yourself.

So, first things first. Take a quick walk around the car. Check to see if all the panels fit together nicely, no unusual gaps and the car is symmetric. Look at the paint work, does it all look to be the same quality? Is the paint newer looking on some panels than others? Is it all the same shade?
Open the boot. Put your hand in and feel around, is it damp? Check the pockets left and right, are they damp? Lift the carpet; are the spare wheel and the relevant tools there? The locknut? If not, where are they? Any sign of accident damage? Sometimes the presence of a bottle of oil can indicate that the car may be burning oil. Close the boot, make sure it closes and that it lines up. Are the original badges there? Do they look like they haven't been placed correctly? Do they look new?
Open the bonnet and take a look. Look down and the front left and front right of the car, where two long bars come out to meet the bumpers. If there's any sign of creasing etc. Or new panels they car may previous of been crashed. Can you see any major rust? Look at the bolts that hold the wings in. Do they look like they've been removed? The both wings line up with the lights and the bumpers on both sides?
While you have the bonnet open you can look to see if the timing belt has been done on the car (if the car has one). This is normally marked in white tipex either on the engine cover or somewhere around the engine bay. If this hasn't been done (Most cars are due by 60,000, some Fords last in 100,000. Check this on Google before you leave) ask the owner about it. If they can't prove when it was done take into account that this will have to be done, this is a very important part of the engine and can be very expensive to do (and can require a new or rebuilt engine if it snaps.).

Windows All windows have a marking by which company they're made and they also have a year. Look for the marking in the corner of the window, read the name and then look at the bottom. You should see a stand alone number, useless with a few dots around it. Eg .....9 means the window is from 1999 or 2009 , ......2 could be 2002. Also all the four names should match. Along with the front windscreen (a dead giveaway for a replaced windscreen the tax disc holder). If any of these windows don't match, especially on the side it may mean that they have been replaced at some stage.

Numberplates Is there one new and one old numberplate? Or two new ones? If there is one new numplate take note of the bumper, does it look freshly painted? One new numberplate could easily be because one fell off, but more often than not, the old one was damaged.

Checking the oil. This is important. There's an oil dip stick and an oil filler cap. Have a tissue at hand, pull out the oil dip stick, wipe it off and insert it back in again. And now pull it back out and see where does the oil come to. And the end of the stick about an inch up you should see two markings, one for min. and one for max. It should be up near the max, not very low and not over filled (both are as equally damaging). If there's no oil, just walk away. Now onto the oil colour. If the oil is as black as coal it will indicate the car hasn't been serviced in awhile. If it's golden it normally indicates clear oil and it's just after being serviced (Most diesel oils will be darker, and the colour may not indicate recent servicing). If the oil on the dipstick is creamy or coffee colour, this normally indicates that the oil is mixing with the water and the head gasket is gone. Again, walk away. The oil filler cap may have this creamy residue on it put that's normally due to condensation in the engine and is fine.

The inside of the car. So, if you've gotten this far, and you're still happy, start to take a look inside. Some cars wear better than others. A car with 90,000 miles on it shouldn't have the driver's seat bolster completely worn, the steering wheel or the handbrake shouldn't be too worn either. Moderate wear is fair enough, but excessive wear could indicate clocking or and unminded car. Pull the seat belt out. Does it retract back quickly or slowly? A slow retracting seatbelt is the result of excessive use, again, this should be relevant to the mlieage. A "low mileage" car shouldn't retract slowly.

Carpet Feel the carpets. Under the dash and under the pedals. Is it damp? If it's soaking wet, there could be a leak and further problems. You will usually get a damp smell as well.

Buttons Push every button, open and close everything, turn the radio up and down, play a CD, open and close all the windows, turn the lights on and off, push the seat back and forward, up and down.

Now it's time to start the car. Turn the ignition onto the first click and all the warning lights should flicker on. Make sure all these lights come on (airbag etc.) and they go back off again. If they don't come on it could mean the bulb has been removed to try and hide an existing, expensive problem. Now it's time to start the car. (Ask the seller if they would leave the car sit for half an hour or an hour before you come so that you can start it from cold. Starting from cold can highlight some problems which starting from warm wouldn't. So, start the car, make sure it starts fine and that there are no major rattles or noises (diesel cars are considerably louder than petrol. Petrol cars should be reasonable quiet. Any loud noises from a petrol engine should be a cause for concern.

Driving the car It's now time to take it for a spin. Remember you're spending €€€'s on this car so make sure you get a good ten or fifteen minute spin. Drive the car up the revs in all gears and make sure to change back down through the gears as well. Is there any smoke coming out of the car on harsh acceleration? A hint of blue in the smoke indicates the car is burning oil. The car should smoothly change up and down gears Note: All cars differ, so some will drive differently from others. You'll have to be able to differentiate yourself between a car that isn't driving right to a car that is driving differently to your own. Test the brakes; make sure you have a good clear path behind you and that the passengers know you are going to hit the brakes hard. Any weird feelings? Do the wheels wobble badly?

Once you're happy with the way the car drives, take it back and stop. Turn the car off, leave it 20 seconds and start it again. It should start smoothly (for turbo engine cars, leave it a minute or so before starting again.)
When was the car NCT'd? Check the condition of the tyres. If the car is due an NCT soon (in the next 2-3 months) ask the owner would they be willing to put the car through an NCT beforehand. If not, why not? Bigger cars can cost a small fortune to put through on things like emissions, suspension etc. so thread carefuly.

Unfortunately people seem to rely on an NCT in this country. All an NCT means is the car isn't overly rusty, all the warning lights work and most of the mechanics of the car are fine, brakes etc.. Note: The NCT does not mean the engine is in perfect working order, or that the car hasn't been crashed before. Is it taxed? If not, why not? How long is the tax out?
Open the glove box and look for the manual. Look for the service history book and read through it in details. If there isn't one you are going to have to trust your instincts to know if the car is genuine or not. If it's during the day you could easily ring the garage where it was serviced to make sure it has been. To point out the obvious, if the whole service history is written in the same colour pen with the same colour hand writing it could well be fake and it's time to walk away.

Bargaining
Opening the bargaining with a general phrase like "How are you fixed on price?" is better than offering the seller 2,000 less than what they want. A general phrase will always let you know how up for bargaining the person is. It also depends on how well the car is priced, they may not bargain with you at all. It's not about how much you get off; it's about how much the car is worth. Like if you were buying a car for 2,100 that you knew was worth 2,600, you wouldn't walk away from the deal just because they won't come anyway lower than 2,100. Priced to sell is generally priced to sell and most sellers will hold out for the money they want.

It's always better to have a second person with you, four eyes are better than two and all that.

And remember you are not obliged to buy the car. If it's not right, if something doesn't feel right, just walk away. If there is an underlying fault with the car the seller has wasted your time, you haven't wasted there. Always feel free to leave.

Lots of people either want cash or draft. If it's anything over €5,000 you should arrange a safe way to deliver the money. Always meet the seller at their house. If something does not feel right just turn around and walk away. If you are going on a test drive make sure the money is well secured in your car.

I hope the above helps people in the future, and hopefully it might stop one or two being caught out.

Safe buying!

EPM

Excellent post LM and thanks for taking the time to write it up.

CiniO

Great guide.
I think it should be sticky.

voxpop

Good write-up. Lots of stuff to look out for

. Now onto the oil colour. If the oil is as black as coal it will indicate the car hasn’t been serviced in awhile. If it’s golden it normally indicates clear oil and it’s just after being serviced.

Grand advice for petrols but in a diesel, the oil is gonna be black. It doesnt suggest when the oil was last changed.

L-M

voxpop wrote: »

Good write-up. Lots of stuff to look out for





Grand advice for petrols but in a diesel, the oil is gonna be black. It doesnt suggest when the oil was last changed.

Sorry, I'll change that. I've dealt with mostly petrol in my time!

MidlandsM

Nice write up to see, but I can't concur with the notion that viewing a car in the dark is ok.
I'd only recommend viewing a car in the dark if you really have to, but never do a deal on a car you've only seen in the dark. Come back the following morning or whenever in daylight hours to conclude any deal or purchase. Many many people have regretted buying in the dark.

garhjw

really good post limerick man. almost an idiots guide to buying a 2nd hand car...

thank you

Boom_Bap

Thanks for this Limerick Man.

I'm going to be selling my second car soon, so i'm going to use this as a snag list on it.

I'll even give it to anyone who inspects the car if they are unsure about the buying process.

TestTransmission

The most important part about buying a 2nd hand car is not to buy one off Limerick man

kiddums

Thanks LimerickMan.

I didn't know about some of these checks and I'm looking for a new car at the minute. This will be very useful.

I think I'll print it out.

v240gltse

hi lm

well done on an excellent guide and appreciate all the effort you have put into it. Mods can we please make this a sticky in the motors forum !!!!!

regards

brendan

v240gltse

v240gltse wrote: »

hi lm

well done on an excellent guide and appreciate all the effort you have put into it. Mods can we please make this a sticky in the motors forum !!!!!

regards

brendan

Defo needs to be a sticky

Seweryn

Limerick man wrote: »

Lately I’m hearing of a lot of inexperienced people going to view, or buying, used cars only to realise they’ve been caught out in some way or another. After reading this guide I hope you’ll be able to be go, with confidence and buy a used car in Ireland.

That is a Great Guide. Thanks for spending time on it. Good job .

Just change the details regarding the Diesel engine oil, as suggested previously. The colour of the Diesel engine oil should be dark graphite with some clarity at the thin layer covering the dipstick.

Bigus

I Can't see any mention of FINANCE, vital to check there is no finance on anything less than 8 years old.

Don't take the sellers word for it.

If there is finance outstanding this needn't be a show stopper, but make sure its clear before you pay or pay the finance house directly yourself with the balance to the seller.

meercat

very informative
thanks for taking the time

MidlandsM

+1 , finance is crucial check on many cars.
Also, the zoning in on the importance of checking the oil, but no equal attention is directed in checking the coolant levels and if oil/sluge is in the expansion bottle indicating headgasket failure.
No mention on how to check for the impending failure of a dual mass flywheel, very important in near all diesel cars and van models, and a real cuase as to why cars come to market because the vendor knows that replacemnt of these expensive components is in the post, and wants rid before it goes BANG.
Also, no mention of checking brake discs for scoring/lips, so easily done with finger access in between alloy wheel spokes.
Also, checking the chassis/vin no against documentation.

wandatowell

Some excellent advice right there thanks.



Pity I didnt see it earlier as I bought meself a new motor today

-Corkie-

Great post Limerick man fair play and good on the Mods for making it a sticky. Hope it helps someone..

gussieg

like others have said, thanks alot for this i really could have done with it when let out to buy the trouble i did. 3 months on still no log book, i inputted the reg into the link you gave and it came back reg not found! so, things are trickier than i thought. and as petrol has just hit 1.50 l today, a poor choice on that count . doh doh doh doh! thanks again:)

Rega

Fantastic post LM. Cheers.

gazmc18

Great post! And good detail too.

Only thing i dont agree with is looking a car over in the dark. Lamp or not you could easily miss something and you can not see an overall view of the car. By all means view it in the dark but dont buy it untill you see it in daylight.

L-M

gazmc18 wrote: »

Great post! And good detail too.

Only thing i dont agree with is looking a car over in the dark. Lamp or not you could easily miss something and you can not see an overall view of the car. By all means view it in the dark but dont buy it untill you see it in daylight.

I've seen alot of cars, and in MY personal experience, I've spotted alot more with a light in the dark than I have in the daylight... But again this thread is my own opinion and shouldn't be taken as gospel!

MidlandsM

Limerick man wrote: »

I've seen alot of cars, and in MY personal experience, I've spotted alot more with a light in the dark than I have in the daylight... But again this thread is my own opinion and shouldn't be taken as gospel!

fair comment,but I think its a flawed suggestion to view any car/vehicle in the dark.

L-M

MidlandsM wrote: »

fair comment,but I think its a flawed suggestion to view any car/vehicle in the dark.

I've viewed 100's of cars. I didn't copy and paste my post from somewhere else, it's all out of my head. I'll change it if ye think it's flawed.

MidlandsM

Limerick man wrote: »

I've viewed 100's of cars. I didn't copy and paste my post from somewhere else, it's all out of my head. I'll change it if ye think it's flawed.

I know LM, and you're a dab hand but for an inexperienced car buyer who does'nt know whats what, its real bad advice.
I think you should change it and add the finance check as well as all the other suggestions listed in this thread.

Still, good post man.

L-M

MidlandsM wrote: »

I know LM, and you're a dab hand but for an inexperienced car buyer who does'nt know whats what, its real bad advice.
I think you should change it and add the finance check as well as all the other suggestions listed in this thread.

Still, good post man.

I reccomended to do a Car History check, which will tell you if the car has finance on it or not, but I'll include it anyway.

Edit: I can't actually edit the post anymore! LOL

Compton

Great post, maybe it'd be good to post a list of sites where to look for cars to complete the list?

L-M

shblob wrote: »

Great post, maybe it'd be good to post a list of sites where to look for cars to complete the list?

That list would be endless! The reason I included the history check sites are because I've payed for and used both and found them satisfactory.

sean1141

a lot of good info in there.. fair play LM.. as said in most diesels the oil will be black.. mine is usually black the day after i service it! also i carry a liter of oil a bottle of brake fluid and a bottle of power steering fluid at all times even do the car never uses a drop of any of them so its not always a bad thing if you see them in the boot... then again mine have never been opened lol

One thing i will say about buying a car is dont get attached to one for any reason untill you know its in good condition.. also beware of anyone trying to over sell you a car! usually not good

ianobrien

One trick that I use when looking at a car is also look around the yard. If the house/yard is generally maintained, it's a good sign. The other cars there can be used to give an indication as to the way other cars are treated.

Also, if you can, sneak a peak at the drive where the car was generally parked. Usually, when people are selling a car, they already have a replacement and people being creatures of habit, the replacement will be parked in the old car's usual spot. Have a peek to see if there is oil/fluid staining on the ground.

If, on phoning and after the usual "I'm enquiring about the car for sale", the seller wants to meet in a supermarket car park or petrol station, have some reason to go back to the seller's residence (examine the car in privacy is a good 'un). A genuine seller will not have a problem. A dodgy operator will not like it.....

As for looking at the actual machine, it's the usual points that others have mentioned. One trick that I use on the test drive is to ask the owner to drive the car back. Then you'll see how the owner drove the car and how gentle s/he was.....

Bigus

ianobrien wrote: »

One trick that I use when looking at a car is also look around the yard. If the house/yard is generally maintained, it's a good sign. The other cars there can be used to give an indication as to the way other cars are treated.

Also, if you can, sneak a peak at the drive where the car was generally parked. Usually, when people are selling a car, they already have a replacement and people being creatures of habit, the replacement will be parked in the old car's usual spot. Have a peek to see if there is oil/fluid staining on the ground.

If, on phoning and after the usual "I'm enquiring about the car for sale", the seller wants to meet in a supermarket car park or petrol station, have some reason to go back to the seller's residence (examine the car in privacy is a good 'un). A genuine seller will not have a problem. A dodgy operator will not like it.....

As for looking at the actual machine, it's the usual points that others have mentioned. One trick that I use on the test drive is to ask the owner to drive the car back. Then you'll see how the owner drove the car and how gentle s/he was.....

Its an inanimate object you're buying not a new partner for life!

don't take it so seriously or you're definitely going to become a TIMEWASTER

lily lou

Do I need to follow all this advice if buying from a garage?

L-M

lily lou wrote: »

Do I need to follow all this advice if buying from a garage?

Yes, yes you do. Even more so :P

johnos1984

Bigus wrote: »

Its an inanimate object you're buying not a new partner for life!

don't take it so seriously or you're definitely going to become a TIMEWASTER

In fairness thats all pretty standard advice

melimelo

Many many thanks for such an informative post. I know that it may seem as "pretty standard advice" however I have found it very helpful in bringing it all together. I am on the look of a used car myself these days and I find it quite a challenge (especially given that I'm a woman - not to mention non Irish - and quite a few people think that all I care about is the colour of the car as if I'm going to match it to my purse...).

I just found an ad (private) on donedeal of a car I like and would consider testing it, so I followed the suggestions on this post however there're a few things that didn't feel quite ok during my phone-call with the current owner and I wonder if people on the know could tell me what they think (if it's not OK to ask such questions here please let me know and I'll remove it):

Car has been imported from UK (Manchester) and current owner doesn't have a documented service history;
Car is a replica (I'm new in boards so am not quite clear if it's ok to share details of the car) and it has been re-painted - current owner says it had to be repainted because it's a replica (???);
Current owner doesn't share the vehicle's registration number (!) because she doesn't want to be hassled by people who don't have a genuine interest in buying the car and even after about 20 questions I made on the car that confirm I have a genuine interest current owner said that her boyfriend says she gave enough information as it is and can't share the vehicle's registration number unless I go there and see it myself...

All they have document-wise is V5/Logbook and a MOT history and DVL.
Do you think it's safe enough to look into it further or does it look like something it's better to stay away from?

Many thanks for the help.

Bigus

melimelo wrote: »

Many many thanks for such an informative post. I know that it may seem as "pretty standard advice" however I have found it very helpful in bringing it all together. I am on the look of a used car myself these days and I find it quite a challenge (especially given that I'm a woman - not to mention non Irish - and quite a few people think that all I care about is the colour of the car as if I'm going to match it to my purse...).

I just found an ad (private) on donedeal of a car I like and would consider testing it, so I followed the suggestions on this post however there're a few things that didn't feel quite ok during my phone-call with the current owner and I wonder if people on the know could tell me what they think (if it's not OK to ask such questions here please let me know and I'll remove it):

Car has been imported from UK (Manchester) and current owner doesn't have a documented service history;
Car is a replica (I'm new in boards so am not quite clear if it's ok to share details of the car) and it has been re-painted - current owner says it had to be repainted because it's a replica (???);
Current owner doesn't share the vehicle's registration number (!) because she doesn't want to be hassled by people who don't have a genuine interest in buying the car and even after about 20 questions I made on the car that confirm I have a genuine interest current owner said that her boyfriend says she gave enough information as it is and can't share the vehicle's registration number unless I go there and see it myself...

All they have document-wise is V5/Logbook and a MOT history and DVL.
Do you think it's safe enough to look into it further or does it look like something it's better to stay away from?

Many thanks for the help.

My first reaction was to stay a million miles from this, but on second thoughts i'd go and look at this for an education ! but don't buy.
Put up a link to the advert pls !

Bigus

johnos1984 wrote: »

In fairness thats all pretty standard advice

In all fairness how many cars have you looked at/rang about in the last 4 months and not bought ? honestly ?

Wolverine_1999

Bigus wrote: »

My first reaction was to stay a million miles from this, but on second thoughts i'd go and look at this for an education ! but don't buy.
Put up a link to the advert pls !

Agreed. I've taken the best out of several cars when I am comparing with the one I am testing.

Maybe this car will be an indication of WHAT to look out for when buying!

melimelo

Thanks Bigus and Wolverine. My hunch is to stay away from it. There's a small chance for that car to turn out a good opportunity, but there's just too many things not feeling ok with it (e.g. re-painted or car imported in January yet not having being cleared with VRT yet or current owner not knowing how many previous owners etc) and I'm not that eager to drive all the way to Limerick for a car that most likely is a scam. Btw, this is the link to it:
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2052873

I agree totally with both that the more you test-drive the better you know what you want and what you don't want.

Thanks again.

Reloc8

You know you'll have to pay the VRT on that right ?

I got a VRT quote of €1,600 on the online calculator for a 1.6 petrol engine 2004 Mini Cooper which would not include the value of the extras on the car...so ask to see the VRT assessment - seller says VRT is €1,000 - or proof that it has been presented for VRT assessment - because otherwise you will have to present it and will be liable for interest and penalties if this has not been done within 30 days of the car landing in the state.)

If you don't feel comfortable with the seller, walk away with your money in your pocket.

Anan1

Bigus wrote: »

In all fairness how many cars have you looked at/rang about in the last 4 months and not bought ? honestly ?

He could have looked at 1000 cars and not bought any and it'd still be good advice.;)

Malice

I just wanted to add my thanks to the existing chorus so well done Limerick Man and thanks for putting up that information.

melimelo

Thanks, Reloc8. I hadn't realised that interest and penalties would be borne by the buyer, so thanks for noting that. That car went off my list anyway - just too many things not sounding ok with it.

dr.fuzzenstein

One thing I would urge anyone to do (especially in rural areas with bad roads):
Jack the car up on each corner and spin the wheels by hand.
If you're in the countryside and the wheels are alloy I guarantee you that at least two will wobble because the car WILL have encountered a pothole or boulder from a stone wall that it would have hit at full speed.
Last two cars I looked at had maybe 2 straight wheel between them.
It's hard to see when the car is parked and, if the wheel got balanced afterwards, it might not be immediately obvious, but look out for multiple weights on the rim and have a look through the spokes for any flat spots on the back of the rim.
This could save you hundreds in replacing warped wheels.
because a bent wheel is a fcuked wheel.

trek04

Thanks for the info....much appreciated this is what i exactly looking for.

Wolverine_1999

Yes this info has really helped! A lot of gangsters (no pun intended) trying to sell cars in (coincidently where I am) Limerick.

I've looked at about 6 cars now, the last turning out to be a crash repair! Beware of UK imports!

I'm getting sick of it now to be honest

Another point I'd like to add - beware of the title "Lady owner", I've found no advantages compared to car owned by men and most cars not to have been serviced in well over 2 years, let alone a service history.

Just be as scrupilious as with a "male owned" car and don't let it lead you into a false sense of security.

rebel.ranter

Another tip: If the car has air conditioning/climate control you need to check that it is functioning correctly. To do this start the car if not already running, set the temperature to the lowest setting & wait a few minutes for it to blow ice cold. It might actually be better to do this on the test drive. If it doesn't blow cold it could mean a re-gas of the system or something much more expensive.

Another Tip:
Have a look at the tyres for two things;
1. Are the tyres fitted a good recognized brand, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Michelin, Continental, etc. If there are cheapo tyres in the car it could raise questions on what other items were slumped on.
2. Have a look at the tyre thread, for two reasons:
a) Is there a decent amount of thread left? Tyres approaching the wear indicator will need replacing & you can use this in your bargaining on price
b) Check that the thread wear is even across the width of the tyre, if a tyre is worn badly on one side but fine on another it could mean wheel alignment needs to be done or wiser still that there is some further suspension work needing to be done. It could be the result of wear & tear on suspension or accident damage. Either way work & further investigation would be needed.
Another tip:
Airbag light, make sure this illuminates when you turn on the ignition & also goes out when the car is started. Just make sure it goes out at a different time to the oil light. I've seen where guys just hooked up the bulb to the oil light bulb because there was an expensive problem with a seat occupancy sensor.
Another tip:
Most cars come with 2 keys, sometimes more. Always ask how many keys the seller has. The replacement keys, especially the ones with a built in remote control can be expensive (€130-€160)

Finally don't be blinded by the car, as in get caught up in the moment, this has happened to me & sometimes it is good to have some overly cautious friend with you when viewing.
Also if you are leaving a deposit on a car be aware that in some cases this is not refundable, make sure you check up front about this (I forgot to ask this myself recently ).

gustavo

Complete noob question - Would the garages be as open to bargaining as in the OP I think refers more to private selling?

L-M

gustavo wrote: »

Complete noob question - Would the garages be as open to bargaining as in the OP I think refers more to private selling?

Yes, yes they would. Same goes for private as for dealers, just don't be overly cocky or ignorant! Try suss them out and see what they're best or lowest price would be, and then work off that. Like if they said their best was 13,000, don't offer 10,000!

When all the bargaining is done then try get a tank of fuel (may be dropped down to 20 quid worth depending on how hard you intially bargained.)

higginsshane70

I've got to admit that i learned a lot of new things through this post and i feel much more wise then before.

L-M

higginsshane70 wrote: »

I've got to admit that i learned a lot of new things through this post and i feel much more wise then before.

Good to know! Thanks