Running a check on 2nd hand cars - they seem like they are worth it.

NIMAN

Over the last few weeks I have been searching high and low for a car as I am thinking of changing in the near future.

I spotted 2 that I was really interested in, both advertised on DoneDeal.

One was a UK reg in Dublin, and the other an Irish reg in Dundalk. Both looked really well in the pictures, and prices were competitive. Got plenty of replies when contacted the sellers, and was on the verge of travelling to see them (quite a long round trip).

Ran a UK Car Check on the UK reg one, came up as Cat D damaged, not mentioned on the advert. Seller claims it was with previous owner and don't know what damage was.

Ran an Irish check yesterday on the other one, came up as written off by the insurer but put back on road after repair.:rolleyes: Again not mentioned on the advert.

Perhaps it should be a legal requirement for a seller, trade or private, to tell if a car has been damaged when selling it.

I know that cars can be damaged and repaired well enough to run fine, but I lost interest in these 2 immediately, and just goes to show that €10 spent on a car check is well worth it.

Del2005

NIMAN wrote: »

Over the last few weeks I have been searching high and low for a car as I am thinking of changing in the near future.

I spotted 2 that I was really interested in, both advertised on DoneDeal.

One was a UK reg in Dublin, and the other an Irish reg in Dundalk. Both looked really well in the pictures, and prices were competitive. Got plenty of replies when contacted the sellers, and was on the verge of travelling to see them (quite a long round trip).

Ran a UK Car Check on the UK reg one, came up as Cat D damaged, not mentioned on the advert. Seller claims it was with previous owner and don't know what damage was.

Ran an Irish check yesterday on the other one, came up as written off by the insurer but put back on road after repair.:rolleyes: Again not mentioned on the advert.

Perhaps it should be a legal requirement for a seller, trade or private, to tell if a car has been damaged when selling it.

I know that cars can be damaged and repaired well enough to run fine, but I lost interest in these 2 immediately, and just goes to show that €10 spent on a car check is well worth it.

IIRC a dealer has to tell you if the know it's been damaged, how you prove they knew is the problem. With a private seller they have to tell you the truth if you ask a question, but again proving they lied is the problem. Private sellers don't need to volunteer any info.

They don't need to advertise it as being repaired, as most cars will have had some sort of repair in their lifetime.

pcardin

NIMAN wrote: »

Perhaps it should be a legal requirement for a seller, trade or private, to tell if a car has been damaged when selling it.
QUOTE]

What if seller didn't know this and first time they hear is from you? Not everyone is doing checks.

Sobanek

Cat D isn't too bad. Once they're fixed properly, they're just as good.

NIMAN

pcardin wrote: »

NIMAN wrote: »

Perhaps it should be a legal requirement for a seller, trade or private, to tell if a car has been damaged when selling it.
QUOTE]

What if seller didn't know this and first time they hear is from you? Not everyone is doing checks.

Yeah admittedly this could happen, but in these 2 cases the seller then admitted it was damaged when I challenged them.

bazz26

As a buyer spending your money, it is up to you to do proper due diligence and background checks on any used car you are looking at buying.

The law around dealers telling you up front if a car was crashed if asked, is vague at best. You would have to prove that the dealer was aware of the car's history when asked about it. As for private sellers, well that's pretty black and white with regards Caveat Emptor - buyer beware.

MugMugs

Del2005 wrote: »

IIRC a dealer has to tell you if the know it's been damaged, how you prove they knew is the problem. With a private seller they have to tell you the truth if you ask a question, but again proving they lied is the problem. Private sellers don't need to volunteer any info.

They don't need to advertise it as being repaired, as most cars will have had some sort of repair in their lifetime.

The system is actually pretty flawed.

I was rear ended before I traded in.

Minor damage to the bumper but the impact bar took a good hammering. Never bothered fixing it.

On the SIMI form it asks "Has the vehicle undergone structural repair"
I answered no because, well, it hadn't.

That doesn't mean that there wasn't actually a problem though.

goz83

Cars can be crashed and repaired with no record at all. At least if there is a registered damage, it can be checked extra carefully.

NIMAN

Is there any sort of documentation that should be with the car if it has been damaged and repaired? To say what exactly was damaged, what repairs were done.