Buying a car for the first time

[nathandenniso...]

I'm going to view a car later on today it is 8 years old and has 60,000 miles on the clock. What things should I be looking at to make sure it's not being sold for all the wrong reasons and that there not just trying to get rid of it because it's unreliable, thanks.

[Rogerborg]

Fresh MOT, or forget it. Ask to see the MOT certificate - are there any advisories? See some evidence of servicing or money being spent on it. "My mate Baz dunnit" isn't evidence. If they say it's been serviced recently, check the oil colour.

This list covers most of it, actually. You can pay the AA / RAC to do an inspection, but the prices have shot up, you're looking at upwards of £200 if you want them to do more than kick the tyres.

If the seller seems a decent sort, blubber a bit and say that you're sooo poor, you're terrified of buying a car that you can't afford to fix up, because you won't be able to visit your best mate who's broken his back. See if they twitch.
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[bikertomm]

At the above.

Brought my first car yesterday, make sure all the paperwork is in order, service history ect ect. Tyre depth, no leaks anywhere, the list goes on.

What car is it your looking at?
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[Nb]

If you tell me what car it is i will probably be able to point out some common problem areas to look at on the car. Other than that Rogerborgs post pretty much sums it up nicely.
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[Poseidon]

parkers.co.uk is a pretty good place to start out for general reviews/ideas on what to look out for on a particular car you're looking at.

After that, paperwork (full MOT, service history etc), general walk around and interior check, test drive and personality check on the guy selling it usually shows up any suspect/substandard motors.

One little thing I always check is tyres. Not so much tread depth, but evenness of wear across the tyre and whether or not the tyres are matching pairs (i.e, both fronts are the same and both rear are the same). If they don't match, or have obvious uneven wear, it could just be the wheel alignment, but it could also be a sign the suspension is a bit dodgy, or the brakes are shagged. If they do match, this shows that both tyres are replaced at the same time which shows that they probably wear evenly, so one less sign of suspension issues etc, but it also shows that someone has cared enough about a car to replace both at the same time. Every time I've seen a car with 4 different mis-matched tyres, the car has been a dog... Essentially had the bare minimum spent on it to keep it going and the owner is flogging it in the hope they get more than the scrappy has just offered them.

I also check for overspray under the wings etc to see if it's had a respray at any point, which could be sign it's been in a accident. Another little thing I check is the etching marks on the windows. If they all match, they're probably the originals. The one time I found a car where the windscreen and drivers side windows didn't have etch marks on them, I looked under the bonnet and sure enough there was loads of overspray, showing it had been repaired quite extensively at some point, yet the car had a clear HPI check and the dealer maintained it had never been in an accident.
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1977 Honda CG125
2002 Ducati Monster S4 (currently restoring)

[JonB]

Always be prepared to walk away.

There will be a million other vehicles that will be as good or better out there, so if you have any doubts just walk.
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[Ariel Badger]

get an insurance quote before you buy.
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[Polarbear]

Full MOT. I know it's only as good as the day it's issued, but it means it has had some sort of recent check and passed.
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[killa]

As a lot of the deal will be new to you, go on your first gut instinct.
If you think 'He's a twat'. He probably is, as said before, be prepared to walk away.
Take someone with you who knows their shit...i.e a mechanic friend
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[AndyB1989]

[chris-red]

I wouldn't trust an MoT at all.

I had a bike MoT'd with a bent wheel, bent forks and bent yokes. I actually took it to the guy I thought did 'Proper' MoTs

I had my KTM MoT'd with illegal tyres.

My friend can get a genuine MoT for his car posted though his door for £50.

I'd only trust one person to do MoT's and that is my Uncle. Not because of his 'skill' at MoT'ing but because I trust him.
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[AndyB1989]

yes you can get a dodgy mot but if the buyer reports the garage they can be shut down and all the testers loose their jobs