Cars for sale in London

1 Decide how much you can afford … and do your best to stick to it!
Include the cost of insurance, MOT, road tax, petrol, repairs and servicing. Bear in mind that older prestige and sports cars may look cheap to buy, but that the maintenance, repair, insurance and fuel costs may be a lot higher. Ask dealers for estimates of typical repairs to get an idea. Don't rush into a decision - shop around, and compare prices from different sources.

2) View the car in clear daylight
Dark or wet conditions will easily hide a car's faults. Take a friend or relative as a second opinion (two pairs of eyes are better than one). Do not arrange a seller at a service station or lay-by – you need a place where you can safely make a thorough inspection. Don’t let the seller bring the car to you: you want to see where he (or she) is based and get a better idea of the person’s trustworthiness. Why would they not want you to come to them? In the case of private sellers, check that the seller's address is the same as that recorded in the logbook and seek additional reassurance that the seller lives where they claim to - are they in the 'phone book'?

3) Check all documentation
Make sure all the documentation you would expect to find is available. This will normally include the Registration Document or log book (V5), service and insurance records, MoT certificate (on vehicles over 3 years old) and receipts for repairs, maintenance, etc – as well as receipt or invoice that shows that the seller owns the car. Does the seller have all the documents he should? Do all the details tie up?
Then make sure everything tallies: check VIN numbers, registrations, dates, names and addresses and any other details you can cross check. Also investigate the keys - are they all there? Are there too many? Does the driver's door or boot need a different key from the rest of the car?. These clues may point to prior damage or theft – though they may be a perfectly innocent mechanical failure in the locks, too.

4) Consider an independent inspection
Once you’re satisfied the vehicle is probably in order, this is the next step. An expert from an organisation such as the RAC or Green Flag will help to identify potentially expensive mechanical problems and can also spot the signs of major accident repair. The results will either give you greater confidence that the vehicle is a good buy, tell you to walk away, or provide the basis for negotiating on price to take into account necessary rectification work. If the seller won't allow an inspection, that tells you something too!

5) Has it had an accident repair?
Over 5 million vehicles require bodywork each year. Given that there are about 24m cars on the road, this means we all have a 1 in 5 chance that our car will be accident damaged in any one year. Most damage is not disastrous, but the HPI Check will tell you if a vehicle has been so badly damaged that an insurer has declared it a total loss. But even where a car has not been "written off", don't assume it is free from major accident damage. But major accident damage can be acceptably repaired – and the HPI register will help tell you about how repairs have been certified. 6) Note details from the registration document While the V5 is not proof of ownership, it does contain a lot of useful information. You can contact the previous keeper to confirm the car's history. Also you can compare keeper change dates with the result of the HPI Check to ensure you're not looking at a document which has been forged or altered. Also, use the service history to do a bit of detective work. What do the dates and mileages tell you about the car's past life? Is the "full service history" really full?
Can you trust the mileage reading? There are ways to check if it's believable.

7) Look for signs of 'clocking'
Reducing the mileage of a vehicle by turning back the odometer, or 'clocking', is a common trick used by unscrupulous sellers to obtain a higher price. An HPI Check can help detect known discrepancies, but there is no substitute for a careful inspection. Examine steering wheels, gearshift and seats for excessive wear, and look outside for stone chips. Does the car’s condition justify its mileage?
If the car is in poorer condition than you’d expect for the recorded mileage, even if it hasn’t been falsified, then how has the car bee treated?

8) Take a test drive
Make sure that you test drive the car on a range of roads for a drive of at least 10-15 miles. Check that the car is licensed (has a valid tax disc) and has an MoT certificate, and check that you are properly insured (ie look for written confirmation that you’re covered under your own policy or the seller’s) before you drive on the road. As the driver, it’s your responsibility to make sure the car can be used on the road. Take a friend with you for that valuable second opinion. Look and listen carefully for rattles, creaks and banging noises. Watch for smoky start-ups (especially blue smoke), and unusual noises. Pay special attention to the steering, and check for wandering and pulling under braking, bearing in mind that wide tyres can make cars more sensitive to white lines and camber changes.

9) Follow your head, not your heart
If we're honest, many of us start to get emotionally attached to cars even before we've seen them. Don't let the paintwork or the price blind you to aspects of a car that don't add up. HPI's advice is that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
 
10) Get an HPI check
Originally established in 1938, HPI is the UK's primary independent provider of vehicle information for the UK motor industry and the motoring consumer. Don't hand over any money until you have completed an HPI Check - this will allow you to cross-check the car and the documentation, and help to ensure that you will actually own it after you've paid for it. When doing the Check try to have the mileage and MOT certificate to hand, and most importantly, the VIN (vehicle identification number - ususally displayed on a plate inside a door opening or under the bonnet) as well as the registration mark. Make sure the information you get back from HPI matches the vehicle and the documentation in every respect - if it doesn't, you may not be covered by HPI's guarantee.