Learn from my mistakes and stop yourself from wasting all your money on a used car that turns out to be completely worthless!
If you are looking for a second hand car, it is important to understand the potential pitfalls that you may encounter. Making the wrong choice could result in buying a vehicle that will quickly break down, be unroadworthy, or in a worst case scenario even be illegal to drive and worthless. It is a sad fact that there are many people who set out to trick customers into purchasing vehicles that are not fit for purpose by supplying fake paperwork, not revealing outstanding finance or by altering the mileage. This article looks at the dangers of not carrying out a vehicle history check before completing your purchase.
How Do I Carry Out A Car Check?
If you have found a used car that you are interested in purchasing, the easiest way to carry out a free vehicle history check is to use the Gov.uk website. Simply entering some basic details about the vehicle, such as its make and registration number, will reveal a range of information about the car which you can check against the details you are being given by the seller. There are finance and leasing companies available on the internet that can also carry out a private history check for a nominal fee which can give you further information about the background of the car - both the AA and the RAC can do this for you.
What Information Will A Car Check Reveal?
Checking a vehicle out on the Gov.uk website will tell you important details about its identity, including its date of manufacture and first registration, its colour and engine capacity, vehicle excise duty rate and the date its tax is due for renewal. This information can be compared with the vehicle itself and its details on the V5C offered by the seller. If any of it does not match, you should refuse to buy the car.You can also discover information about the MOT status of the vehicle and whether or not it is considered currently valid.
A private vehicle history check will reveal vital information about the background of the car and any incidents that it may have been involved in. This data check will show if it has previously suffered from severe accident damage, whether it has any outstanding finance that has not yet been paid off, whether it has been stolen and whether there are any mileage discrepancies between the recorded mileage and that shown on the vehicle itself.
What Can Happen If I Don't Carry Out A Car Check?
If you choose to purchase a car without carrying out a car write off check free, you may find that your vehicle is unsafe to drive and may either break down within a short period of time or may cause you to be injured in an accident. You may find that the seller does not have the right to sell you the car if it is stolen or has outstanding finance and you may therefore end up with it being taken away without any compensation.
If you have found a used car that you are interested in purchasing, the easiest way to carry out a free vehicle history check is to use the Gov.uk website. Simply entering some basic details about the vehicle, such as its make and registration number, will reveal a range of information about the car which you can check against the details you are being given by the seller. There are finance and leasing companies available on the internet that can also carry out a private history check for a nominal fee which can give you further information about the background of the car - both the AA and the RAC can do this for you.
What Information Will A Car Check Reveal?
Checking a vehicle out on the Gov.uk website will tell you important details about its identity, including its date of manufacture and first registration, its colour and engine capacity, vehicle excise duty rate and the date its tax is due for renewal. This information can be compared with the vehicle itself and its details on the V5C offered by the seller. If any of it does not match, you should refuse to buy the car.You can also discover information about the MOT status of the vehicle and whether or not it is considered currently valid.
A private vehicle history check will reveal vital information about the background of the car and any incidents that it may have been involved in. This data check will show if it has previously suffered from severe accident damage, whether it has any outstanding finance that has not yet been paid off, whether it has been stolen and whether there are any mileage discrepancies between the recorded mileage and that shown on the vehicle itself.
What Can Happen If I Don't Carry Out A Car Check?
If you choose to purchase a car without carrying out a car write off check free, you may find that your vehicle is unsafe to drive and may either break down within a short period of time or may cause you to be injured in an accident. You may find that the seller does not have the right to sell you the car if it is stolen or has outstanding finance and you may therefore end up with it being taken away without any compensation.