Nearly 42,000 were about used cars sold by independent dealers and a further 13,000 were about nearly-new cars bought from franchised dealers, where you’d expect stringent quality controls to be in place.
Speaking to female motorists on a regular basis it’s clear that few of us realise that we have no legal redress when we buy a used car from a member of the public and it turns out to be a dud. Worse than that, remarkably few of us carry out any checks to see if the car is either genuine or fully paid for before we buy it.
I wouldn’t buy a used car without a pre-purchase check to be sure it is what it says it is – there’s a real risk that some have outstanding finance for example, so I recommend the HPI check or an RAC one if the car costs less than £5000.
Otherwise buy a used car that comes with approved checks like Network Q and Ford Direct. Then you’re more likely to have a good car deal, some peace of mind and a sympathetic hearing if it then does go pearshape.
From my experience I find that many dealers sell used cars with a very short ‘warranty’ of some 1 or 2 months, without explaining that if the car goes wrong during the first six months they (the dealer) are required to prove that they did everything reasonable to check that the car was fit for purpose. Just recently I’ve heard of several cars that appear to have had no pre-sale check; they’ve just been wiped over and put on the forecourt.
Check everything thoroughly before you buy!
Yours foxily
Steph
