Avid Driver

The definitive
used car buying guide

With the amount of used cars being sold at the moment, choosing the right car can be difficult. Here are 5 steps that, if followed, are sure to alleviate the process of buying a used car.

The first step of the car buying process is the one that can save a most of the budget and it involves doing some homework. The internet and it's vast amounts of knowledge can be used to obtain all of the information ever disclosed about a particular vehicle. There are hundreds of specialized forums where detailed information can be found about the possible weak spots of the car of  choice. These forums also have a dedicated classifieds section where the cars for sale are owned and maintained by enthusiasts making them a recommended buy. Websites like Honest John are also helpful because they are filled with customer reviews. However, the people that are happy with the car much less likely to write that the ones who have problems.

After you have chosen your vehicle it is time to sort out the finance. From my experience I have found that the most well looked after and reasonably priced cars are sold at Car&Classic and Piston Heads . The large used car dealers with inflated prices reside at AutoTrader and by far the cheapest and probably worst maintained vehicles are at Gumtree and, of course, Ebay. It is very important to get the insurance quote and tax costs before you buy because the insurance on many occasion can be more expensive than the car. For a 1999 Volvo 850 T5 I got quoted £88,000! For a car that costs 800£.

Every car requires some work during its exploitation so if the car you're looking at is a few years old it is expected that it comes with a folder full of receipts for work and parts and also old MOTs.

This document shows the registered keeper and not the legal owner. If the registration document is not present the seller has no evidence that he is the registered keeper.

Things such as oil, filters and spark-plugs should be changed regularly and the seller should be able to provide some proof that they have been changed. Also the cam belt needs to be changed according to vehicle manufacturer guidelines and if it is not changed then there is a risk of it snapping and doing around a thousand pounds in damage.

Many cars have flawed parts from the factory that tend to break. Take for example the notorious BMW swirl flaps. So if you are buying a BMW from the 2000s it is important to know if the previous owner has removed the swirl flaps. The same goes for any other car with an inborn defect from the factory.

The next thing you should do is have a good look of the car. Avoid viewing a car if it is raining or it is getting dark. Water hides scratches,dents and other problems. It goes without saying that you should be able to view the vehicle from all angles.

The first thing you should look at is if the paint on all the panels matches. Different shades of the paint is a tell tell sign of accident damage. Look for larger than normal panel gaps and make sure the bumpers are firmly secured to the car and not botched up.

If the engine bay is suspiciously clean the owner might be trying to hide fluid leaks. A check under the bonnet after a test drive should reveal any problems.  Look underneath the car for fluid leaks and accident damage. Make sure that the exhaust is not too corroded. Take a look at the tire as well, if they are worn unequally then there is an alignment issue with the car. If the tires have low thread this can be used as a point when haggling for the price as new tires are quite expensive. Under the bonnet, check the oil, water and brake fluids.

 Inside check if the A/C and all of the electronics work.If you suspect the car has been “clocked” check the steering wheel, driver's seat bolster and the gear lever for any signs of wear that should not be present at the given mileage of the car. Seats can be cleaned or even replaced but headlining can not. So if there are any mysterious stains on the headlining ask the seller why they are there.

To check the mechanical condition of any car it is best to take it for a test drive. The test drive is also useful to check if the vehicle suits your expectations. Here are some questions that every buyer should ask themselves when on a test drive.

Aim to test drive the car for at least an hour on different roads and listen for any odd clunks or noises. The gears should engage smoothly and without crunching. The bite of the clutch shouldn't be above the middle. And lastly use any information you've obtained from the forum to identify any potential weak spots.  

 We live in a world where information can be obtained about almost anything with the help of Google, almost anything can be bought with the help of Amazon or E-bay and then there is the opportunity to read reviews written by people who already bought the product to form a better understanding of it. So why is everyone putting giant wings on fwd cars and fake air intakes? As much as there are useful modifications which have proven to be beneficial to the performance of your car there are completely useless add-ons and mods. Here are 5 useless modifications which are sure to tell any petrol head you have absolutely no automotive knowledge.

Back in the 1980s, in my home country, there was a car modification which in my opinion can summarize why people buy these useless modifications. It was called “Anti-static” and it represented a thin line of rubber that had one end attached to the rear bumper and the other one left to drag on the road. The purpose of this breakthrough invention was to reduce static electricity and prevent petrol fumes from igniting. The problem with this modification was that the four tires every car has, kind of are made from the same material.

As anyone with a bit of automotive knowledge would know large rear wings are used on RWD cars to provide increased downforce which results in increased grip. However the speeds at which a rear wing is effective are way above the national speed limit. This is why normal cars, even RWD ones, don't have large rear wings and this technology is reserved for super cars. If a FWD car has a large rear wing and does in fact achieve a speed where the wing actually provides downforce, to the great surprise of the teenage owner, the car would actually handle worse than before. As the wing is pushing down on the rear wheels they have more grip than the front ones and as this is a FWD car the front tyres will struggle to find traction and the teenage racecar driver will soon find himself in the nearest hedge because the car understeered as a “female dog”.

The Lamborghini Murcielago has electric retractable air intakes that help cool the massive V12 at the back and the Subaru Impreza STI has a hood scoop so the intercooler that is on top of the engine can get fresh air. By putting a fake plastic air scoop on your naturally aspirated family sedan that already has an optimal cooling system installed by the manufacturer ricers are not only making the car uglier but also making the car slower and less fuel efficient. This happens because the fake vents and scoops are creating drag that makes the car use more fuel as it struggles to cut through the air with all the plastic scoops sticking out of it.

Carbon fibre is a widely used material in motorsport because of its lightness and that it is stronger than steel. Many car makers have adopted this trend an are offering optional fibre parts or panels. So by now everybody can spot the difference between real carbon fibre and fake carbon vinyl. I can cope with small details like hubcaps and trim that are professionally done and sprayed over with a clear coat but wrapping the whole roof of the car is unacceptable. The same can be said about interior trim wrapped in carbon vinyl as seen in many 2000s BMWs. Why make the dash seem more cheap by putting 2£ vinyl on the already cheap plastic. The only interior modifications I condone is either with real carbon fibre trim pieces that are small so they don't take the attention away from the original interior or to wrap the whole dashboard in alcantara.

Let me first start by saying: windscreen wiper spoilers do have a purpose after all. They are put on high performance premium cars that are designed to cross continents at lightning speeds. At the Autobahn the wipers without spoilers simply cannot clean the windscreen because they are picked up by the wind. But the Saxo with wiper spoilers across the street can't do Autobahn speeds, especially with branded aluminium spoilers with strange holes and sharp angles.