How should I research a second-hand car?
QUESTION
Hi John,
Long time watcher, first contact.
I have a friend who is updating their old car who wants to get a more modern car, less than 3 years old. I gave them advice by sending the link to your now four-year-old video on test driving a new vehicle.
My question is, can you please do a video on what you consider to be the things that are most important to consider and look for when buying a second hand car? I'm sure she'd love a brand new car, but her budget simply doesn't allow it, so the used car market is her only choice.
So many thanks for the videos and free information you give in them. I know myself, and for my immediate family, we've changed our driving habits from even the simple things like door mirror positioning to checking tyre pressures weekly, even how to hold the steering wheel.
Please don't ever under-estimate the positive effect you have on so many of your viewers.
Thanks,
Dave
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ANSWER
Hey Dave,
Basically, your friend just needs to do three things, in this order:
Look at the car’s service history. If it hasn’t been serviced on time, walk away.
Go here: https://www.ppsr.com.au/ put in the VIN code and pay the $30 to get the administrative checks out of the way, and download the certificate.
If it’s not a repaired write-off or a stolen car (advised by the PPSR check) then she can get a trusted independent mechanic to assess the overall mechanical health, and look for evidence of dodgy crash repair, etc.
If it’s got money owing on it (like, if the car is security over the owner’s finance) then she needs to get the details on the finance, call the finance company, ask for a payout figure on the date of proposed purchase, and get a bank cheque drawn in the name of the finance company, in the amount of the payout figure. She can pay the balance to the owner any way she wants, but the bank cheque means that sum can only be deposited into the financier’s account, and she can’t be left holding the bag if the owner chooses not to discharge the loan.
Then if she buys it, she should go to a local dealer and get them to tell her if there are any outstanding recalls or service campaigns on the car (VIN code based search in the dealer). And then go online and tell the manufacturer she owns it (VIN code) so that they can contact her if a recall gets issued.
Thanks for the kind words, mate, and well done on implementing the weekly tyre pressure checks, etc.
Sincerely,
John.