Many car buyers perform no checks whatsoever on a vehicle’s documentation or crash history prior to purchasing, a new report has revealed.

The survey of almost 1,400 people carried out by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) found that of those who have bought a car in the last decade, 17 per cent performed no checks at all.

Of the majority who did check, 59 per cent checked all of the documentation and service history, half had a mechanic check the vehicle and just a third asked if it had been involved in a crash. Only 18 per cent asked if there was any outstanding finance on the car, an important check to carry out, the CCPC said, as unpaid loans could result in a car being repossessed even if it is under new ownership.

Youngest car buyers were most likely to carry out checks with one in 10 of under-24s neglecting to do so, compared with a quarter of purchasers aged between 50 and 64.

The findings come at the start of a dedicated car checks campaign by the CCPC.