Thinking of buying a car? Not everyone wants to spend €40,000, the average price of a new car in Ireland, when it loses value as soon as you drive off the forecourt. Most people buy second-hand.
Buying second-hand, however, can feel like a game of roulette. You hand over cash and hope for the best. Unless you’re a petrol head, it can be hard to know what to check. Here’s how to make sure your purchase doesn’t backfire.
Where to buy
Social media, a supermarket noticeboard, a for-sale sign on a windscreen – people buy second-hand cars in all sorts of ways. These avenues can mean a better upfront price, but less redress if there’s a problem.
“A car, next to a home, is probably the biggest purchase anyone makes. A lot of people, especially women, which is unfortunate, can be nervous about making a purchase,” says Jennifer Kilduff, head of marketing at the AA. “You don’t really know what’s under the bonnet, you don’t really know its history.”
Buying from an approved dealer or garage can mean paying more, but there will be some minimum standards in place.
A genuine dealer is bound by law to tell you about any previous damage to the car, or work that’s been done on it, says the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC). A private seller is not.
Reputable dealers won’t want to risk their business breaking laws or selling dodgy cars.
Before accepting cars into their stock, they will have checked their history.
“The main advice the AA would give is to go to an official dealer where possible, that’s a branded garage, or an independent garage that would be SIMI approved or AA approved,” says Kilduff. “I think that gives an extra level of comfort to customers who might be nervous about buying a car.”
Salespeople can be fast talkers, but the CCPC provides a useful car buyer’s checklist to record information about warranties or guarantees and answers to critical questions.
Has any bodywork been done on the car, when was the last full service and how many previous owners has there been? Get the seller to complete the checklist and stamp it. If they are reticent, it’s probably time to walk away.
Private sale
Buying a car from a private seller can mean a better price, but you don’t have the same consumer rights. Do your own due diligence to avoid a dud.
Several companies offer a car history check service. Costing about €45 for a report, the information means you don’t have to take the seller at their word.
One of the most important things a history check can tell you is whether the person selling the car actually owns it. Every year, unlucky purchasers realise too late that the car they bought is owned by a finance provider.
“With complete ownership not transferring until the final payment to a finance provider is made, there is a one-in-three chance that any second-hand car on the market is still, technically, the property of a finance provider,” says car history check provider, Cartell.ie.
Two-year-old second-hand cars have a 35 per cent chance of still having finance owing, while the rate for three-year-old vehicles is 32 per cent, says Cartell.ie.
“Unfortunately, it has happened where people buy a vehicle from someone who may seem trustworthy and later the finance institution has come to collect their asset because it belongs to them,” says Wesley Littleford, commercial and operations manager at Cartell.ie. “You’ve paid the seller the money, but that vehicle doesn’t belong to you,”
When buying from a private seller, ask if the car belongs to them, or if they are selling it for someone else, says the CCPC.
If it is someone else’s, then you need the name, address and contact details of that person so you can contact them to ensure everything is in order.
Colourful past
A car can look great, but looks can be deceiving. A visual inspection won’t always tell you if it’s been in a crash, or if it’s been clocked. A history check can give you details that the seller may be trying to hide, says the CCPC. For example, the true mileage and if the car has ever been written off.
“The number of owners the vehicle has had previously is a very good indication of the quality of the vehicle,” says Littleford. “If you are looking at a six or seven year-old vehicle, but it’s had four or five owners already, that’s a bit concerning.”
There were 18,260 cars in Ireland with 10 or more registered owners, according to Cartell.ie data from May last year. There was even an Audi A6 in the country with more than 43 registered owners, according to the data.
A high number of owners may not be a deal-breaker if you’re satisfied the car is in good condition and meets your needs. If the car history report reveals 10 owners when the seller says there were only two, your trust is misplaced.
A car bought and sold again quickly can indicate the buyer realised there was a fault and got rid of it. Motortax.ie will tell you if a car has changed hands within the past three months.
A history report will highlight insurance reports of previous crashes, too. An insurance company can deem a car a write-off if it is either too irreparably damaged to be safely returned to the road or if the cost of repairs exceeds the car’s value, says Cartell.ie.
A once significantly damaged car may be a bargain, but it may not perform as it should in another crash. An insurer may refuse to cover a previously written-off car too, or charge such a high premium that it may not be worth buying.
Mileage
Irish licensed vehicles travel on average 16,300km a year, according to CSO figures for 2022. That’s 3.6 per cent less than we drove pre-Covid in 2019.
If you’re buying a second-hand vehicle and the kilometres on the clock far exceed these averages, then expect the vehicle to have more wear and tear.
“I would say anything over 20,000km a year would be excessive,” says Kilduff.
If you are a low-mileage driver, however, things may balance out when it comes to re-sale, she says.
[ Spend on a new car or save by buying used? Here’s our expert adviceOpens in new window ]
“I don’t drive a lot, I would only do 5,000km or 6,000km a year, so buying a used car with high mileage wouldn’t be a deterrent for me because I wouldn’t clock up more when I’m selling it on again. So you could get a good deal with high mileage if you are a low-mileage driver.”
So-called clocking is where a seller tampers with the odometer to make the car appear to have covered fewer kilometres, thereby increasing its price. Look for discrepancies between the vehicle history check with the car’s odometer. If the clock shows 50,000km now, and 60,000km two years ago, that’s a red flag.
Bring an expert
When you’ve found a car you like and its history stacks up, it’s time to do a proper in-person inspection. If the seller is far away, you could initially do a video call.
“I’ve done it personally when buying a vehicle, the dealer will do a virtual walkaround of the vehicle and show me the inside. You can get a feel for the general condition of the car,” says Littleford.
If that stacks up, then go in person. Test drive the car yourself of course, it needs to feel comfortable for you.
Does the air con work, does the left passenger door stick? It can be hard to check it all yourself.
“If you have someone who is motor savvy, or a cousin who is a mechanic, bring them with you, especially if you are buying privately,” says Kilduff. “I wouldn’t buy anything privately without bringing a mechanic or paying a mechanic to look over it first.”
Drop into a car mechanic and ask them how much they would charge to check it over for you. Mechanics are used to these requests and will know what to check.
An unscrupulous seller can disable dash warning lights to complete a sale, or paint tyres black to make them look new. A seasoned mechanic will spot these things.
“You can buy a car and think those tyres look fine and then two months down the road, heading into winter, you need to replace four tyres, you could be setting yourself back €500 or €600,” she says.
“Get an expert to check it out before you buy,” says the CCPC. “If something goes wrong after you buy from another individual there may be little you can do beyond taking a civil case through the courts. Don’t let yourself be rushed into anything. If something doesn’t add up or feels wrong, walk away.”
When to buy
Is there a good time of year to buy a used car? Maybe, says the AA. Some sellers will be keen to make better deals for customers in the last month of each quarter – March, June, September and December – to meet their quarterly targets. Aiming to close the sale around then could mean a better deal.
Total cost of ownership
When buying a car, its age, engine size and the type of fuel it uses will all impact day-to-day running costs. Work out the cost to fill the tank and how many kilometres you will get from that. Call an insurer for a quote, and visit Motortax.ie to find out how much it will cost to tax the one you are interested in. A car that is 10 years or older will need to an NCT test every year, which is another cost.
Some buying a second-hand car will be happy to drive it until it claps out. Others will have their eye on resale value.
“If someone is looking for a car to drive for a while and still get good value on its resale, I’d look at the likes of DoneDeal and Carzone to see what cars are the most popular,” says Kilduff.
“You can search for the cars that are most in stock and look at the values on them.”
If there are lots of a particular type of car available, such as a Volkswagen Golf for example, you can be sure there will be garages looking for second-hand models to sell.
