Buying a used vehicle is a tall order, especially in the United Kingdom in which it appears every last street you go down has cars lined up with paper sheets sellotaped to windowpanes with a price and a clichéd bullet pointed sales pitch. “Buyer beware” cannot be stressed enough should you be hoping to a purchase a second hand motorcar in Britain.
This is the reason why it’s a clever move to get a used car from a licensed car dealership. An approved dealership shall properly audit and check every second hand car passing into their garages by a team of industry trained technicians. Not only that, these technicians will be able to maintain your motor post-sale, perform Ministry Of Transport tests (MOTs) , exchange vehicle components, and basically verify it’s functioning in top shape at all times. Simply put, an authorised dealer should deliver a one-stop service for all your vehicle’s requirements. Ponder over the make/model of the vehicle you hope to buy and then browse for an approved dealership in your locale – e.g. bmw dealer: should you be living in London, this lookup would present the Stephen James dealership (authorised to sell BMW/Mini) amongst other dealers.
Now think about the private sale. You have no guarantees as to getting help for forthcoming problems you might incur with the vehicle. Once the sale has been completed, the private seller isn’t responsible for future troubles. It’s then your job to find a car mechanic for fix/repair your car, and trust you haven’t been duped as you get the results back from your first MOT (that’s if you don’t get problems prior to the MOT being due!). It doesn’t matter how much due diligence you pay toward searching for a vehicle, it’s nevertheless easy to be fooled. A private seller has little or no reputation to suffer a loss from. A licensed dealership does – and therefore would never put on the line its own reputation by selling unreliable second hand vehicles.
