Things to know before buying a car online

You may have heard that our catalytic converter was stolen out of our car, while it sat in a car park. This meant that we needed to get a new car – and due to the nature of how our old car went out – it needed to be done fast. Unlike when a car is clearly dying, our car suddenly didn’t run, so we needed to find a new way of transport as soon as possible, which caused a lot of mistakes when it came to the purchasing itself. So, we’ve turned those mistakes into lessons and figured I’d share them with you.

Knowing where to look

You’ll find that many cars are listed on several different places; Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and Craigslist all have the same listings for the same cars and often don’t get updated if a car is sold. This means that when we reached out, we’d often find the car had already gone, and then stumbled upon the same car in a new place. You’ll need to know where to look and be prepared to send a lot of texts/messages to find out if these cars are still around. Many of these listings have the bare minimum when it comes to information, so you’ll be expected to communicate with the seller as well.

Know what you want

As there is minimum information often, you’ll need to ask questions to see if the car is something you need. We found ourselves asking if the cars were were looking at were automatic or not, as that’s something just not listed some of the time. You may want to consider if your area might not allow petrol cars in the near future and if you should switch to electric, or if you’ll need an electric car charger installer nearby or in your home before getting your car. If you are looking for a car, chances are your current car doesn’t work well or isn’t suitable for driving, so you probably don’t want to do any unnecessary driving, especially to a car that doesn’t have the features you are looking for. Don’t be afraid to ask for more pictures or more information – look the car that you are interested in up if there isn’t a check to see if it is stolen on the site. Make sure you have a good idea if the car is something you want before going to view it.

Be ready to walk away

When checking out the car you are looking to purchase, in real life, it’s a weird situation full of pressure. You just need to be prepared to walk away if the situation seems sketchy or if the car isn’t exactly what you want. Some red flags, from personal experience, include:

• The car seller stating that you don’t need to test drive the car – ALWAYS test drive the car, as that ensures it does more than just start on the spot.
• The car seller making you wait long amounts of time past the agreed time or coming from a different location then they had stated.
• The car seller having a different name and address then the name and address listed on the log book or online if you can look it up real quick.
• General vibe – trust your gut. If the situations feels weird, there is probably a reason for that.

Don’t feel pressured to purchase the first car you come across, even if you really need a car. This can blind your judgement and you need to be ready to walk away. Getting a car is a big decision and often costs quite a bit, so you need to have something you are truly happy with.

Bring a friend

If you haven’t purchased a car before, taking along someone who has actually purchased a few cars before, ideally who’s quite chatty. If you have a friend, not only is it more safe when it comes to meeting strangers, but it also provides a second eye and someone who has seen several cars. The person selling the car, if they are trying to scam you, will talk loads – not giving you a lot of time to check out the car on your own. If there are two of you, one person can be chatty while the other person can explore the car. Them having knowledge about cars and buying cars is crucial if you want to get a good car. Once you have booth looked over the car, don’t be afraid to ask the seller for a moment, while you two step away to talk about the car before making a final decision. You will need this time to really think about if the car is perfect for your needs.

After Purchase

Once you have purchased a car you’d like to own, there are a few more steps that need to be done. You will need to wait a bit for the logbook to come in the mail, as well as tax the car and transfer your insurance to the new car. If you do have a previous car you were using, you’ll want to get rid of this car as soon as possible, so that you are not paying tax and insurance on a car you cannot use. In our case, the old car was not derivable, so we went down the route of scrapping the car. There are plenty of places that will come and pick up your old car, meaning you’ll just need to make a phone call or enter your details, get an offer, then agree on a time for pickup. We called a few places to get a few different offers and see how much we could get back.

Good luck purchasing your new car. We learned a lot and will not be rushing going forward, but the car is an automatic and a good size, which is what we needed.

Check out some of our other tips articles.