A second hand car is a purchase each of us will make at some time

depending on you budget you can buy a nearly new car or a small runabout or second car

This guide is just a general what to look for when buying a second hand cars

The simple things to look out for are what we tend to forget about  i will list them in a sort of order

1) body work -make sure the cars body work is all the same colour and the panels gaps are all even ,for older cars this may not matter as much but still ask the question if its looking a bit suss take a magnet and try it on suspect areas of the car that could be full of filler,if it aint metal the magnet wont stick ,walk away   

2) the tyres are in good condition and are a good quality ,some sellers stick on cheap remoulds or second hand tyres just to make it look good ,these tyres are no good and will wear out in no time meaning you will have to fork out for new ones sooner rather than later

3) make sure the heater works ,now you think this may sound daft but if you buy a car in the summer your not tempted to try the heater but come winter time and its not working -well more money and hassel ,some cars suffer from failure of heater control vales meaning no hot water getting into the car for your heater or even the heater matrix can get chocked up with rusty deposits again no heater, make sure there hot air coming from it and check for cold air too.

4) door locks- make sure you can lock and unlock the car using the key if its got central locking make sure everything locks and unlocks including the boot ,and speaking of keys make sure you getting more than one key ,some new keys can cost over £50 to get cut and some cars you must have the master key ,it is normally red in colour so ask the question if it aint there then walk away coz you will only get hassle

5) door handles- again this may sound daft but what if you cant open one of the doors or the boot or tailgate check them all also check that the bonnet open with the catch

6) brakes - have a good look at the front brakes discs (and rear if it has them) look for general condition if the is a big lip on them they are knackered and while some cars may cost around £25 for a set others can cost over £100, check the pads to see how much thickness are left in them they should be a good thickness left or again you going to be spending money ,with cars that have rear brake drums my advice is to check how high the hand brake come up ,if it comes up very high chances are the shoes are needing renewed ,but stick it in gear and try to move off with the handbrake on it should hold well if not then its prob needing new shoes

7) check all the electrics work, lights indicators etc, put them all on at the same time with the engine running and give everything that has a button a press ,if the car conks out or dies the battery/alternator is knackered or good be the idle control valve .get some one to check  if all your lights etc work while you press the buttons and pull the levers try the lecy windows sunroof evrything thats elctric turn it on/off

8) check for over heating give the car a good run ,or rev the car up ,then slowly remove the radiator cap ,if theres a big release of pressure then somits not right and walk away ,cooling systems are a nightmare and can be very exspensive (cylinder head gaskets cost from £500 + to fix)

9) lift off the oil filler cap and check for smoke or steam coming out of the engine again any signs of this then walk away unless you want to buy another engine for the car ,have a good listen for metalic noise or belts squealing and look for water leakage

10) suspension - have a good look all all the shockers and springs ,they should be in good order and dry no leaks or broken springs ,give each corner a push doward the car should settle very quickly, if there too soft and they could be knackered

11) check the exhaust system on the car has no leaks or is not rotten anywhere look out for bad welding jobs and pay attention to the cat- it must be in good order or you will be splashing out for a new one and they aint cheap ,give the exhaust system a good shakes and put a rag over the end of it with the car running ,it should stop the car,or try to push the rag away  or if the gases are escaping then the exahust is knackered

12) windscreen wipers - make sure both front and rear work and also check the condition of the windscreen and all the glass ,it should be nice and clean with no dingy stickers covering any problems and have no chips or any makrs. The wiper blades should have no tears in them and should look clean and work well  

Other than the above points make sure you take the car a good run checking the gears and clutch, brakes,performance and steering ,if the owner wont let you drive it walk away ,take your time theres no hurry its your hard earned cash your spending

I would also check the insurance group of the car,and road tax bracket and use a buyers guide such as parkers as there very helpful and hold a load of info on most cars if you know a mechanic then take one with you ,if the car you buying if from a private seller and its going to be exspensive theni would spent an extra hundred quid getting the likes of the AA to check the car over and also with any car an HPI is always a good idea and its not exspensive ,never buy a car that still had outstanding finance ,it will never be yours and you will lose the car and your money ,if it comes back as stolen/written off  leave it alone

Another thing is never buy a car if the documents are not present ,if the seller has not got the V5 (reg document) then he will not have a true idea of how many owners the car will have had and if he aint got it and you need to road tax the car then its going to be a long wait or a trip to a dvla office the best bet is never buy a car with no V5 present

Another story i have heard is the old yeah the car has service history and i am waiting for it to be posted to me ,thats just bullshit if the seller states the car has service history but has no documentation how does he know and where is he getting it posted from .

Cars with service history should come with a fully stamped up book with dates and milage and also reciepts to back up the work done ,some sellers have mates in main dealers who simply stamp up a book and write in dates just to make the car look like its been serviced ,you should be asking for all papaer work to prove the car has actually had this servicing work done not just a service book

Most modern car have Cam driving engines and need the TIMIMING belts changed at least every 50 thousand miles ,again if the seller is cliaming this has been done ask him for the paper work to prove it  ,if he says his mate has done it ask for proof that the belt was bought and fitted this is a costly job and can be anything from £100 to £300 + to get done

If the car your looking at is for a new driver make sure the car is in a low insurance bracket ,mainly cars with engines below 1300cc or the odd diesel .Make sure the car is in standard condition and has not been modified as most insurance compaines will not touch a modified car for a new driver You can get away with alloy wheels providing the are the car manufacture wheels ie you can put 106 gti alloys on a standard 106

If you have done an hpi check and the car your looking at comes back as a CAT D then this means the car has been written off by the previous owners insurance company due to the repair being more than what the car is worth .Normaly the car has only suffered light damage and can be put back on the road .However these car will carry the history about with them all there life and every time you do an HPI and this in turn affects the value of the car .CAT D cars are only worth half the value of the same car with clean history .personally i would not touch one and have been got out before with one but luckily managed to get my money back, but in the end its up to you if you think the cars is in good order and is a good price then as long as you are aware that if you come to sell it again you will not get as much money as a non recorded accident damged car