Questions to ask when viewing a second-hand vehicle

Begin with the paperwork, not the paintwork

A second-hand car can look immaculate after an afternoon with a bucket and a tin of polish, but paperwork is far harder to fake. Before you get too attached to gleaming bodywork, ask to see the V5C registration document and check that the seller's name and address match what's on it. If the car is being sold on behalf of a friend or relative, ask why the registered keeper isn't present. It isn't automatically a problem, but it deserves a straight explanation.

Ask these questions early, before you start crawling underneath anything:

• Is the V5C in your name, and is the address on it current?
• Is there any outstanding finance or a logbook loan secured against the car?
• How many keys do you have, and do they both work?
• Has the car ever been recorded as an insurance write-off — Category C, D, S or N?

A Cat S or N marker doesn't make a car undriveable, but it will affect your insurance premium and makes it harder to sell on later. You deserve to know before you travel across the county to view it.

Service records: what good actually looks like

Ask to see the service book and every invoice that comes with it. Stamps in a book are a starting point, but receipts are better — they show what was actually done, when, and at what mileage. A folder of paperwork from a mix of main dealers and independent garages is a healthy sign. A stamped book with nothing to back it up is worth a closer look.

Then move on to the expensive items:

• When was the cambelt last changed, and do you have the invoice? Intervals vary widely — some are 60,000 miles, some ten years, and plenty of modern engines use a chain instead.
• Has the clutch been replaced, and at what mileage?
• When were the brake discs and pads last done?
• When were the tyres fitted? Check the four-digit date code on the sidewall — anything over six or seven years old is worth questioning, even with plenty of tread left.

Damp West Country winters and salted coastal roads are hard on exhausts, suspension bushes and anything underneath. Ask whether the car has been undersealed and whether any suspension components have been renewed recently. Around Devon and Cornwall, a car that has lived near the sea will often show corrosion long before one kept inland.

Accident damage and repairs

Ask directly: "Has the car ever been in an accident or had any bodywork repairs?" A seller who hesitates, or says "not that I know of" after six years of ownership, is telling you something useful. Look for mismatched paint, uneven panel gaps, overspray on rubber seals and fresh underseal that doesn't match the rest of the underside.

Other questions worth putting on the table:

• Has it ever been resprayed or had panels replaced?
• Has it ever been flood damaged? This matters if the car has spent time on the Somerset Levels or in a coastal town during a wet winter.
• Does it have a current MOT, and were there advisories on the last one?
• Can I see the MOT history? The recorded mileage readings will show whether the odometer tells a consistent story.

Previous owners and the life of the car

How many owners has it had, and how long did each keep it? Six owners in four years suggests something keeps prompting a sale. Ask whether the car has been used for towing — a caravan or trailer puts real strain on the clutch and gearbox — and whether it has spent much time on rough tracks or farm lanes, which is common enough around Dartmoor and Exmoor.

If it's a diesel, ask what kind of journeys it does. Short, stop-start trips around town can clog a particulate filter, and replacing one is not a cheap afternoon's work. A car that has spent its life on long motorway runs is often the better bet, even with higher mileage.

Why is it being sold?

This is the question people skip, and it's often the most revealing. "I've bought a newer one", "we need something bigger for the family" and "I've retired and don't drive much now" are all perfectly ordinary answers. Vagueness is the thing to watch for.

Listen out for:

• Reluctance to let you take a proper test drive on your own
• Pressure to decide today, or a story about another buyer turning up later
• Cash-only demands with no receipt offered
• An owner who can't say when the car was last serviced or how it behaves in the wet

Genuine sellers generally enjoy talking about their car. If they can't answer basic questions about their own vehicle, ask yourself why.

Before you make an offer

Take the car on a route you already know — a stretch of dual carriageway, a steep hill, a bumpy lane. Ask about anything you notice: a knock over speed bumps, a whine in third gear, a heater that takes an age to warm up. A seller who knows their car will answer, and may even knock something off the price for a job you'll need to do.

Then do the sensible bits. Get a history check done, price up an insurance quote before you commit, and insist on a written receipt showing the date, price, mileage and both names. It's a small piece of paperwork that makes everything far easier if a problem crops up later. Buy on evidence rather than enthusiasm, and you'll end up with a car you're happy to keep — and one that's easy to sell when the time comes.