Buying a used car can be very rewarding in that you can find a quality of a vehicle that services you well for years to come for a bargain price. Unfortunately though, there are pitfalls and problems with buying from the second-hand markets that could see you getting scammed on your purchase.
Luckily for you though, help is at hand in this blog post, as below you can find a number of examples of these common scams, so you’ll know what to look out for and avoid when shopping for your next used car.
Dishonest Dealers
One of the first scam hurdles to overcome can be the person who is selling the car. While it’s not fair to generalise about all car salespersons, there are still some of them who want to get as much money from you as possible. This means they may bend the truth about how good the car is, or they may dodge questions about its history. The easy thing to do here is to research the make a model beforehand and make your own decisions, taking what the sellers say with a pinch of salt.
Clocking Fraud
Another scam that is becoming more frequent is to change the mileage on a vehicle so it reads a lower figure – making the car more valuable. This is known as ‘clocking’ and is obviously a fraudulent act that cheats you out of the car you think you’re purchasing. Make sure you check the dash for any evidence of tampering, or make sure the mileage history in previous services or MOTs matches up.
Cloned Vehicles
There are also instances of cars that have been stolen and had their plates replaced and their documents falsified to those of an existing legitimate car. Again, this an example of you being defrauded as you are being misled into buying something.
Another Useful Tip…
If you’re in any doubt about what you’ve been told by the dealership, or about the history of the car and the work that has been done, there is a simple solution – checking the history yourself. There are a number of companies who can carry out these checks independently and objectively to give you the information you need to fact-check against what you’ve been told or shown at the garage.
So, don’t succumb to the devious nature of others, take this useful advice on board and make sure you purchase a used car that’s safe and which will see you getting great value for money.
