If you go out wanting a high-end motor for tiny money, you're already painting yourself into a corner and are more likely to come across something dodgy. A little time spent researching the realistic asking prices for the car you want will be time well spent, and will allow you to instantly recognise when a car is on sale for a too-low price.
It's best to look at cars on a dry and sunny day so that you're more likely to get underneath and have a good poke around inside and out to check its condition. If you're buying from a private seller, arrange to meet at their house, during daylight hours. If they try to meet you in some pub car park or similar, or only agree to meet up after dark, put the phone down and move onto the next advert.
When you do meet, make sure all their paperwork matches. It's always nice to be given a big, thick sheaf of papers and receipts to inspect, but you really actually have to inspect it - make sure all the numbers and addresses match (with reasonable exceptions made for those who may have moved house while they owned the car ...) and ensure you aren't just being handed some random paperwork in the hope that you won't properly inspect it till afterwards.
While you're there, check the condition of the car carefully and see that it matches what would be reasonable wear and tear for the indicated mileage. While the NCT has finally agreed to start publishing the last 3 mileages of the cars it inspects on NCT Certificates, we won't start to see that for a while yet and in the meantime, approximately 1 in every 5 of the cars Motorcheck does a history check on have mileage discrepancies. If the number on the odometer is low, but the seats look knackered and the steering wheel is shinier than Mr Muscle's coffee table, be suspicious.
Ask to see the spare keys for the car and ensure that they fit and work properly. A lack of a spare set, or multiple keys on the key-ring for various doors as well as the ignition, could potentially be a sign that the car has been stolen. Ask questions.
Finally, checking the condition should also include a close inspection of the bodywork, looking in the boot, under carpers and around the rubber seals for overspray and badly repaired damage.
There are more than 50,000 write-offs on Irish roads every year and as any as 60 percent of these are repaired and put back on the road. So make sure you keep yourself both well-informed and safe whilst shopping for that bargain.
