Buying a used car. How to check this and avoid hidden flaws?
Many people who want to buy a used car are worried about hidden flaws. This is due to the fact that trust in professional car dealers is falling significantly, and they themselves are accused of numerous lies or omissions. So how do you test a used car before buying?
Unfortunately, this is not an easy task, even in the case of cars. We will also need professional equipment, such as a paint thickness gauge. Unfortunately, some sellers may even collude with employees of local inspection stations or local dealerships of this brand. Arriving at such a place, employees confirm the seller's version or simply do not talk about the shortcomings or problems they have noticed - and this is an additional cost for us, the buyers.
Similar stories are told by many users of automotive forums who seek help because they were simply deceived by sellers. This is the best warning for those who are going to buy a used car in a hurry.
It is worth knowing the history of the car
And we have a really simple and convenient way to do it. It is great if we want to check the history of a car that has been bought or has been in Poland for at least a few years. In addition, the solution we are talking about is free - visit the portal Historypojazdu.gov.pl.
In the beginning, we need: the license plate of the car, the VIN number and the date of the first registration. We shouldn't have any problems getting them. However, in this case, the red signal lamp should light up. After all, the seller must guess why I need this information, so he probably wants to hide something from us.
The information obtained on the historiapojazd.gov.pl website is quite simple, but we learn from the report when the vehicle passed the technical inspection, when it changed owners or when it was reported as stolen, if such a situation took place. Contrary to appearances, this is very useful information. Thanks to them, we can check whether the seller himself is telling the truth (for example, it is worth asking who the owner of the vehicle is). In addition, we can learn a lot about the vehicle itself - sometimes there are times when underperforming cars change owners regularly due to constant technical problems. If such a situation occurs, we will immediately note it in our report. If your car has changed hands several times over the past few years, we strongly recommend that you refrain from buying it and look for another offer.
MobileExpert - more information from real experts
If we want to get more information about the vehicle we are interested in, we should bet on professionals. In this case, the offer of MobileExpert is definitely interesting.
Let's start with the prices, for many this is perhaps the key information - they are really attractive, starting from PLN 259. The service itself consists in checking any vehicle throughout the country by one of the specialists working in MobilExpert. The expert makes an appointment with the seller, conducts a test drive and thoroughly checks the specific vehicle, and takes numerous photographs, which, together with the information obtained, are sent to us in a report, within a maximum of 48 hours from the moment of inspection.
A sample report is available on the website https://mobilekspert.pl/raport-samochodowy.php – we recommend that you check it out.
What is attractive about this service?
There are many reasons. It is worth noting that this saves time and money for the buyer, especially if we are interested in a vehicle hundreds of kilometers from its place of residence. The buyer does not need to visit the vehicle by himself.
Employees of the company are experts themselves, among them former appraisers. They really can determine the condition of a given car. In the report itself, we will also be prompted whether to buy this vehicle at a given price or not. Not only are they highly experienced, but they are independent and have professional equipment. They can also do a great job of checking the history of a given vehicle, even if it came from overseas. There are times when a car described as accident-free actually consists of three other vehicles, and only by checking the documents and numbers of individual elements of the car is there a chance to reveal such information.
The price itself is also very attractive. It is worth considering what repair costs will await us if it turns out that we find a car with hidden defects - they will almost certainly exceed the amount of the service. However, if we are still interested in this vehicle, thanks to the new information we will be able to agree on a price - the amount we can save here will also certainly exceed the amount we paid for the inspection of the car.
Cars imported from abroad - we advise you to be careful
In our opinion, everyone should first of all look for a car from a Polish distribution kit. However, if this is not possible, in the case of cars, especially from western borders, we recommend extreme caution. Reversible meters are a sad standard, but forgery of service books is also becoming more popular (empty ones are filled by a scammer, it’s really easy to buy them) and sellers hide numerous car defects at a minimal cost.
It should be understood that vehicles, for example, in Germany, as a rule, are not much cheaper (if at all) than in Poland, and the person who imports them bears not only the costs, for example, of vehicles. from the entire exit and transportation of the vehicle, he must also earn a certain percentage on the transaction itself. However, cars from abroad are often presented as better and cheaper than those offered by, for example, private sellers. This is because there is a good chance that they have been properly prepared for sale and have their own hidden flaws. Especially with such vehicles (imported inexpensive cars at a bargain price), we recommend extreme caution. Sometimes it is also worth paying more for a car from a more reliable Polish distributor or from a private seller who is not in the car trade.
