When purchasing a car......

[Ben]

where do you look to save money or get it reduced?

for me, if the car has been used by a smoker, then thats possibly £100's off the price as it stinks.

The same goes for animals in a car. Nothing worse than dog hair.

I also look for scuff marks around the load area and the trim on thje rear pillars.

There are of course many other things i could list.

[Eshrules]

i pick holes in EVERYTHING.

you have to take into account of course the age of the car, so something like a 12 year old m plate, you could moan about the odd rust spot or scratch.

something newer than 00/01 though, you should be able to expect a practically flawless paintwork, if theres any dents, dings or scratches, point them out and if the dealer wont repair, make sure they knock a few hundred off the price.

check the condition of tyres and brake discs/pads. if these look like they're going to need replacing any time soon, again, see if they'll sort it or get them to knock of a few hundred quid more.

moving onto interior, check the seats and headlining for staining, a shiny dash and freshly valeted interior can suggest something being hidden. check the seatbelts for wear ( i nearly got stung on this) and make sure the pedals are all with a good tread. many upmarket cars now have leather steering wheels and gearknobs fitted, check these for wear, a well worn drivers seat, gearknob and steering wheel suggests a company car, look for the full service history to back this up.

[Nezmond]

Bodywork first, then anything mechanical you can check easily such as brake and tyre wear, then work my way to the interior!!
I am a picky sod and half scottish so if there is a way to save money i will find it

[golf tdi 02]

sorry but depending of the class of car it is deff the engine every time for me .
as long as the heart is good the rest can be sorted.
the one that dealers kringe at is the water pump and cambelt.

[prolfe]

The test drive is something that I see as the mos important aspect.

Apart from the normal driving about, I check the gearbox and handbrake by trying to pull away in first and second with the handbrake on, if the gear lever pops out then he gearbox is not all that.

The other thing I make sure I do is to reverse and not just a bit, but for quite a few seconds, and also to accelerate quickly in reverse and again any abnormal noise will indicate that the gearbox is duff.

I was caught out by this when I had my golf, although the garage sorted out a new gearbox I could of paid a lot of money out.

Test all electrics, especially any aircon unit. one that does not work efficiently might mean it just needs a re-charge but might mean it will never be any good. Some people do not know that aircon needs to be used all year round to keep it charged up.

[SportPD]

Tax & MOT are always good ways to haggle the price down