take it or leave it, it is of course your decision, but i thought id put a few things up, which i have come to learn in the last 7 weeks of owning my vw golf. i always thought i was fairly clued up as far as buying a car went, but the wool was well and truely pulled over my eyes with the dealership i bought my car from (im what's classed as a screamer apparently!),

do your research - it goes without saying and i thought i had done mine. ALWAYS get a look at the service history and past MOTs if available. you need to verify what the dealer is telling you is true, eg the cambelt change, last major service. what advisory items were on the last MOT and have they been rectified. what invoices, if any, are in the owners folder, check to see if there are any warranties that are transferrable for past fault repairs, also make sure the faults that have been rectified aren't coming back to haunt the car. never take the supplying dealers word for anything, this leads onto the next point...

never trust a dealership - any promises, work to be carried out, faults to be rectified, anything that has been discussed need to be noted down and signed for by a salesman. do not leave anything open to interpretation, ensure your backside is covered so to speak. as soon as you drive the car off the forecourt, you have accepted a certain amount of liability as far as any faults are concerned, its far easier to get faults rectified while the car is in the process of being sold, as opposed to when you've driven off.

clarify the terms of any warranty given - always read through the terms and conditions for the warranty. does it have any special servicing requirements? is there a maximum claim limit, if there is, will it cover major failures?

all in all, i would, having had to involve trading standards, a third party arbitrator and consult with solicitors, i would advise anyone to take out an independant assesment on any car they intend to buy from a used dealership, other than a main VW dealer of course, who to be fair, appear to have this sorted.

i would more than welcome any additional comments, im not preaching, simply trying to help, i got stung, big time and if i can stop one person from getting the same treatment, that's good enough for me