DAMADGED REPAIRABLE
We've all seen the ads for cars with apparent 'light' damage available to buy at astonishing savings if you are prepared to fix it yourself.
There are also many firms that specialise in selling these vehicles, and anyone with a modicum of automotive knowledge can buy one and 'fix' it.
However you may be unwittingly buying such a vehicle if the repair has not been disclosed.
The worst kind of 'repair' is a shunt - where two halves of different cars are welded together to make one 'good' one. If this is not done properly it can cost you your life and most reputable companies will not undertake such a repair anyway.

STOLEN
Perhaps the most obvious pitfall but also the most difficult to uncover. If the car you just purchased is stolen and the rightful owner claims it you will end up without your car AND without the money you paid for it.
A favourite ruse is to transfer the details of a legally bought scrapped car to those of a stolen one. If this is done cleverly you may never know.
You need to check the VIN plates unfder the bonnet and check them with the paperwork. If the plates are missing or look as though they have been removed or tampered with, DO NOT BUY IT!

CLOCKED
Not so easy to do with more modern cars but by no means impossible. It may have a recorded 35,000 miles on the clock but that could be 135,000 or it could have beenn fraudulently altered to get a better price for the car.
This is not always done to deliberately mislead though. Our own Land-Rover 110 had to have a new speedometer fitted a couple of years ago and now looks as though it's only done 20,000 miles - for a 10 year old car! If the vehicle changes hands a couple of times after such a repair or modification how are you to know the true reading?

OUTSTANDING FINANCE
Most privately bought cars are now bought with some form of finance. Whether directly from the dealer, in the form of a bank loan or from specialist car finance companies.
If a car is bought on HP (Hire-Purchase) the loan is secured on the car and does not become the legal property of the purchaser until all outstanding amounts have been settled.
But this is not recorded on any of the car's paperwork. So a person may still have years to go on the finance arrangements and try to sell you the car. You hand over the cash and drive it away blissfully unawares that pretty soon a representative of the finance company is likely to be knocking on your door and demanding you handover the keys.

SOLUTIONS? AA - 0800 234 999 * Is it recorded as stolen? * Has it been recorded as an insurance write-off? * Does it have outstanding finance repayments? * Does the registration number match the chassis/VIN number? * How many previous keepers has it had?* * Has it had a colour change? £29.95 AA members £31.00 Non-members Up to £10,000 indemnity against financial losses. Call now with the car registration and your credit card or debit card number (and if possible, the 17-digit chassis number). Also available for many vehicles – mileage and valuation information. All details correct on date of publication. RAC An RAC Status Check offers peace of mind at an affordable price when buying a used car. Details will be checked against the following 9 registers within the car fraud detection database. * Plate transfer * Oustanding finance * Condition alert * Condition inspected * First registration * VIN match * Stolen vehicles * Security watch * Vehicle identity If any information relating to the above registers is not provided at the time of the check we will provide you with compensation under the RAC Status Check Guarantee. The cost of a RAC Status Check is just £23.50 for RAC Members, and just £31.00 for non-members.