What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

What car checks are done by dealers?

Can I expect that a dealer will have done a car check and will know the car history if I purchase a car from them? Can I trust them not to sell me a car that is still on finance or has been written off? Will they tell me how many owners the vehicle has had, if it has been in a crash and its service history?

Asked on 8 February 2017 by Lise Marron

Answered by Honest John
A dealer is legally obliged to tell you everything he knows. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations May 2008 (CPRs) contains a general prohibition against unfair commercial practices and, in particular prohibitions against misleading actions, misleading omissions and aggressive commercial practices. The Regulations are enforceable through the civil and criminal courts. This creates an offence of misleading omissions which would not previously have been an offence if the consumer had not asked the right questions. So if a salesman knows a car has, for example, been badly damaged and repaired and does not tell the customer, he could later be held liable if the customer subsequently discovered that the car had been damaged and repaired.
Dear Honest John,

Please help me choose my next car. I would like it to have:
    Select a few terms below
Similar questions
My 2015 Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG was used and advertised by a dealer. The advert stated it had a performance exhaust fitted (an extra) and a full Mercedes-Benz service history (which they would provide me...
I've paid the deposit for a used car but have since found out from the insurance company that it had been in an accident. Although the dealership has no record of this, can I cancel my agreement?
I seem to have stumbled upon a whole world of hate this past week. I recently just passed my driving test and purchased my first car. The car in question was a Volvo C30 R Design. I don't know diddly about...
 

Value my car

Save £75 on Warranty using code HJ75

with MotorEasy

Get a warranty quote

Save 12% on GAP Insurance

Use HJ21 to save on an ALA policy

See offer