If you've got doubts about a dealership, or about a chain of dealerships, then the simple answer is to go elsewhere. You're obviously just outside London, so getting anywhere within 100 miles or so using trains is pretty easy to do, to go and see other cars.

Something else to think about though : sell a enough of cars, even a lot of pretty-much perfect cars, and you'll always get a few customers who complain - they want a Rolls Royce for Fiesta money, basically. And these days, they complain on the internet. Thousands of satisfied customers don't say anything, though, so you might not be getting the full picture.

Edited by RobJP on 18/07/2015 at 23:54

If you feel uncomfortable or threatened by a visit to a car showroom, go with someone with more experience who isn't. There's always safety in numbers, and you should learn what to look out for. Never buy without a decent test drive. If you are buying used, probably the most expensive source will be a franchised dealer of the make you are after. Make sure you check all the history of the car that you can - if it's 'in the post' or similar, probably steer clear.

Apart from all that, it will be a learning experience, and you may just have to jump in at the deep end.

I am in the Worcester area. This week I looked for a small car for my wife, who will not be doing much mileage. My budget was up to £2500 and I looked first at Ford Ka 1st generation, then at Kia Picanto, finishing up with a very low mileage 2006 Kia Picanto 1.1 LX bought privately from an elderly couple for £2300.

Official Ford and Kia dealerships did not help us at all, at this low budget price.

Autotrader is fine of course, and while following up Autotrader adverts, we found ourselves in Bristol Road, Gloucester, which turned out to be an "Affordable Car Zone", with a lot of dealers offering cars from £500 upwards.

One of them, Gloucester Cars, was an RAC-approved garage offering a 3-month RAC warranty. This did not mean higher prices, their prices compared favourably with Autotrader valuations. Probably, if I had not found the Picanto privately, I would have bought a car from them - they had a good selection of small cars from £500 to £3000, as well as higher-priced ones. I also found them friendly and helpful.

There are RAC-approved dealers all over the country, so they might be something worth considering in your search.