Used vehicle purchase checks

[Rumpig]

What checks can you do these days when purchasing a privately owned used vehicle?
I haven't bought a used car in about 20 years, so have no idea what you can and can't do these days. I'll mention here it's my brother buying a used fourby and not me actually buying the vehicle, but he is in the dark as much as I am on what can be searched. So besides a mechanical check (we have inspected it ourselves already, drives fine and appears to be in very good condition) and a REVS search, is there any other searches you can or should do when buying a used vehicle privately?

[MarkGU]

Gday Mal.

When i bought the patrol i asked someone who new about patrols( rocky4.8gu).What ever brand you brother is buying i reckon he should ask someone who has either owned at least a couple of that brand so as he knows the ins & outs of them.
After the my swag member checked it out for me i had no hesitation of buying the patrol.horses for courses as they say.

cheers.

[jk]

Got any friends in the force ??     I've had a few checked out to see if the seller is a clean skin or is of a shady nature ( if you get what I mean ).  So far they've all been clean, .......I know it's not a guarantee but I figure that if the seller is above board then it's gotta help 

Cheers
John K

[Rumpig]

Gday Mal.

When i bought the patrol i asked someone who new about patrols( rocky4.8gu).What ever brand you brother is buying i reckon he should ask someone who has either owned at least a couple of that brand so as he knows the ins & outs of them.
After the my swag member checked it out for me i had no hesitation of buying the patrol.horses for courses as they say.

cheers.

it's a 3 year old vehicle, and when I climbed underneath it the thing looks to never have been driven off-road pretty much. I then asked the guy how much wheeling he's done in it and he said it's been up Freshwater track once and that's it...which is just what it looked like to me. The guys wife supposably uses it as her daily driver and this thing is spotless other then some dirt from road grime under the bonnet area....looks to be a shopping trolley.

Got any friends in the force ??     I've had a few checked out to see if the seller is a clean skin or is of a shady nature ( if you get what I mean ).  So far they've all been clean, .......I know it's not a guarantee but I figure that if the seller is above board then it's gotta help 

Cheers
John K

we quizzed him on his reason for selling (which means nothing as anyone can
lie), and all general off the cuff conversations after that regarding his job (which we have family involved in the same company / line of work) came up as legit answers...no alarm bells rang and on the surface he seems ok, but you never know really. The vehicle is no bargain buy, it appears to be what it is (lowish klm 3 year old fourby) & the guy is selling it for what we'd be asking for it if we owned it (actually we'd probably ask a tiny bit more we thought, but not a lot more)
As far us asking a copper mate....I asked the one family friend we know in the force to look up someone's address for us a few years ago, after that person was found to have a motor belonging to a mates car that had gotten stolen a year earlier, and he refused to do so...he seemed to think something might happen to the guy, and he didn't want it noted he'd logged in to check the persons details out....lol.

[Bullant4x4]

Turn up with a few of these blokes and ask a few direct questions LOL 

[NewieCamper]

Don't get fooled into buying one of the fancy used vehicle history reports. You can get exactly the same info on the govt supplied one for less $.

[Fizzie]

Knew a bloke who was a Main Roads vehicle inspector.

Very handy when buying a used car from a dealer - pulls up in his work ute, walks in wearing MRD uniform, says G'day to the dealer "Mate, I'm interested in the "Patrol" out the front, talk to me about it"
Dealer (!@#$ing himself by now) Sorry, that one's not for sale - it's just sitting there to be taken away because we've found that the gearbox / brakes / engine is shot so we can't sell it"

Ok, how about the "Cruiser"? No, no - same thing, full of problems

& so on till we find out that the "Pajero" is fine. "Thanks for that - just checking for a mate. He'll be in this arvo to talk to you."

On his way out "By the way, I'll be back on Wednesday with an inspection team - all those problem cars will be sorted by then, won't they?"   
 
Unfortunately, he's retired now 

[Rumpig]

Don't get fooled into buying one of the fancy used vehicle history reports. You can get exactly the same info on the govt supplied one for less $.

so there's more then one place to get REVS check done is there?,I'm happy to admit I have no idea as like I said it's been 20 years since I've bought secondhand privately. Where is best site to check then?

[Fizzie]

Here's one option: http://www.racq.com.au/cars-and-driving/cars/buying-a-car/car-history-checks

[rags]

$3.40 tells you the history of ownership, register of write offs vehicle and finance owing
https://www.ppsr.gov.au
Need a Vin no to do check but if Qld rego you can get vin from here
https://www.service.transport.qld.gov.au/checkrego/public/Welcome.xhtml?windowId=a35

[Rumpig]

$3.40 tells you the history of ownership, register of write offs vehicle and finance owing
https://www.ppsr.gov.au
Need a Vin no to do check but if Qld rego you can get vin from here
https://www.service.transport.qld.gov.au/checkrego/public/Welcome.xhtml?windowId=a35

cheers..took photos of the VIN number whilst inspecting the vehicle so we have that already

Here's one option: http://www.racq.com.au/cars-and-driving/cars/buying-a-car/car-history-checks

after having someone get RACQ to do a vehicle inspection on a ute I sold many years ago, I'll avoid them for anything myself...they didn't tell the guy anything mechanically he needed to know about the vehicle (I didn't try and hide anything, it was what it was), and mainly noted minor cosmetic issues on a 20 year old work ute. Seems like the link above gives same details for minimal cost anyhow....cheers

[Annieandandy]

I take mine to my mechanic and he does a thorough check and writes down everything of concern. He also checks out previous service history to check things were done properly and on time. He does this for about $100. 

Before I do this I've already agreed on a sale price with the seller subject to my mechanics recommendation after he's checked it out.

Never had any dramas doing this and if the seller doesn't want a mechanic to look over it then I walk away.

[pinarelloman]

Where is the vehicle located? Perhaps a Swagger could have a sticky beak, or try the local 4 wd centre nearest to the location and ask them. Preferably not where they had it serviced.

[Rumpig]

Where is the vehicle located? Perhaps a Swagger could have a sticky beak, or try the local 4 wd centre nearest to the location and ask them. Preferably not where they had it serviced.

i'm not concerned with the mechanical check of it, was more asking about other checks you get done...as in REVS check etc. I know with buying an ex government vehicle here in Qld, you used to be able to ring the public trustees office and give them the rego number, they then could look up the vehicles full service record (often different to what the log book showed), aswell as the vehicles insurance claim history to find out if it had any claims made at all on it. It would be nice if you could do that with a privately owned vehicle, but I assume that still isn't possible?

[NewieCamper]

so there's more then one place to get REVS check done is there?,I'm happy to admit I have no idea as like I said it's been 20 years since I've bought secondhand privately. Where is best site to check then?

There are quite a few available for around $30. From what I saw on some TV show they are typically by the one company which has been linked to dodgy marketing tactics and runs some sort of credit check business. All the 'better' reports do is add some photos and show you the typical price for that model which you can find out easily for yourself online.

As above the PPSR report for $3.40 is all you need.

[Rumpig]

There are quite a few available for around $30. From what I saw on some TV show they are typically by the one company which has been linked to dodgy marketing tactics and runs some sort of credit check business. All the 'better' reports do is add some photos and show you the typical price for that model which you can find out easily for yourself online.

As above the PPSR report for $3.40 is all you need.

[KingBilly]

.

[AdrianLR]

You MUST check whether the vehicle is under finance. The PPSR check gives this information if I recall correctly. Without this check you could be paying twice.

[Rumpig]

You MUST check whether the vehicle is under finance. The PPSR check gives this information if I recall correctly. Without this check you could be paying twice.

been done already and yes there is a security issue with Toyota Finance, so will be getting looked into this week.