Our Guide to Buying a Used Vehicle 🚗
Buying a used vehicle can be overwhelming, with a wealth of makes, models, sizes, and years of manufacture on forecourts. Buying used is more popular than ever, and you can get a great deal on a fantastic vehicle if you know what to look for. Here’s our guide to buying used.
Where to Start?
Think about what you need from your vehicle. Do you value speed over size? A bigger engine to haul bigger loads? Bigger boot size for more parcels? What’s your average miles per year – do you need something with lower mileage? How many MPG are you hoping to get?
Will you also be using the vehicle as a family car? Did you know that all of our courier policies include social and domestic pleasure? You can get a quote here!
Consider the routes you’re most likely to drive while delivering, whether city-centered, residential, or countryside. A 4×4 may seem practical, but not so good for tighter residential roads. If your local area is traffic heavy, you’ll need something with good miles per gallon, or possibly a hybrid that switches to electric when still.
Chat with family and friends about their own vehicles. Toyotas are known for their reliability and ability to keep going, but they’re not the most exciting of cars! Sometimes the most appealing or flashy cars are prone to glaring faults! Thanks to a certain Doc Brown, Deloreans were THE iconic car of the 80s, but were notorious for breakdowns!
Found a model?
Great! Now you’ve settled on a make and model, check sites such as Autotrader, eBay, and other used car sites to get an idea of the average price. This way you can be sure you’re not paying over the odds.
If the vehicle is on a forecourt, go after the garage closure so you can check the vehicle out without hovering sales people. Next is to make sure you arrange a test drive. Remember, all vehicles drive slightly differently, and you’ll need to get a feel for the vehicle before you go further in the process. Some people even go back twice. This is especially important if you’re going from automatic to manual, and vice versa.
Insurance
Before purchasing your chosen vehicle, call us to get a no-obligation quote. This means that as soon as you’ve got your new vehicle, we can get you out on the road in minutes, fully covered.
MOT & Service History
Be sure to ask as many questions as possible around MOT history, service history and whether the vehicle has been involved in any major accidents. If you’d like more information, the RAC offers a comprehensive vehicle report for a small fee – all you need is the license plate.Â
Payment
Depending on where you’re purchasing, there’ll be several finance options available based on credit history, affordability checks etc. If you’re purchasing outright, you needn’t worry. If you’re leasing the vehicle, think carefully about whether you can afford the repayments if something were to change in the future. Relapsing on payments risks your vehicle being repossessed, and you’d potentially lose your livelihood.
Congratulations on your New Purchase!
We hope that you have lots of adventures in your new vehicle! Be sure to drive safely and with courtesy to other road users.
If you’d like more information regarding INSHUR insurance, you can check out our Helpdesk here.
Ready to purchase insurance? Click the button below to get started.
