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CATEGORIES
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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Testing
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Sellers Questions
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| | How To Bid | |
If you have spotted on item you would like to place a bid on you can do so quickly and easily by following these steps:-
(1) Login to your account – If you have not registered you can do so within 5 minutes
(2) Visit the auction page
(3) Towards the bottom of the auction description page you will see a “bidding box”, you can use the shortcut link to the bidding box if you wish.
(4) Enter in your bid, note you must bid above the minimum bid required
(5) Click on the “place bid” button
(6) You will then be asked to confirm you bid, once you have done so your bid will be entered, if successful you will receive a confirmation message. If you bid fails to outbid the current high bidder you will be offered the option to place a higher bid.
Proxy bidding can aid your chances of winning an auction and help avoid you being outbid at the last moment. To place a proxy bid enter in the maximum price you are willing to pay for the item. If another user places a bid on the same auction automatic bids will be placed on your behalf in accordance with your maximum bid amount. With proxy bidding you will pay the lowest possible price until someone else places a higher bid.
There is another way of bidding: Buy it now auctions.
Buy it now prices are set by the seller, if you agree with that price, you can click on the “Buy Now” button which is displayed on the auction details page. After clicking on the button you will be re-directed to a confirmation page. On a standard auction that auction will end instantly as the item has been sold via Buy it now. On a Dutch auction, you can enter the amount of items you wish to buy (depending the quantity available). If you purchase less than there are available in total, the auction will remain open with the number of items left available after you have purchased the amount you want.
| ![]("http://www.carbidder.com/img/arrow.gif") | How To Sell | |
Once you have signed up for an account, you will be able to sell items through the site.
In order to do that, you will have to click on the “Sell” link, and you will be redirected to a page, you can then select the main category of the product or service you want to sell. This feature has been made in order to ease the subcategory choosing process. No items can be sold by choosing only the main category; you will have to choose a subcategory for it.
The second step is entering the auction details, settings, payment methods available, and choosing a category. An image that will come with the auction is free of charge, but the admin may charge for adding additional pictures.
On the Auction Settings tab, you can choose the type of the auction, the start price, whether to activate buy now or set a reserve price.
Also, you will be able to choose what type of bid increment to use, the progressive one implemented into the site (that can be edited from the admin area), or a custom one. If you choose the custom one, you will have to enter an increment value.
You will also be able to choose whether to feature the item, and the duration of the auction.
After setting the location, shipping and payment and subcategory, and by clicking on the “Next Step” button, you will be redirected to Step Three, where you can review the auction before submitting. If everything is in order, you can click on the “Submit” button, and will be redirected to the payment page, or a confirmation page, if no fees have to be paid. The auction is activated once the payment is confirmed by the payment gateway, or instantly, if no fees need to be paid.
| | Registering | |
Registration is simple and only takes a matter minutes. To start the signup process, click on the “register” link at the top of this page. Only users with the age over 16 years are able to register.
The next step is to fill in all your information, failure to supply all the required information will result in an error.
By clicking on the “Register” button from the bottom of the page, you will be redirected to a page with a link to the payment gateway if the signup fee is activated, or to a confirmation page, if signup is free.
Your account will be activated instantly if there is no signup fee, or once the payment has been confirmed by the payment gateway.
| | Members Area | |
Members Area
Once you have successfully logged in using the login forms from the main page or from the login page (click on the “login” button from the page header), you will be redirected to the members area page. This page is divided into four tabs:
a. Bidding
On this page, you will be able to see the items your currently bidding on, as well as the status of the bids, items you have won, and watched items. By clicking on the “Auction Watch” link, you will be able to add keywords for auctions your interested in. An email will be sent to your email address every time an auction that will contain the keyword in its name or description will be submitted.
By clicking on the “View Details” link from the Won Items area, you will be able to see the details of the seller, and make contact with him in order to perfect the sale.
b. Selling
There are three areas available on this page.
The “My Opened Auctions” area, where you will see details of auctions you currently has open; if no bids were submitted yet on an open auction, you are able to edit the auction.
The “My Closed Auctions” area, where you will see the auctions submitted by yourself, and that were closed. You can choose to edit, delete or re-list a closed auction.
On the “Sold Items” area, you will see the items you have sold, and by clicking on the “View Details” link, you will be redirected to a page where you will see the details of the buyer. If an end of auction fee is set from the admin area, then the seller will have to pay for the end of auction fee in order for you to see the buyer details.
If, after the seller has contacted the bidder, and no sale has been made, you can claim back the end of auction fee. By clicking on the “Claim back end of auction fee”, a claim back request will be sent to the site’s administrator, and will be evaluated for fee refunding.
c. Feedback
From this page, you will be able to see the feedbacks you have received, and leave feedbacks to other users.
d. Personal Info
You can edit your personal information using this page, except for your username. You can also change the password for the account. If the password and confirm password fields are left empty, and then the password will remain the same.
| | Dutch auctions | |
On a Dutch Auction, the auctioneer has more items of the same product for sale. The bidder will enter a maximum bid he is willing to pay for an item, and the number of items he wants to purchase. The highest bidder(s) will receive the number of items they have bid on, and the remaining bidders will receive the number of items still available. Buyers are able to bid more than once for the same item. | | Feedback system | |
Once a sale has been processed, both the seller and the buyer will be able to leave feedbacks for each other. The feedback rating is from one star to five stars, and a feedback comment can also be left. The feedback can be left from the “Feedback” tab from the Members Area. The feedback can only be left once, and it cannot be edited afterwards.
The site admin will reserve its right to delete malicious or untrue feedbacks.
| | Item watching | |
The item watch features lets you keep a close eye on any auction without having to place a bid on it. This feature means you can be kept up to date on how an auction is doing and prepares you to place a winning last minute bid. You can watch any auction by clicking on the “Watch this item” link on any auction page. | | Auction watch | |
The auction watch features notifies you of newly listed auctions which contain “keywords” you have chosen. For example if you are looking for a “Playstation 2” you could enter in those keywords from within your member’s area. Each time a new auction is listed containing the term “Playstation 2” you will be notified via this web-site. You can enter in as many keywords as you like. |
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Advertiser Questions
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| | Who is AAAuBid.com? | |
AAAuBid.com is a brand new website primarily set up for the sale and auction of used cars and car accessories and general items. It is also an automotive service centre offering a variety of services from insurance quotes to car valuations and car related information. AAAuBid.com aims to provide for all your automotive needs in one place.
We also pride ourselves on offering a friendly personal service. Unlike some websites where the most contact you can have with the company is via an automated email service, we have a telephone line manned until 8pm and direct sales personnel who are always on hand to help and assist you. We also aim to answer all email enquiries personally within 24hours of receipt.
AAAuBid is run by people who know about selling and buying cars, not just people who know about the internet. We have undertaken research studies to understand how people are increasingly using the internet to service their automotive needs and also identified increasing trends in buyers using the internet as a preferred method of finding a car as appose to going just to a dealer. We have gained significant press coverage recently including features in several trade publications as well as National newspapers.
With the marketing we have done on the main search engines along with the press coverage the site has received over visitors per day come to the site, and of these 50% are brand new visitors.
| | Why place a banner on the site? | |
Nowadays its increasingly hard to operate successfully without a website, but once you have one how do you get people to it so that it generates business for you?
Most people use the website to find websites, but advertising your website can be costly exercise as so many people are competing for banner space and sponsored links, especially in the automotive industry. Advertising on AAAuBid.com can cost you as little as a penny per page impression!
By placing a banner on AAAuBid.com you are placing your advert in a specific area relevant for your target audience. Also we only place one vendor banner per section so you get exclusive rights on that section, and no other vendor will be offered that section whilst you are advertising within it. | | What will you get? | |
| | What if I don’t have an existing banner? | |
Our designers can do you a banner that you can reuse wherever you wish at cost price for a charge of only $45 for a static banner and $65 for an animated one
This banner will be exclusively your property and AAAuBid claim no rights to it.
| | What will it cost? | |
This depends what section you select to advertise on
- Home page of any of our feature sections, ie Insurance Centre
- Sub section of any of our feature sections
- Top of a manufacturer category or a parts category
| | Do I get a discount for signing up for more than a month? | |
- 3 Months is the minimum length of service agreement. If you sign up for 3 months the above prices apply
- If you sign up for 6 months the prices will be discounted by 10%
- If you sign up for 12 months the prices will be discounted by 15%
| | How will I pay? | | Payment can either be made in advance for the length of the whole contract or on a monthly basis by standing order. | | What size and format should the banner be? | | The banner needs to be a standard banner size of 480 x 60 pixels | | How will I know if I am getting value from my banner? | |
The AAAuBid website receives over 12000 visits per month with half of these being unique visitors. The visitors view over 150,000 pages in a month meaning that each visitor views around 12 pages. With nearly all visitors spending most of their time in the categories sections, your banner has a high chance of being seen buy a large proportion of the site visitors.
Once a month you will be given a report of the number of page impressions your banner has received, and the number of visitors who have clicked on your banner. This will enable you to assess the value to your business your banner is providing you. |
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Buyers Questions
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| | How To Bid | |
If you have spotted on item you would like to place a bid on you can do so quickly and easily by following these steps:-
(1) Login to your account – If you have not registered you can do so within 5 minutes
(2) Visit the auction page
(3) Towards the bottom of the auction description page you will see a “bidding box”, you can use the shortcut link to the bidding box if you wish.
(4) Enter in your bid, note you must bid above the minimum bid required
(5) Click on the “place bid” button
(6) You will then be asked to confirm you bid, once you have done so your bid will be entered, if successful you will receive a confirmation message. If you bid fails to outbid the current high bidder you will be offered the option to place a higher bid.
Proxy bidding can aid your chances of winning an auction and help avoid you being outbid at the last moment. To place a proxy bid enter in the maximum price you are willing to pay for the item. If another user places a bid on the same auction automatic bids will be placed on your behalf in accordance with your maximum bid amount. With proxy bidding you will pay the lowest possible price until someone else places a higher bid.
There is another way of bidding: Buy it now auctions.
Buy it now prices are set by the seller, if you agree with that price, you can click on the “Buy Now” button which is displayed on the auction details page. After clicking on the button you will be re-directed to a confirmation page. On a standard auction that auction will end instantly as the item has been sold via Buy it now. On a Dutch auction, you can enter the amount of items you wish to buy (depending the quantity available). If you purchase less than there are available in total, the auction will remain open with the number of items left available after you have purchased the amount you want.
| | How To Sell | |
Once you have signed up for an account, you will be able to sell items through the site.
In order to do that, you will have to click on the “Sell” link, and you will be redirected to a page, you can then select the main category of the product or service you want to sell. This feature has been made in order to ease the subcategory choosing process. No items can be sold by choosing only the main category; you will have to choose a subcategory for it.
The second step is entering the auction details, settings, payment methods available, and choosing a category. An image that will come with the auction is free of charge, but the admin may charge for adding additional pictures.
On the Auction Settings tab, you can choose the type of the auction, the start price, whether to activate buy now or set a reserve price.
Also, you will be able to choose what type of bid increment to use, the progressive one implemented into the site (that can be edited from the admin area), or a custom one. If you choose the custom one, you will have to enter an increment value.
You will also be able to choose whether to feature the item, and the duration of the auction.
After setting the location, shipping and payment and subcategory, and by clicking on the “Next Step” button, you will be redirected to Step Three, where you can review the auction before submitting. If everything is in order, you can click on the “Submit” button, and will be redirected to the payment page, or a confirmation page, if no fees have to be paid. The auction is activated once the payment is confirmed by the payment gateway, or instantly, if no fees need to be paid.
| | Registering | |
Registration is simple and only takes a matter minutes. To start the signup process, click on the “register” link at the top of this page. Only users with the age over 16 years are able to register.
The next step is to fill in all your information, failure to supply all the required information will result in an error.
By clicking on the “Register” button from the bottom of the page, you will be redirected to a page with a link to the payment gateway if the signup fee is activated, or to a confirmation page, if signup is free.
Your account will be activated instantly if there is no signup fee, or once the payment has been confirmed by the payment gateway.
| | Members Area | |
Members Area
Once you have successfully logged in using the login forms from the main page or from the login page (click on the “login” button from the page header), you will be redirected to the members area page. This page is divided into four tabs:
a. Bidding
On this page, you will be able to see the items your currently bidding on, as well as the status of the bids, items you have won, and watched items. By clicking on the “Auction Watch” link, you will be able to add keywords for auctions your interested in. An email will be sent to your email address every time an auction that will contain the keyword in its name or description will be submitted.
By clicking on the “View Details” link from the Won Items area, you will be able to see the details of the seller, and make contact with him in order to perfect the sale.
b. Selling
There are three areas available on this page.
The “My Opened Auctions” area, where you will see details of auctions you currently has open; if no bids were submitted yet on an open auction, you are able to edit the auction.
The “My Closed Auctions” area, where you will see the auctions submitted by yourself, and that were closed. You can choose to edit, delete or re-list a closed auction.
On the “Sold Items” area, you will see the items you have sold, and by clicking on the “View Details” link, you will be redirected to a page where you will see the details of the buyer. If an end of auction fee is set from the admin area, then the seller will have to pay for the end of auction fee in order for you to see the buyer details.
If, after the seller has contacted the bidder, and no sale has been made, you can claim back the end of auction fee. By clicking on the “Claim back end of auction fee”, a claim back request will be sent to the site’s administrator, and will be evaluated for fee refunding.
c. Feedback
From this page, you will be able to see the feedbacks you have received, and leave feedbacks to other users.
d. Personal Info
You can edit your personal information using this page, except for your username. You can also change the password for the account. If the password and confirm password fields are left empty, and then the password will remain the same.
| | Dutch auctions | |
On a Dutch Auction, the auctioneer has more items of the same product for sale. The bidder will enter a maximum bid he is willing to pay for an item, and the number of items he wants to purchase. The highest bidder(s) will receive the number of items they have bid on, and the remaining bidders will receive the number of items still available. Buyers are able to bid more than once for the same item. | | Feedback system | |
Once a sale has been processed, both the seller and the buyer will be able to leave feedbacks for each other. The feedback rating is from one star to five stars, and a feedback comment can also be left. The feedback can be left from the “Feedback” tab from the Members Area. The feedback can only be left once, and it cannot be edited afterwards.
The site admin will reserve its right to delete malicious or untrue feedbacks.
| | Item watching | |
The item watch features lets you keep a close eye on any auction without having to place a bid on it. This feature means you can be kept up to date on how an auction is doing and prepares you to place a winning last minute bid. You can watch any auction by clicking on the “Watch this item” link on any auction page. | | Auction watch | |
The auction watch features notifies you of newly listed auctions which contain “keywords” you have chosen. For example if you are looking for a “Playstation 2” you could enter in those keywords from within your member’s area. Each time a new auction is listed containing the term “Playstation 2” you will be notified via this web-site. You can enter in as many keywords as you like. |
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AAAuBid Fee's
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| | SERVICE | | Vehicle Listing Fees | Parts / Accessories Listing Fees | | Site Registration | | Free | Free | | Basic Listing Fee | Items Reserve Price less than $10,000 | | Free | | Additional Optional Listing Features | Reserve Fee | Free | Free | | Picture Fee | | Additional Pictures | | Highlighted Auction | | Bold Text | | Home Page Feature | | Category Feature | | Gallery Fee | | End of Auction Fees - Vehicles | Items sale price less than $1000 | 5% | N/A | | Items sale price more than $1000 | 2% | N/A | | End of Auction Fees – Parts Accessories | Items sale price less than $50 | N/A | 10% | | Items sale price more than $50 | N/A | 5% |
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Car Selling Advice
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Cleaning your car properly can add hundreds of pounds to the value of your car. Follow this simple steps to get the maximum value for your vehicle
Outside Obviously, your first step should be to clean off all the road grime, using a good-quality car shampoo. NEVER use washing-up liquid, as it actually helps promote rust, unlike car products, which keep it at bay. Work from the roof down, rinse off well, and dry with a chamois leather. NEVER wash the car in the full sun, and wash and rinse the car a section at a time to prevent streaks
Now you need to deal with the details:
- Stone chips look awful and stand out a mile, and can rust if not attended to, and usually put buyers off. Repair them with a touch-up stick that these days can be bought to exactly match your car color for make and model. These aren't expensive, and with a little patience, you can dramatically improve your car's appearance.
- Wheels caked in brake dust look awful. On alloys, if it's particularly stubborn, buy an alloy wheel cleaner and treat them. If you've got wheel trims, consider replacing them - especially if they've been kerbed. Damaged alloys can be repaired too, but this is more expensive.
- Wheel arches are also an important area to focus on People like to run there hands up inside the wheel arch and its quite off putting if its covered in mud! Best way to do this is to take the wheels off the car one at a time and clean the wheel arch. This also makes it easier to clean the wheel too!
- Its amazing the difference a new number plates can make to the appearance of a car. Its definitely a few pounds well spent to put new ones on before you sell your car
- Missing trim or badges stand out like a sore thumb to used buyers, so buy replacements. Breaker's yards offer a cheap source of parts.
- Clean less obvious parts too, such as sills, and the inner panel of doors; this will impress buyers, and helps create a 'well looked-after' image.
- Bumpers can often spoil the look of otherwise spotless cars. Apply “Back to Black” which can be obtained from your local autoparts shop. This will make the trims look fabulous!
Finally, a good polish will create that 'new car' shine that so many used buyers are looking for. Again apply panel by panel polishing off completely from one panel before applying to the next one, and this is particularly important not to do when the paintwork os hot as it B”akes” on the polish which is then VERY hard to remove.
Inside Cleaning the interior requires a little more hard work. Starting with the vacuum is always best - treat carpets, seats, dusty crevices, even the dashboard itself, making later jobs a little easier. You're then ready to start on the details:
- Dashboards should be cleaned with a 'low-gloss' dashboard cleaner; don't use household polish, as it'll give a cheap appearance. Clean door trims too, being careful not to spray fabric.
- Windows should be cleaned after the dashboard, to make sure you don't spoil your hard work. Use a glass cleaner or damp chamois leather. When cleaning the rear window, use a side to side action, thus ensuring you don't damage the heater elements.
- Replace any non-standard parts, such as racy gear knobs or alloy pedal covers. They won't impress buyers, who'll think your car has been thrashed. Standard is always best.
- Holes, usually from mobile phone holders, can be filled in by specialists. They can also repair any damage to dashboards or door trims, and it doesn't cost the earth, either.
- Avoid dousing the car in air freshener, unless you have smoked in it - in which case, buy an odour neutraliser. Spray the ashtray too, after giving it a good clean.
Lift tatty old mats out; the clean carpets underneath will look much more attractive.
Mechanicals Buyers love looking under the bonnet, even if they haven't got a clue what they're looking for. You should therefore make sure they like what they see.
- Steam-cleaning is much-loved by car dealers, but can arouse suspicion; are you trying to hide oil leaks? The best way to achieve the finish you want is to buy a spray or brush on engine de-greaser. These can be bought fairly cheaply from your local autoparts outlet. These are easy to apply and work a bit like oven cleaner: apply, leave , rinse off, wonderful results!
- Oil changes are cheap, and clean oil looks far better than sludgy treacle. Make sure the oil level is correct too.
- Fill all water and coolant bottles up, maybe using a sweet-smelling windscreen washer?
- Tidy up generally; attach alarm wiring correctly, clean out leaves from air intakes, and generally make the engine bay appear cared-for.
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Taking Photo's
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Why is a good photo important when placing an online advert?
- A good photo is important irrespective of where you are advertising your car, but never more so than when advertising online.
- In a lot of cases the whole transaction will be completed without the buyer seeing the car, and as such the more photos you supply and the more representative they are of the vehicle the better.
- It also not a bad thing to show close up pictures of any faults / marks on the vehicle. This enables the potential buyer to know the exact extent of any marks / faults and reassures them they know what they are buying.
- It is also important to use photos to show off what you believe makes the car stand out. So for example, if you think the interior is in particularly good condition or is a particularly good quality seats / interior then take a picture to show that off.
How should I take a good photo?
- Ensure the car is clean and polished
- Take the photo in good daylight, do not wait until last light.
- Your main photo should be taken with two sides of the car on show ie at 45 degrees onto the car. This allows you to get a good profile of the car and prevents the picture looking flat.
- Turn the wheels so that the steering wheel is on ¾ lock. This gives a further sense of dimension about the picture
- Take close up photo's of any details you wish to show
- With auto-focus zoom camera's stand back and zoom in as apose to standing close and zooming out. This will increase the accuracy of the focus of the picture.
- Do not shoot into direct sunlight, Try to stand with the sun behind you.
- Take more than one then choose the best.
- Make sure you take a close up photo of any dents or scratches that the potential buyer would see if they were actually looking at the vehicle
- Take photo's of any aspects of the vehicle that you wish potential buyers to see or you feel will help sell the car.
- Park the car infront of a wall or a solid background where possible
- Avoid backgrounds with distractions ie others vehicles, childrens toys etc
Below you will see a series of images showing well taken photos, as well as poorly taken photos, plus examples of how to take pictures of particular features of the car.
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Car Buying Advice
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| | 1. Set a realistic budget – including running costs |
Decide how much you can afford to pay, and do your best to stick to it! Include the cost of insurance, MOT, road tax, petrol, repairs and servicing. Bear in mind that older prestige and sports cars can be cheap to buy, but repair/insurance costs may be higher - ask dealers for estimates of typical repairs to get an idea. Don't rush into a decision - shop around, and compare prices from different sources, like car dealers, private adverts, auctions and web sites.
| 2. View the car in daylight, at the seller’s address | |
View the car in clear daylight and take a friend to confirm what you see. Do not arrange to meet at a service station or lay-by and do not let the seller bring the car to you. Check the seller's address is the same as that recorded in the logbook and seek additional reassurance that the seller lives where they claim to - are they in the 'phone book'?
| | 3. Ask for, and check, all paperwork/keys carefully | |
Check that all documentation you would expect to find is available. This will normally include the Registration Document (V5), service and insurance records, MOT certificate (on vehicles over 3 years old) and receipts. Then make sure everything tallies. Also investigate the keys - are they all there? Are there too many? Does the driver's door or boot need a different key from the rest of the car? These clues may point to prior damage or theft.
| 4. A professional inspection usually pays for itself | |
An independent inspection (by an organisation such as the RAC or Green Flag) will help to identify potentially expensive mechanical problems and can also spot the signs of major accident repair. The results will either give you greater confidence that the vehicle is a good buy, tell you to walk away, or provide the basis for negotiating on price to take into account necessary rectification work. If the seller won't allow an inspection, that tells you something too!
| 5. Remember, 1 in 5 vehicles are damaged each year | |
Over 5 million vehicles require bodywork each year. Given that there are about 24m cars on the road, this means we all have a 1 in 5 chance that our car will be accident damaged in any one year. The HPI Check will tell you if a vehicle has been so badly damaged that an insurer has declared it a total loss. But even where a car has not been "written off", don't assume it is free from major accident damage.
| 6. Use V5 and service book to check the car’s history | |
While the V5 is not proof of ownership, it does contain a lot of useful information. You can contact the previous keeper to confirm the car's history. Also you can compare keeper change dates with the result of the HPI Check to ensure you're not looking at a document which has been forged or altered. Also, use the service history to do a bit of detective work. What do the dates and mileages tell you about the car's past life? Is the "full service history" really full?
| 7. Look for signs of clocking | |
Reducing the mileage of a vehicle by turning back the odometer, or 'clocking', is a common trick used by unscrupulous sellers to obtain a higher price. An HPI Check can help detect known discrepancies, but there is no substitute for a careful inspection. Examine steering wheels, gearshift and seats for excessive wear, and look outside for stone chips.
| 8. Take a varied test drive (make sure you’re insured!) | |
Make sure that you test drive the car on a range of roads for a drive of at least 10-15 miles. Check you are properly insured and take a friend with you. Look and listen carefully for rattles, creaks and banging noises. Watch for smoky start ups (especially blue smoke). Pay special attention to the steering, and check for wandering and pulling under braking, bearing in mind that wide tyres can make cars more sensitive to white lines and camber changes.
| 9. If you’re unhappy – walk away | |
After point 10, this is the best advice of all! If we're honest, many of us start to get emotionally attached to cars even before we've seen them. Don't let the paintwork or the price blind you to aspects of a car that don't add up. HPI's advice is that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
| | 10. HPI before you buy | |
Don't hand over any money until you have completed an HPI Check - this will allow you to cross-check the car and the documentation, and help to ensure that you will actually own it! When doing the Check try to have the mileage and MOT certificate to hand, and most importantly, the VIN as well as the registration mark. Make sure the information we supply matches the vehicle and the documentation in every respect - if it doesn't, you may not be covered by our guarantee. | | | | | | |
Final Checks
It is not unknown to find that upon coming to collect the vehicle, the buyer discovers a missing stereo or other trim items. Some cases have even uncovered of an entirely different car to the one that was viewed and agreed upon, though this is rare!
But it does make it important to ensure the deposit note includes registration details. Other sneaky tricks, sometimes employed by independent dealers, include putting a five-speed gearknob on a four-speed car - it goes without saying that all features should be checked.
Warranties are sometimes not worth the paper they are written on. Check the small print carefully; for instance it is common to find an entry in the main text proudly announcing the policy covers shock absorbers - then in the small print the policy excludes leaking shock absorbers (99% of shock absorber failures are due to leaks).
| Finance |
Similarly finance deals can represent a minefield of conflicting information. On the whole, used car dealers who offer finance will make a tidy profit from their finance deals; sometimes more so than on the cars they sell. If you must borrow money to pay for the car, make sure you have shopped around carefully.
| How to pay |
Assuming you are buying from a private seller, the money needs to change hands. Make sure you have the deposit note with the agreed price on it; then the seller cannot add a last-minute charge.
For cheaper cars, cash usually represents the best option. The majority of transactions for up to ?2,500 are done with cash. However, this puts both buyer and seller at risk: many people do not like walking around with thousands of pounds of cash in their pockets. And the seller may (rightly) be concerned that some or all of the bank notes are forged.
The alternative is a banker's draft. This is a good way of ensuring both buyer and seller have no risk attached to the transaction - the draft has both buyer and seller's names on it, so no-one else can use it.
Cheques are generally not used because there is too much scope for fraud. Occasionally a buyer will hand over a cheque then collect the car when the money has cleared in the seller's account - but again there is room for the seller to take the money and the car and disappear.
| Paperwork |
Make sure the seller fills in his portion of the V5 document, which proves to the DVLA that the car has been sold. You should be left with a 'temporary' V5 which is valid for insurance purposes until a new printed V5 with your details appears through the post. It's a good idea to get a full receipt (similar to the deposit note) if any legal problems arise in the future.
| Drive away | |
It is sensible to ask the seller for a quick drive before handing over the folding, just to make sure everything is as the buyer thought it was. Assuming that is in order then you are free to drive away.
A cautionary note: arrange insurance before collecting the car; not only is it illegal to drive without insurance, it would be highly distressing to crash a car which has been paid for the same day. |
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Vehicle Delivery
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AAAuBid.com has teamed up with Vehicle Transporter Agencies, Nationwide offering internet based vehicle collection & delivery service with a passion for reliable service. With over 300 drivers nationwide plus Single and Multi-car transporter facilities Automobile Transporter Agencies offer a vehicle logistics resource second to none. Whatever your vehicle movement needs they can deliver.
The partnership between Vehicle Transport Agencies & AAAuBid.com means we can offer you a door to door delivery service for any vehicle purchased on this site.
To get a delivery quote for a vehicle on this site, simply log on and find the car you want, select the "Delivery Quote" option and the system will take the postcode of the car you are looking at and your postcode from your member ship details and produce an instant quote. If you successfully buy the vehicle you are interested in then you can then email us to book the service for you at the price quoted.
In addition to the service provided on the site to buyers and sellers, AAAuBid.com is also able to provide motor traders this service for any or all of their vehicle movements. No more 'phoning around' to find out who can do what and when. With a few clicks of your mouse your vehicle movement requirements are dealt with. Email us at admin@europautoex.com for further details of this service available to anyone who has a need to move vehicles from one place to another in a cost effective way. |
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