Rise in used car 'complaints' says OFT

The number of complaints about used cars sold by dealers has gone up.

The Office of Fair of Trading (OFT) says in the last year it's seen an 18% rise in people getting in touch for advice.

It reckons people are forking out on average £425 to get their second-hand cars back on the road.

That often happens within three months of purchase.

Michele Shambrook is Operational Manager for Consumer Direct, the advice line for OFT, and says if you bought your car from a private seller you may have less protection.

"For instance, they tell you that it's a five-year-old car that's done 50,000 miles (and) you drive it down the road and the engine falls out - you might not have any rights," she said.

"If you bought from a dealer you would have."

Know your rights

However, if you bought your second-hand car from a trader you might not have to spend money out of your own pocket to get it back on the road.

Responsibility could lie with the dealer under the Sale of Goods Act.

Jon has had problems with cars from private sellers as well as dealers

Michele says: "(It) covers you. Taking into account the age and the price of what you bought the goods must be of a satisfactory quality.

"So in theory, if you can prove it has an inherent defect then you might have rights for longer than three months."

Jon Turonnet from Milton Keynes told Newsbeat he's had problems with his used cars and has spent thousands of pounds on repairs.

He said: "The last couple I've had have been real stinkers, the first one was from a private [seller] and the head gasket blew up on the way home. The current one I got from a dealer and the turbo blew up on the way home.

"If you're looking at spending £3,000, £4,000, £5,000 on a car, get it checked over by someone who knows what they're talking about first. You'll save yourself a hell of a lot of problems."

'Unsafe and dangerous'

Consumer Direct says it's seen more than 38,000 complaints about second-hand cars bought from dealers - an increase of about 18% compared with the same period last year.

That means cars tops the list, above mobile phones and TV complaints.

It told us about some of the issues people are getting in touch about.

"People have told us stories about buying unroadworthy cars that are unsafe and dangerous.

"Cars that have become faulty, and so they find themselves having to pay out for repairs that on average that could cost up to £420."

Buying advice

Here are Michele's top tips when buying a second-hand car from a trader:

- Ask the dealer lots of questions like what mechanical history and mileage checks have they done on the car?

How many former owners has the car had and is the full service history available?

- Get the answers to your questions in writing.

- Find out about the dealer's complaints procedure and whether they are signed up to a code of practice.

- Bring along a mechanic or a friend who has a lot of knowledge about cars.

- If you do buy the car and it has a problem, Consumer Direct advises people not to head out and spend their own money.

They say before you do go back to your trader...

- Collect all your evidence of what the problems are and get a mechanic to back that up in writing.

- Put your own complaint in writing.

- Come to an agreement with the dealer on what they will definitely fix, what they won't, and how much will it all cost.

- Get a fixed time on how long the repairs will take.