Second-hand petrol and diesel buyers should “walk away” from a sale if they don’t get to see a “critical document” before parting ways with money, according to a leading expert.
John Rawlings, consumer editor at Carwow, warned it was vital potential buyers saw the owner’s V5C forms before completing a transaction.
The motoring specialist stressed this was “the most important thing” with the “critical document” vital to any sale.
Sellers who don’t hand over the information could be hiding something sinister and buyers should “walk away straight away”.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, John said: “The V5C is the most important thing. Certainly, if the person doesn’t have that you have got to walk away from the car straight away.
“You want to approve that they are the legal owner of it for starters and that it’s at the right address. That is a critical document.”
According to AutoTrader, who offers free valuation and sells used cars “within just 48 hours”, V5C documents are very important as they act as a vehicle’s proof of registration issued by the DVLA.
V5C certificates contain a series of critical information including the name and address of the person the car is registered to and a vehicle’s unique 17-digit vehicle identification number (VIN).
Details on the engine specifications, cylinder capacity, engine weight, fuel type, and car emission standards will also likely be listed.
It comes after a Carwow study found many used car buyers are skipping vital checks when making a purchase.
The survey found that only 64 percent of respondents believed they performed the correct checks before buying a second-hand model.
Most concerning, a staggering 38 percent of those polled said they didn’t consult the vehicle’s logbook (V5C) before buying their car.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, John admitted he “definitely” thought the number of drivers conducting checks would be higher before the findings were unveiled.
He added: “Last year there were over seven million used cars sold so that’s a lot of cars.
“And if you think of that percentage in terms of actual cars on the road, that’s quite a scary amount of cars that potentially [owners] don’t know enough about.
“You can’t always see things. You can look at the paintwork and think ‘oh it looks nice’ but there’s so much unless you’re a trained mechanic you don’t know what you’re looking for.”
