One-in-three second-hand car owners are sold faulty cars
It is estimated that each year $39 billion worth of second-hand cars are sold but many of these cars are lemons.
A survey of over 1000 people commissioned by online car finance company ApprovalBuddy, found one-in-three second-hand buyers had bought a car with problems they felt sellers should have warned them about.
Of those who experienced problems with their second-hand car, over half of the buyers noticed the problems with their car within the first month of purchase.
Less than one-in-five second-hand car buyers told the survey they felt capable to spot mechanical issues when inspecting a second-hand car.
Half of those surveyed said they had no idea what they were supposed to be looking at when inspecting a car and 7 per cent admitted to “faking it” at an inspection so they wouldn’t embarrass themselves.
Fixing these problems doesn’t come cheap with just over half of respondents with problems spending over $1000 on issues they felt the seller had been hiding.
Founder of ApprovalBuddy, Anthony Simon, explained that very few people are able to check mechanics themselves which is why so many are buying lemons.
"If you don't know how to properly inspect a second-hand car, make sure you have it checked by a qualified mechanic before you purchase," he told Sydney Morning Herald.
Simon suggests looking for the classic signs of problems such as oil leaks, which can be caused from degraded engine gaskets. They are a fire hazard and can also cause the engine to fail without warning.
Other signs include having panels with differing colour tones, which shows the car has been in an accident and has been poorly resprayed.
It is also important to check engine noise and transmission noise for any problems.
"And there's the false kilometre reading. If a car shows a lot of wear and tear but has a low reading, it could be that the odometer has been tampered with," he said.