Preparing to buy a used car - A close-up of the vehicle's history
Are you planning to change your car? The second-hand market is an excellent idea! What's more, you'll be able to make extra savings on your purchase. However, it's important to prepare your purchase carefully, and to find out as much as possible about the origin of the vehicle you have your eye on.
Every car has a story!
Unlike many goods bought and sold between individuals, cars have many lives. On average, a car will have 4 owners before it reaches the graveyard (i.e. the scrapyard). So it's important to know your car's past to make sure there are no nasty surprises. There are countless sources of information on a vehicle's past, but it's far from easy to get hold of them quickly and easily.
What information can help you trace the vehicle's history?
Numerous public and private bodies collect a great deal of data to help you find out more before finalising the purchase of a used car. However, fishing for information will take an incalculable amount of time, and even with a great deal of patience and determination, you won't be able to obtain all the useful information. The easiest way for a buyer today is to ask the seller for all the records and invoices relating to the vehicle. Alternatively, buyers can reassure themselves by asking for the opinion of a motoring professional or expert, which will enable them to check the condition of the vehicle but not to obtain the full history.
There are tools available to simplify your research and obtain a certified history
The Internet is a fantastic tool for obtaining all the information you need to give you reliable background information on the used car you want to buy. The public authorities are setting up tools to make life easier for private buyers, but other private players are offering tools that are simpler to use and connected to more comprehensive databases. Autorigin is a leading start-up in the field of online used vehicle registration. Using a simple number plate, potential buyers of a vehicle can trace the history of the car in question and obtain all the information they need in just a few clicks, such as :
- The number of owners and their type (taxi, driving school, company, hire company, private individual, professional, etc.),
- Length of ownership,
- If it is an imported or end-of-life vehicle,
- Safety test scoring,
- If the vehicle is stolen in EU countries,
- Points of attention on accident risks or anomalies...
Why is it important to know the history of a used vehicle before buying it?
The risks are numerous. Buying the wrong vehicle from the wrong person can have serious consequences. In addition to the major financial problems that can be caused by the numerous scams run by fraudsters on classified ad sites such as La Centrale, Leboncoin, Facebook, Autoscout24, etc., by making payments using forged bank cheques or transfers, or by using your bank details to set up RIB scams, the driver's life can be at stake.
Many vehicles sold between private individuals (and sometimes by garages) are sold in deplorable condition, even if they appear to be in good condition. In fact, we've written an article dedicated to wreck scams.
It's also certain that no one would want to buy a vehicle that had been stolen, damaged or used to transport people.
Discover the history of the car with Autorigin, and secure your purchase with Obvy
Autorigin and Obvy have partnered to bring you a complete and integrated experience. On the Autorigin website, once you've obtained your vehicle history simply by entering the number plate, you can directly send a purchase proposal to the seller by entering their email address.
Payment is secured by Obvy, guaranteeing you a 100% simple and secure transaction, protecting both buyer and seller from any scams, up to €200,000. Once you've submitted your offer to purchase the vehicle, all you have to do is transfer the funds from your bank to your Obvy account and meet the seller to finalise the purchase of your car. And to top it all off, you can ask the seller to verify their identity and even negotiate the price in real time from the app!