howdy doody everyone

basically, I'm about to take my drving test (very.....VERRYYYYYYYYY soon lol), and am looking into buying my first car (mk 4 polo..1.4 cl..in "gun metal" grey..if i can find one!), but i dont really have a clue what I'm up to! i was wondering, if I'm purchasing froma priavte seller, whats the best way to go about it?

how long does it take for a log book to be put through into my details....

are u allowed to drive a car while the log book is being processed?

whats the best method of payment? bankers draft/ bank details etc?

should i wait for the log book to be in my name before i hand over payment?

lol if anyone could shed some light on this for me, it would be much appreciated!

thanks in advance!

mr omega

I'm not sure about payment, but who you are buying it from will either want cash or the money cleared into their bank account before handing over the keys. cash doesnt give any traceability of the transaction though.

you can drive the car while the documents are being updated, but of course you need to get insurance first to drive the car back home with you.

the cars old owner should fill in your details onto the registration document and post it off to the DVLA, you should get a small peice of torn off that you can use to get more tax etc for 2 months while you wait for the new registration document to be sent to you.

Edited 25 October, 200619 yr by optima21

thanks optima...things are a lot clearer now. How about hidden history checks, how do they work? are thy exspensive and how long do they take to be put through? sorry if I'm asking really obvious question, but until this summer, the only thing i knew about cars was that they had 4 well and the bigger the numbers stamped on the back..the more petrol money comming out of your pocket lol

HPI checks cost about £30-50, and are very near instant.

Always get a receipt from the owner, even if it's just a paper bag with "Recieved £xx for <car reg number>

From <your name>

Signed <them>

<their address>

<Date and time>"

Just in case they went past a speed camera that morning.

written on.

Edited 25 October, 200619 yr by Yeti

hmmm...i know this is like "how long is a piece of string" type questions, but are there any tips on how to haggle? lol i mean if some one asked for 1400...i would be aiming for 1000...but are there any big no nos when it come to it? also..more specific to mk4 polos, is there anything i should watch out for (electric windows going funny, gear boxes etc)? I've seen one being advertised with a "whining gear box" for about 1100....lol sound like a gear box change will be down the line...and i hear they aint cheap

Don't worry too much about them sending off the V5

As long as you have your little piece to prove you've bought it, it's in their interest to get it sent off and registered in your name.

For instance, if they don't and you get caught by a speed camera, the fine goes to them.

I'm 18 and have had 2 cars now and it's taken about 2 weeks average for the V5 to come back, and insured them both before it did.

hope that helped a bit

thanks polo gareth that was helpfull! lol now its just a case of finding the right car! any one got any advise about the looking out for things on a mark 4 cl?