What to ask a private seller before you travel
A ten-minute message can save a two-hour drive. Ask these before you set off, and ask for the answers in writing.
The short answer
Ask who the keeper is, whether the car has been written off, what explains the mileage, what service history there is and whether any finance is owed. Then check the answers against the car's records.
Get the answers by message, not only by phone. A private sale gives you fewer rights than buying from a dealer, but the car does have to match how it was described, and a written answer is a description.
First, get the registration
If the advert hides the number plate, ask for it. GOV.UK tells buyers to get the registration, make, model and MOT test number from the seller and check them before viewing. A seller who won't give the registration is telling you something.
With the registration you can read the car's whole MOT history free, which turns general questions into specific ones.
The questions, and why each one matters
- “Are you the registered keeper, and is the V5C in your name at this address?” If not, you may be dealing with a trader posing as a private seller, or someone with no right to sell the car. Citizens Advice suggests viewing at the seller's home, so you have an address if something goes wrong.
- “How long have you had it, and why are you selling?” A few months of ownership and a vague reason deserve a follow-up question.
- “Has it ever been written off, or had accident damage repaired?” A direct question gets a direct answer you can hold the seller to.
- “The MOT history shows this. What was done about it?” Quote the advisory or the failure back to them. The same advisory two years running means it wasn't fixed.
- “What service history is there?” Stamps in a book, a folder of invoices or a digital record with the manufacturer are all fine. “Full service history” with nothing to show is not.
- “Is there any outstanding finance?” If there is, the lender may own the car.
- “Is there anything that doesn't work?” Air conditioning, electric windows, warning lights, the second key.
When you get there
- Ask to see the V5C logbook and hold it up to the light for the DVL watermark.
- Check the VIN on the car against the logbook.
- Check the seller's name and address against the logbook.
- Check the car matches what you were told in writing.
Paying and paperwork
Citizens Advice is blunt about one thing: never buy a car without the logbook. Take the original V5C, not a photocopy, and the current MOT certificate.
Write a receipt and both sign it. It should show both names and addresses, the date, the price, the registration and the mileage. Tax the car before you drive it away, because the seller's tax doesn't pass to you.
Your rights in a private sale
They are narrower than at a dealer. Broadly, the car has to match the seller's description and the seller has to have the right to sell it. A fault that appears a week later is usually your problem. That is why what the seller tells you in writing matters so much.
A Hindsight report does this part for you. It reads the car's records and writes the questions for that particular car, each with the record behind it.
Ask before you travel
- “Are you the registered keeper, and is the V5C in your name at this address?”
- “Has it ever been written off, or had accident damage repaired?”
- “What service history is there, and can you send a photo of it?”
- “Is there any outstanding finance?”
- “Is there anything that doesn't work, or that the next MOT is likely to pick up?”
Check the car before you message
Type the registration from the advert. The free check shows every MOT test and the mileage record, so you know what to ask about.
Where this comes from
Checked on 13 November 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. For help with a dispute, speak to Citizens Advice.