Two weeks ago a buyer in Wexford rang us about a 2020 Hyundai Tucson he'd been about to put a deposit on. Lovely-looking car, clean inside, NCT just done. Three minutes on the motorcheck.ie report and the story was different — written off as a Cat N in the UK in 2023, imported quietly, no mention on the listing. He saved himself €17,000 by spending €15 on a history check.
This is the 25-point list we send every Autoza buyer, in the order you should actually do them. It's not a tidy textbook checklist — it's the order an experienced mechanic or dealer would walk a friend through the process. Some of these are the bits that catch everyone. Some are the bits the seller hopes you don't ask.
Before you go to see the car (5 checks)
Most of the disasters happen in your kitchen, not on the forecourt. If you do these five before driving anywhere, you'll bin half the cars on your shortlist before wasting a single tank of diesel.
1. Run a Cartell or motorcheck.ie history report
This is the €15 that saves you tens of thousands. The Wexford Tucson story above is not unusual — we've seen this one twice this year alone. Cat N and Cat S write-offs from the UK get imported, tidied up, and sold here with the damage history quietly omitted. A history check pulls UK and Irish records, finance markers, write-off categories, and plate changes.
2. Cross-check the NCT history
Before you go, run the reg through our NCT check tool and look at the dates. A car that's failed three times in a row at the same centre — say Carrickmines or Naas — and only just scraped through is telling you something the seller isn't. Read the full NCT guide for 2026 if you want to know what the testers actually look at.
3. Outstanding finance check
If the car has finance still owing on it and the seller doesn't clear it, the finance company can repossess it from you — even after you've paid. The history report covers this, but ring the finance company named on the report directly if anything looks off. This is non-negotiable on private sales especially.
4. Mileage cross-reference
Compare the advertised mileage against every NCT mileage reading in the history. A car that did 18,000 km a year for four years and then suddenly only did 4,000 km in the last twelve months has either been parked up, or the clock has been wound. We had a Kildare buyer almost get caught on a Passat last month — 142k advertised, the previous NCT showed 168k.
5. Recall check
Type the make and model plus "recall" into the RSA recall database. Some recalls are minor, some are airbag inflators that can kill you. Either way, you want it sorted before you take ownership, ideally by the seller.
Walking around the outside (5 checks)
Right — you've driven to Athlone or wherever and the car is sitting on the forecourt looking shiny. Don't get in yet. Walk around it slowly. Twice.
6. Panel gaps
Stand at each corner and look down the side of the car. Bonnet-to-wing, door-to-door, boot-to-quarter. The gaps should be even and parallel. A gap that opens up at one end is a strong tell that the panel has been off, which means a crash, which means you go back and read your history report a lot more carefully.
7. Paint matching in daylight
Look at the car from a 45-degree angle in natural light. Different panels reflecting light slightly differently is a respray. Not always a deal-breaker — stone-chip repairs happen — but it's a question to ask. Listen to how the seller answers.
8. Tyre wear pattern
All four tyres should wear evenly across the tread. Worn on the inside edge means tracking is out, which is a €60 fix — but it can also mean a knock that bent something. Worn on one side only across an axle pair points to suspension issues. Check the tyre brands too: four mismatched budget tyres on a premium car tells you how the previous owner maintained it.
9. Lights, mirrors, glass
Walk around with the lights on. Every bulb. Indicators front and back. Reverse lights. Brake lights — get the seller to press the pedal while you stand behind. Cracked headlight units cost €400+ to replace on a modern car. A chip in the windscreen in the driver's eyeline is an automatic NCT fail.
10. Towbar wiring and receipt
If there's a towbar, ask for the fitting receipt. A bad DIY towbar wire job is a frequent cause of intermittent electrical gremlins — the kind that have you back at the garage three times before they find it. No receipt, factor a re-wire into the price.
Sitting in and driving (8 checks)
This is where the car sells itself or trips itself up. Insist on a proper test drive, including a stretch of motorway. Ten minutes around an industrial estate is not a test drive.
11. Cold start sound
This one catches everyone. Ask the seller not to start the car before you arrive. A warm engine hides timing chain rattle, diesel injector knock, and turbo whine. A car that's been pre-warmed is a car that's hiding something. Be willing to walk away just on this.
12. Idle stability
Once running, let it idle for 60 seconds with the bonnet up. The revs should sit steady. Hunting up and down by 200rpm is an air leak, a throttle body issue, or a mass airflow sensor on the way out.
13. Every electric works
All four windows. Both wing mirrors. Heated seats if fitted. Reversing camera. Bluetooth pairs. Heated rear screen. Each non-working item is leverage on price, but a non-working ABS or airbag warning light is a deal-breaker until diagnosed.
14. Gearbox shifts cleanly (autos especially)
On an automatic, shifts should be smooth and prompt. Jerky shifts, slipping, or a delay between drive being selected and the car moving are all expensive. DSG and dual-clutch boxes are particularly costly when they go wrong. On a manual, every gear should engage without crunching, and the clutch bite point shouldn't be at the very top of the pedal.
15. Brake pedal feel
Pedal should be firm and consistent, not spongy or sinking. Pulling to one side under braking is a sticking caliper. A pulsing pedal is warped discs. Both fixable, both negotiation points.
16. Motorway test
You need a proper run at 100–120 km/h. Listen for wheel bearing rumble (drones with speed, sometimes worse on bends). Check stability — does it track straight without you holding the wheel against a pull? Does the cruise control hold steady? This is the test most buyers skip and most sellers pray you'll skip.
17. Steering pull and vibration
Hands light on the wheel on a flat straight road. Pull to one side is tracking, balance, or worse. A vibration through the wheel at 100 km/h is wheel balance — cheap to fix, but worth knowing.
18. Air-con blows actually cold
Set it to 16 degrees, fan on max, and stick a hand to the vent. It should be properly cold within 30 seconds. "It just needs a regas" is sometimes true and sometimes a €600 compressor. If the seller hasn't fixed it, assume the worst.
Under the bonnet (4 checks)
You don't need to be a mechanic. You need to look at four specific things.
19. Oil filler cap underside
Pop the oil cap and look at the underside. A creamy, milky residue is coolant in the oil — head gasket. Walk away. Clean dark oil residue is what you want.
20. Coolant level and colour
Coolant should be between min and max in the expansion tank, and bright (pink, blue, or green depending on type) — not muddy brown. Brown coolant means it hasn't been changed in a long time and corrosion is setting in.
21. Belt condition
Look at the auxiliary belt — the rubber ribbed belt visible at the front of the engine. Cracks across the ribs mean it's due. More importantly, ask when the cambelt or timing chain was last done, and ask for the receipt. A snapped cambelt destroys the engine. A receipt for one done at the right interval is worth €500 on the asking price.
22. Mismatched repair tape, bodge wires, fresh undersealing
Have a quick look around the engine bay. Insulation tape on a wiring loom, fresh-looking underseal hiding rust, or any "home garage" looking repair is a question you ask the seller directly.
Paperwork before you pay (3 checks)
23. Full service history matches the car
The stamps in the book should match the mileage on the dash. A book full of stamps from a single garage in Mayo for a car now sitting in Cork is fine — but ring the garage and confirm. Forgeries happen.
24. Owner's name matches
The person selling the car should be the registered owner on the V5/VLC. If not, you need a very good reason why. "Selling for a friend" is the start of a lot of bad stories.
25. Dealer registration number visible (dealer purchase only)
If you're buying from a dealer, they should have a Revenue dealer number and a registered business address. This matters because the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 2022 gives you statutory rights against a dealer that you simply do not have against a private seller. Faulty within six months? Dealer's problem to prove otherwise. That protection is worth real money. Our full buying guide covers your dealer rights in more detail.
The deal-breakers — when to walk away
Most cars have something. A scuff, a bulb, a bit of paint. That's normal and that's negotiation. These, however, are walk-away signs:
- Cat S or Cat N write-off not declared on the listing. The lie is worse than the damage.
- Milky residue under the oil cap. Head gasket job will cost more than the car.
- Outstanding finance the seller won't clear before sale.
- NCT due in less than two weeks and the seller won't put it through first. If they're confident, they'll do it.
- Mileage discrepancy between NCT history and the dash. Run, don't walk.
- Pre-warmed engine despite you asking for a cold start. They know something.
- Seller refuses a motorway test drive.
The negotiation moves once everything checks out
Right — the car has passed everything. You like it. Now you negotiate, and you do it from evidence, not from feeling.
- List every minor issue you found — tyre with 3mm left, rear bulb out, AC needs regas, service due in 2,000 km. Total it up. That's your opening discount ask.
- Reference the market. Use our car valuation tool to see what similar examples sell for. If the asking price is above market, that's leverage.
- Ask for a fresh NCT if there's less than 6 months left. Most dealers will do this rather than drop the price further.
- Get the warranty in writing. Verbal "three months engine and gearbox" means nothing. On paper, signed, with a phone number for claims.
- For imports, confirm VRT is paid and the Irish reg is on the car. Use our VRT calculator to sanity-check the number — we've seen sellers try to pass on inflated VRT.
That's the full 25. Print it, save it on your phone, whatever works. The buyer in Wexford had it as a screenshot, ran through it on the forecourt, and didn't lose €17,000. The €15 history check at the top is the single most valuable line on the list.
One last thing
If you've got a specific car in mind on Autoza and you want a sanity check before you go and view it, ask Mark — our buyer AI — for a pre-purchase summary on the listing. He'll pull the history flags, the NCT pattern, the price-vs-market read, and the questions to ask the seller, all in about ten seconds.
Browse used cars on Autoza, or if you're working a budget, our best used cars under €15,000 for 2026 shortlist is a good starting point. Either way, do the 25 checks. They take an hour. They save careers.
