New car purchase (430d)

[Josh93]

So this post is basically me looking for some advice or reassurance from some wiser minds. I’m spending around 17k looking at a private sale 430d (which is definitely a big deal for me). It’s going in for a service and MOT with BMW next week (and has a full history all done by BMW) and I’ve seen the car and it looks really tidy and well looked after. Is there anything else I can do at this stage to reduce any potential risk?

[Alucidnation]

Don't buy it?

[Josh93]

Haha that is a flawless way to remove the risk but I was hoping for a method where I still get the car any suggestions?

[Alucidnation]

I’m sure there are a couple on here that may be able to throw some pointers at you but you may be better off joining a dedicated owners forum.

[lornemalvo]

Be careful if the car's on finance, arrange it so that you know it's being paid off. If it's over three years old, check the MOT history online for any advisories etc, make sure it's registered to that owner at that address, contact the main dealer and confirm services/work done including cambelts if relevant (service books can be forges/doctored), HPI check for damage etc, obviously. Sorry if these points are obvious to you. less scientific, I like to buy privately if possible and usually get a feel for the seller. If I dislike or get a bad feeling about the seller, for whatever reason, I won't buy the car.