How to spot a trustworthy car dealer

There are hundreds of car dealers in any country, and from photos and the price in the ad alone you can't tell them apart. You see the difference in what the seller lets you check and what they are willing to put in writing. Here are the questions and signals worth watching before you pay a deposit.

Before the visit.

• VIN. A trustworthy dealer puts it in the ad or sends it to you without fuss. With the VIN you can check the car's history and whether the same car was advertised earlier with a different mileage.
• Who is selling the car. Ask whether the dealer sells its own car or only brokers it for the owner (a commission sale). It decides who is the seller in the contract and whom you go to about faults. You can look the company up by its registration number in the public business register and see how long it has been trading.
• Price. Check whether the advertised price is for cash, or only if you take financing through the dealer. Ask about extra fees too: registration, car preparation, "administration". Insist on knowing the total price up front.

On site.

• Inspection by a technician. A trustworthy seller lets you take the car to a garage or an independent inspection of your choice. If they resist, treat it as a warning.
• Documents. The registration documents, a service book or invoices, the roadworthiness test record. For an import, proof of the previous registration. The seller should show them without being asked twice.
• Test drive. A cold start, a longer drive and shifting through all the gears. A dealer who warms the car up before you arrive, or brushes off the drive with a lap around the block, is also telling you something.
• Pressure to decide quickly. Lines like "three people came today" or "the price is only valid until this evening" are part of selling, but they shouldn't push you into deciding without an inspection.

Contract and money.

1. The purchase contract should include the VIN, mileage, equipment and every fault you know about. If the seller claims the car has no accident history, ask for it in writing.
2. If you buy from a company as a consumer, you have statutory rights for defects. Where the law allows it, the period for used cars can be shortened by contract, but typically not below one year. Watch what the contract says.
3. Pay a deposit only against a written confirmation that states when and on what terms it is returned.
4. Pay by bank transfer to the company account or against a receipt. For cash, ask for a receipt.

The pre-purchase checklist helps you miss nothing at the viewing. Please share concrete experiences with individual dealers (good and bad) in this category, each in its own thread named after the dealer.

What do you ask when choosing a dealer, or what has ever warned you off one? Add it here in the thread.