Can you trust a used-cars dealer in the UK?

Aplogies if you already know but some tips for negotiating

1. don't tell him you intend to export it. In my experience, most smaller dealers warranty the car by purchasing an insurance policy. If you don't want this, use it as a bargaining chip.

2. your first offer should surprise him, if it's up for £3000, offer him no more than £2400. Get him to tell you his "best price". That's your turn to look insulted.

3. Take someone else along and get them to look over the car, if they are a mechanic, so much the better, but anyone can do it; get them to keep pointing out small defects.

4. Never be afraid to walk away if the car isn't what you want or if the dealer seems to be a bit of a twat (I looked at a convertible at a local dealer and, frankly, the bloke selling it was a buffoon)

One thing I forgot to mention.
Since the plan is to drive the car home to Denmark it will need some sort of license plates. My plan is/was to find a suitable car/dealer from here and then get the VIN number so that I could bring temporary plates for the car with me to UK. But that would a bit of a risk to take, if the car is not as described.

Can't you just drive it in Denmark on the UK plates and then register it in Denmark once its there?

I'm not sure what the system is in Denmark (I think some countries a car gets different plates when it is sold) but in the UK a car retains its plate for until it is scrapped (or exported!).
I know of people buying cars in Germany and driving them to the UK on german plates and then sorting UK registration out once the car is physically here.

In Denmark it is not legal to drive a foreign car into the country if you're living in Denmark.

also, In Denmark, used cars at dealers often have no license plates. When you buy a car you get the plates from danish authorities (don't know the right term )

But perhaps I can get a temporary termit.

TomDK wrote: In Denmark, used cars at dealers often have no license plates. When you buy a car you get the plates from danish authorities (don't know the right term )

This is what I thought (used to have a half Danish girlfriend many years ago) so I wasn't sure if there was any confusion with the UK system.

Good luck with your hunt!

Yes, there are lots of them. You just have to consider few things when buying a used car so you don’t end up with a lemon.