The Office of Fair Trading actually receives quite a high number of complaints in regards to used cars. The majority of those complaining are doing so because they are concerned that the used car they have bought is a piece of junk and that they have been conned. The signs are there for all to see but they are much easier to recognise by those with some car knowledge, however those who are quite often fooled will have little or no knowledge about the workings of cars.

Here are some tips about what to look out for.

- Make sure you have a look under the car to see if you can spot any leaks. You may see a puddle under the car which should alert you to potential problems, even though it could be due to any number of reasons.

- Make sure that you take the time to examine the paintwork. If there are any parts of the car where the colour looks slightly different from the rest you can be almost sure that this is covering up something bad. You can assume that the car has been involved in an accident.

- Anything that is made with rubber should be examined. Things like the caps and belts. If you see that these have been neglected then you can be sure that the rest of the car has received much the same treatment.

- Used cars that look like they have been sitting idle for a long time are at a big risk of developing problems. You should be on the lookout for this.

- Be on your guard if the seller tries to prevent you from taking a test drive in the car. You can not tell anything about a car really unless you have driven if so why should you buy it? The buyer taking you for a spin is not the solution either; you need to be behind the wheel yourself.

If the time has come for you to be searching out used cars for sale, you are always better off trying to research your vehicles beforehand. This reserach will let you find the best cars available for each category you look at. And when you finally finish your research, you could find yourself leaving the car delears with a splendid used jaguar or even a used lamborghini.