There is still a rather large stigma attached to the purchasing of used cars these days. Despite huge steps forward in customer service, range of vehicles sold and guarantees of quality, a lot of used car dealerships are still viewed with a kind of wariness and mistrust. Granted, you cannot be 100% sure about the performance of a used car when you have bought it, but then again the same can be said of new cars.

Rather than see every used car purchase as a gamble, there are a few particular steps you can take to ensure you don't get sold a poor used car. Follow them at your own discretion.

The first thing you should do when you spot a used car that you are interested in is to ask the dealer two very important questions. Firstly, you should find out whether the car has a full service history covering its entire lifespan. When this is presented to you, be sure to check it carefully and keep an eye out for discrepancies such as missing stamps. Secondly, you should ascertain how long the vehicle has been on sale. A long time sat out on the forecourt would suggest that other buyers have enquired or test driven the car and haven't been overly enamoured with the results.

I followed these two tips very recently and ended up test driving a rather nice Used Audi. It passed the service history test and had only been at the dealership for a fortnight. All in all it seemed to be a used car with no drawbacks.