Can I expect to have the manual when buying a used car?
By Cars & Motorcycles on May 04, 2009 with Comments 7
This will be the first time I buy a used car and am not sure what to expect. Can I expect to have the manual when buying a used car, so that I will know more how to use it? Or the manual can be said to be missing, and I can’t do anything about it?
Filed Under: Buying Used Car
About the Author:
You have to have a log book – that’s the legal documents. But you are unlikely to get a manual. If you want to know ask the seller, look online (Official websites) or buy your own manual. There is no law saying you must have a manual, assuming you are in the UK (I don’t know about other countries)
Insist on seeing the manuel / service book if buying a used car.
No book = lack of service / not looked after or worse case stolen.
Probably as many as 50% of second hand cars over a few years old will not come with the owners manual, they often get lost. If it has no manual with it this is not considered in any way detrimental to the sale of the car and does not affect the price an iota, most people have probably never read their manual anyway.
I have 4 vehicles and have not read the manual on any of them.
Most wreckers yards have a selection of owners manuals and there are usually loads of them to be had cheaply on ebay. A main dealer for the car you buy would likely have a manual in stock or could get you one within 48 hours.
The reply from ‘number 6′ is crap. You will find with a large percentage of s/h cars as soon as they are out of warranty they never get serviced by a main dealer again due to the rip off labour rates. A stamp in a service book from an unknown garage is meaningless – you can get a stamp made by online suppliers for less than 20 quid. People seem to think that if a car does not have a full printed service record it has not been properly serviced. Many mature motorists have forgotten more about car servicing than most young mechanics know.
Most servicing is not rocket science and a carefull owner, with a Haynes manual is perfectly capable of doing most service tasks. My youngest son is a formally qualified mechanic with over 10 years experience, when he strikes a problem he cannot sort out he phones Dad! His best mate is a qualified mechanic working in a major Ford dealership but without electronic diagnostic equipment he has not the first idea what many problems are! I do realise that there are things on modern cars that can need specialist equipment but 90% of most major service items are still diy possible.
You will most certainly get the handbook with the car. This is the handbook that the car came with when the first owner brought it brand new. It has things like checking the oil and changing the light bulbs in it and hopefully the owners should pass it on when the car is sold to the new keepers. It may also have the service booklet with it to to let you know it has been serviced. As for having a manual with it, it depends on whether any owner has brought one for it and they have passed it on or not. You wouldnt normally give a manual away with the car that you have brought yourself. You can but yourself a Haynes manual from Halfords when you have got your car if you really want one. Hope this helps.
(uk) It not the norm’ with most second hand cars.
What you should get.
A “registration Certificate”, This is called a “V5C(W)
(or part of it, because the main part will be posted to “DLVA”.
A “MOT Test Certificate”, This is normally a “VT20W”.
You may get “receipts” of replacement parts on the car.
A “receipt” for the money paid to purchase.
some used cars come with a book pack manuals etc service book, and some don,t if you wanted a manual for a car you could get one from main dealers or sometimes the problem is some people keep the manual in the glove box in the car some people take it indoors put it in a cupboard,then sell there car 6 years latter and can,t find it, but you should always get a receipt and the new keepers supplement off the v5 hope this helps
You’ll usually get the manual with it, but it’s not guaranteed, nor required.
Every used car I’ve had came with the owner’s manual.
Even if it doesn’t, unless it’s a much older car, you should be able to find the .pdf version of the manual online at the manufacturer’s web site.