My 18 year year old nephew, Jordan, just told me that he’s buying a car from his mate’s older brother. He didn’t seem very clear on the details, so I’m wondering if I there might be a bit of dodgy judgement in the mix. He seems to think it’s a steal at $500, but I suspect that it’s actually a write-off that’s only good for parts. Given that Jordan wants to drive it to work, it doesn’t sound like the best investment.
For starters, when I grilled him on the subject of pre-purchase inspections and roadworthy certificates, it quickly became apparent that he’d never heard of these things, let along considered how they might apply to the vehicle in question.
The kid needed some guidance, but I’m not much of an authority on the subject, so I put him onto the place that does my annual car service. Northcote drivers, do you have any suggestions for other sources of teen-friendly information he could refer to re buying a used car?
Additionally, what’s the go these days with getting a roadworthy certificate for a used car? Is it the responsibility of the seller, or is it sometimes the case that buyer has to do it when they’re re-registering? I want to be able to tell Jordan exactly what he’s supposed to do on this front, so I should probably brush up.
The annoying thing is, he asked me not to tell his parents that he wants to buy this car. First of all, there’s no way I’m keeping that information from my sister – the last thing I need is her blasting my head off with another one of her rants on how I don’t take my avuncular responsibility seriously enough.
Second of all, it probably means that the car is a souped up beast of a thing – or was, probably before being mangled in a speeding incident that evades successful repairs.
Being an uncle is stressful. Nobody ever tells you that.