Five things to check on any used vehicle before you buy it

Start with the tyres. All four should match and the wear should be even across each tyre. Uneven wear means alignment or suspension, and a mismatched set means somebody was economising.

Open the bonnet cold and look at the oil and coolant. Milky oil or oil in the coolant is a walk-away. Fresh oil on an older vehicle is normal; a spotless engine bay on a high-mileage vehicle sometimes means a wash to hide a leak.

Sit in it for five minutes with the engine off and work every switch. Windows, mirrors, seat motors, climate, infotainment. Electrical faults are cheap to find now and expensive to fix later.

Drive it above 45 mph and brake firmly once from speed on a clear road. Pull, vibration and noise all show up there and nowhere else.

Then ask for the history report and read it in front of the salesperson. How they react to that question tells you as much as the report does.