Find the 17-character VIN on the plate at the base of the windscreen (driver side) and read it against the number on your invoice/booking. Every character must match.

A different VIN means you are being handed a different car than the one you booked — often older stock or a demo unit.

Compare the VIN on the windscreen plate, the B-pillar sticker (open the front passenger door), and the chassis stamping in the engine bay or under the bonnet. Look closely for filing, grinding, uneven fonts or re-stamped digits.

Re-stamped or filed chassis numbers hide accident write-offs, stolen-and-recovered units, or two cars merged into one.

Read the manufacture month/year on the B-pillar sticker (passenger door frame). Compare it to today. Anything more than ~6 months old is stale stock and loses warranty and resale value from day one.

Dealers push last-year or long-unsold stock as brand new. You lose months of warranty and a chunk of resale value.

Locate the engine number stamped on the engine block (the dealer can point to it) and match it to the invoice and Form 22.

A mismatched engine number can mean a swapped or reconditioned engine, or paperwork stitched from another vehicle.

Switch on the ignition and read the odometer. A genuinely new car is typically under ~50 km (yard movement). Hundreds of km means it was used as a demo or test-drive car.

High delivery-day kilometres reveal a demo/test-drive car being sold as new, or a car driven far between yards.

Confirm the exact variant name, colour and fuel/transmission on the invoice match what you booked and what the car actually is.

A lower variant or different colour swapped in to clear unsold stock, billed at your booked price.

Confirm you receive both keys (and the fob works), the owner's manual, service booklet, warranty card, tool kit, jack and the spare wheel.

Missing second keys or tool kits are quietly kept back and later sold to you, or indicate the car was previously used.

In daylight, crouch and look down each side at a shallow angle. The colour and reflection should be identical on every panel. If you have a coating-thickness gauge, readings across panels should be within a narrow band (factory paint is usually ~90–150 µm); a much higher reading on one panel means filler/repaint.

A repainted or filler-repaired panel — the tell-tale of transit or accident damage repaired before sale.

Run your eye along the gaps between doors, bonnet, boot and fenders. They should be uniform width on both sides. Uneven or wavy gaps mean a panel was removed and refitted.

Refitted panels after a collision — factory gaps are consistent; repaired ones rarely line up perfectly.

Inspect the rubber door beading, black plastic trims, and the edges of glass and lights. Look for a dusting of colour paint where there shouldn't be any.

Overspray is a dead giveaway of a respray done outside the factory — i.e. damage repair.

Sight along each panel toward a straight edge or reflection (a shed roofline works). Ripples or waviness show under reflected light even when a flat-on look seems fine.

Filler work and pushed-out dents that are invisible head-on but obvious in a reflection.

Every window and the windscreen has a maker's logo and a date code (usually dots before/after a number = year, position = half-year). All glass should be the same brand and dated close to the car's build. One odd piece = replaced glass.

A replaced windscreen or window points to impact damage that was repaired before sale.

Open and close each door, the bonnet and the boot. They should latch on the first attempt with an even feel and no drop or catch.

Doors that drop or need slamming suggest a repaired/replaced hinge or a bent shell.

Look along the sills under the doors and any underbody you can see. There should be no rust, fresh welding marks, or mud/silt.

Rust or silt on a 'new' car points to long outdoor storage or flood exposure; fresh welds point to structural repair.

Carry the key fob and walk up to each door. The car should sense the key from a normal distance — handle lights come on, mirrors unfold, or the door unlocks on touch. Try every door.

A weak or faulty keyless antenna on one side that only annoys you later, when a door won't recognise the key.

Fold and unfold the door mirrors with the switch, then lock the car and confirm they auto-fold (and unfold on unlock). For the inside mirror, shine a torch at it from behind in a dim spot — it should darken, then clear.

A dead fold motor or non-dimming mirror on a car sold as fully-loaded.

On each tyre sidewall find the DOT code ending in 4 digits (e.g. 2325 = week 23 of 2025). All five (including the spare) should be within a few months of each other and of the car's manufacture date.

Old-dated tyres reveal the car sat for a long time; a single odd-dated tyre means one was swapped after damage.

Check the brand and model name on each sidewall. A new car should have a matching set of the same specification.

A mismatched tyre is a replacement — usually after transit damage or a puncture that was hidden.

Tread should be full and sharp-edged. Roll the car slightly or feel for a thud per wheel rotation — flat spots form when a car stands in one position for months.

Flat-spotted or part-worn tyres betray a long-stored or demo vehicle.

Inspect the face and lip of each wheel for scuffs, kerb rash or cracks.

Kerbed or cracked wheels indicate the 'new' car was driven and mishandled.

Lift the boot floor and confirm the spare (or repair kit, if that's the spec) is present, correctly inflated and secured.

A missing or flat spare that gets 'sorted later' — and sometimes never.

Find the recommended cold pressure on the sticker in the driver's door jamb. Use a gauge on all four tyres and compare. A tyre well below spec may have a slow leak; well above spec is careless prep.

A slow puncture from transit damage, topped up just enough to look fine on delivery day.

Check each wheel has all its nuts/bolts, none missing, and no rust streaks or shiny scuffing radiating from a nut (a sign it was loose or over-torqued). If a torque wrench is handy, spot-check against spec.

A wheel that was removed and refitted carelessly — a safety risk and a hint the car was worked on.

Look around the engine, hoses and the floor under the car for wet patches or dried stains. A new engine bay should be clean and dry.

Leaks or old stains point to a fault, a prior repair, or a reconditioned engine.

Check the dipstick (oil clean and between marks), and the coolant, brake-fluid and washer reservoirs are at their marks. Dirty oil on a 'new' car is a red flag.

Dark, used oil or low fluids indicate the car has run far more than a new one should.

Find the manufacture date on the 12V battery. It should be recent and clamped tight with clean, corrosion-free terminals.

An old or already-replaced battery reveals a long-stored car whose original battery died.

Ask to start the engine from cold (before any warm-up). It should fire promptly, idle smoothly, and produce no blue/white/black smoke and no knocking or rattling.

A car warmed up before you arrive hides hard starting, smoke and engine noise — signs of a used or faulty unit.

Scan visible wiring looms and under-bonnet insulation for chewed cables or droppings.

Rodent-chewed wiring is common in long-stored stock and causes electrical faults later.

With the engine warm, have someone rev it while you watch the exhaust. There should be effectively no visible smoke and no misfire.

Blue smoke (oil burning) or black smoke (rich running) on a new car signals a defective or used engine.

Turn the ignition to ON (engine off). Every warning lamp should illuminate briefly. After starting, they should all go out. Note any that stay lit.

A bulb removed or cluster tampered so a live fault (airbag, ABS, engine) never shows.

Lift the floor mats and the boot/spare-well carpet. Feel for damp, look for silt lines or water stains, and smell for mustiness or heavy air-freshener masking it.

Flood-damaged stock — water reaches the electronics and rots wiring; the damage is deliberately dried and perfumed over.

Check seats and trim for stains, tears or wear. Run every seat adjustment (manual or electric), including fold and recline.

Wear or stains that reveal a demo car, patched up with covers or cleaning.

Run the AC at max — it should cool quickly. Test every fan speed, all vents, the heater and front/rear defoggers.

A weak AC (undercharged or faulty) that is hard to prove after you've signed.

Test the touchscreen response, speakers, Bluetooth/Android Auto/CarPlay, the reverse camera and parking sensors.

Dead pixels, a faulty camera or non-working connectivity that's expensive to fix out of goodwill later.

Operate every window (including one-touch/auto and anti-pinch), lock/unlock from the fob and switch, and test the rear child locks.

A sticking window regulator or faulty central locking motor.

If the car has a sunroof, run it fully open, tilt and closed. Check the surround for water marks.

A misaligned or leaking sunroof — a common and annoying post-delivery complaint.

Run front (and rear, if fitted) wipers on all speeds, spray the washers, and sound the horn.

Small niggles that are quietly your problem once the car leaves the showroom.

Tap right into the corners of the touchscreen to confirm even response, and view a plain screen for dead pixels or backlight bleed. Confirm the digital instrument cluster boots without flicker or artefacts. Note the software version from the settings menu.

A dead-pixel or faulty display panel, or outdated software with known bugs, on a car you'll stare at every day.

Go around the dashboard, console and door panels pressing/turning each control once, confirming each does what it should with clean click or haptic feedback.

A sticky or dead switch that's easy to miss in the excitement and awkward to claim after signing.

With the car on, press each steering-wheel button/scroll — volume, track, call answer/end, voice assistant, cruise set/cancel and any assist toggles — confirming the expected on-screen or audio response.

A faulty steering-wheel switch pack behind an otherwise perfect-looking cabin.

Cycle through every drive mode via the selector or screen and confirm the display updates and there's a real change in throttle feel, ambient theme or steering weight where applicable.

A drive-mode selector that reports a change but does nothing — a sign of a software or wiring fault.

Press Start/Stop with foot on the brake to enter Ready/running, then shut down cleanly. Move the selector through P/R/N/D and confirm each is reflected correctly on the cluster with the right chimes and warnings.

A gear-selector or start-system fault — a serious drivability and safety issue on a supposedly new car.

Run every powered seat movement through its full range, listening for smooth, quiet motors. Save and recall a memory preset if fitted. Turn ventilated/heated seats to max and confirm airflow or warmth after a minute.

A dead seat motor, unresponsive memory, or non-working ventilation you paid a premium for.

Slide, recline and fold each rear row (including any walk-in/tumble to reach a third row), confirming smooth operation and a secure re-latch when returned to position.

A jammed or mis-latching fold mechanism — inconvenient and a safety concern if a seat isn't locked.

Install the maker's app, pair it with the car's VIN, and test remote lock/unlock, remote climate, and vehicle location from your phone.

An unactivated connected subscription or an SIM/telematics fault handed over for you to chase later.

With the HUD on, check speed/nav info projects clearly at your seating height, adjust brightness/position, and look for double images (ghosting) or colour fringing.

A misaligned or faulty HUD on a car sold as top-spec.

With a helper outside, switch on low beam, high beam, DRLs, front fog lamps, and left/right indicators and hazards. Confirm each lights up.

A dead lamp or wiring fault that fails the first night drive.

With the helper at the rear, test tail lamps, both brake lights and the high-mounted stop lamp, the reverse light, rear fog and the number-plate light.

A failed brake or reverse light — a safety and legal problem discovered too late.

On a straight, level road briefly release light pressure — the car shouldn't drift. The wheel should sit centred with no vibration through it.

Pulling or vibration points to accident-related alignment/suspension damage.

Brake progressively — no squeal, grinding or pull to one side. On a safe, clear stretch a firmer stop should show ABS working without drama.

Warped or contaminated brakes, or a car that pulls under braking from prior damage.

For a manual, feel for smooth clutch bite and clean shifts. For AT/DCT/CVT/EV, acceleration should be smooth with no jerks, slipping or harsh changes.

Transmission faults that a stationary showroom demo can never reveal.

Over a rough patch listen for clunks or rattles from the suspension, and at speed for any droning, whine or vibration.

Suspension or body noises from transit/accident damage or long storage.

Confirm the number of airbags matches the variant spec. The airbag warning lamp should light on ignition and then go out — never stay on, never be permanently off.

A disabled or missing airbag, or a fault masked by a killed warning lamp — a life-safety issue.

Pull each belt fully out, let it retract, and click it into its buckle. Check pretensioner covers are intact.

A jammed or previously deployed belt system indicating a prior incident.

On ignition these lamps should light then clear. Any that stay on indicate an active fault.

An active brake-electronics or tyre-pressure fault on a car handed over as perfect.

Find the ISOFIX points in the seat crease of the rear outer seats (usually marked with a label). Confirm both anchors on each are present, accessible and undamaged.

Missing or damaged child-seat anchors on a family car — a safety issue you'd only find when fitting a seat.

Ask the service team to run a full scan across all control units (engine/motor, battery/BMS, ADAS, body, infotainment) and confirm there are no active or pending fault codes. Ask for a printed or photographed copy of the report to keep.

Stored fault codes cleared just before delivery, or a live fault hidden because its warning lamp was disabled.

Open the driver-assistance/ADAS status page in settings and confirm every sensor, radar and camera reads OK with no fault icons. As a quick cross-check, walk slowly toward each corner with the system active and listen for the proximity beeps.

A disabled or faulty sensor behind a car sold as having a full safety suite.

On a clear road during the test drive, set adaptive cruise at a speed and confirm the car maintains it and adjusts the gap when a vehicle ahead slows.

A non-functional ACC that a stationary showroom demo can never expose.

On a road with clear markings, enable lane assist and gently drift toward a line without indicating (only if safe and legal). Confirm you get a steering nudge and/or an audible/visual warning.

A lane-assist system that's inactive or miscalibrated on a car advertised with it.

Have a helper move into your blind spot (where safe) and confirm the mirror/indicator warning lights up. Reversing slowly out of a bay with cross traffic nearby should trigger the rear cross-traffic alert.

A dead blind-spot sensor — a safety feature you'd trust and it wouldn't be there.

In the ADAS/diagnostics menu, confirm the AEB / forward-collision system shows OK/Ready with no fault codes. Do NOT try to physically trigger AEB during a PDI — rely on the self-check status.

An AEB fault on a car whose safety rating depends on it working.

Locate the cabin-facing driver-monitoring camera (near the cluster or A-pillar), confirm it's unobstructed, and that the driver-attention feature is enabled in settings.

A disabled or blocked monitoring camera on a car sold with the feature.

Collect the tax invoice, Form 21 (sale certificate) and Form 22 (roadworthiness). Confirm the VIN, engine number and manufacture year on them match the car.

Mismatched or missing statutory forms that later block registration or reveal the wrong car.

Confirm you receive the motor insurance policy (own-damage plus the long third-party cover), the PUC certificate, and the temporary registration.

Gaps in insurance or registration paperwork that leave you driving out uninsured or unregistered.

Collect the road-tax receipt, the warranty card/booklet (and any extended warranty you paid for), the free-service schedule, the accessories invoice, and the roadside-assistance card.

Paid-for extended warranty or accessories that never make it into your documents.

Ask for the dealer's pre-delivery inspection form, completed and signed. Keep a copy with your documents.

A skipped or back-dated PDI — your signed copy is your evidence if a hidden fault emerges later.

Confirm a FASTag is stuck on the windscreen and, via the issuing bank's app or SMS, that it's linked to your vehicle's registration number with an active/positive balance.

An unlinked or inactive FASTag that leaves you stuck at the first toll.

Go through the accessories on your invoice (mats, dashcam, cover, mud flaps, sensors) item by item, confirming each is present and neatly installed — secure mounts, no loose or exposed wiring, no marks from fitting.

Paid-for accessories that never made it onto the car, or a shoddy install that damages trim.

Confirm all transit protective films (screens, trims, paint) and plastic seat/floor covers are fully removed with no sticky residue or torn edges. Check under seats, door pockets and the boot for leftover price tags, wrappers or workshop tools.

Rushed prep hiding scuffs under film, or workshop debris left behind — small signs the car wasn't properly readied.