Buying a high mileage, ex-lease car

There are a lot of ex-lease cars on eBay that are 3 years old, have 1 previous owner, full service history and are in nice condition. This type of car will be heavily discounted due to high mileage but you can get some genuine bargains. Especially if you are not going to clock up the miles over the next few years. This guide can help you get that car for the right price and make sure you don't leave with a sour taste in the mouth. Remember that when you buy anything on eBay you agree to a contract and MUST commit to the purchase. This is especially important when you're talking about spending 1000's of pounds on something you havn't even seen or even driven yet!Some of this may be stating the obvious for more experienced car buyers but I wanted to cover everything on one page.1. Make sure everything is as described in the advert, inside and out. If anything does not match you can effectively walk away from the deal because the item is not as described. If you still want to go ahead with the deal, try to get money off for additional marks or damage.2. Make sure you get everything that was included in the description and any pictures. This includes mats, in-car phone kits (including the phone) UNLESS it is specified on the ad that the item is NOT included. Traders that sell a lot of cars will hoard stuff like mats in order to save them money when buying a bare car at auction.3. If the ad does not mention keys you can assume you will only get one. Take this into consideration as a replacement key can be expensive, especially for a modern car (e.g. VW / Audi, the key can cost 180.00 from a dealer but you can get blanks on eBay for about 25.00)4. Generally you can expect an ex-lease car to be a decent buy as the leasing compay will have paid all the servicing for the 3 year period but that doesn't mean you shouldn't test drive the car and make sure you CHECK EVERYTHING WORKS before you leave. Some traders may be impatient at this point but who cares, it's your money!5. If the trader has listed the service history, make sure there are no surprises on the horizon e.g. the cambelt on any car needs replacing every 60-70,000 miles. So if you are buying a car with a mileage of 115,000 bear in mind it may need a new belt in 5000 miles. Personally I would stick to the 100k mark and avoid anything above 130k. Try to buy a car that has just been serviced with good tyres, long MOT, the usual really. The lower the cost for you in the next 6-12 months the better.6. Expect the road tax to be expired as most lease companies surrender the disc before sending the car to auction and a trader will have the red plates that allow them to drive untaxed vehicles on the public highway. You will need to obtain road tax on the day you pick up the car or aquire a set of dealer plates. Remember that most Post Offices close at midday on Saturdays!7. Don't get carried away by the auction and bid above the book value. The lower the price you pay the less it will depreciate, especially if you are not going to clock up the miles. There are literally 1000's of cars out there every week so take your time and don't worry if some other fool wastes their money! Always check the TRADE price of the car and maybe use the Notes facility on your watch list to keep track of the maximum bid you should be making. Remember that dealers buy a lot of the ex-lease cars from other traders so expect to pay the TRADE value (or maybe a bit more, use your own judgement)