How we test used cars at What Car?

What Car? has been testing cars for over 50 years. And our reviews are quite simply the most comprehensive around. Our experienced team of reviewers will test, analyse and crunch the data to come up with what we think are the best cars in each class, as well as listing the ones that you should be avoiding.  

When What Car? tests a new car, our experts assess the car from every perspective – from the fuel economy you can really expect through to rear legroom and acceleration times. We also analyse costs and the general ownership experience to give new-car buyers the most well-informed view. 

But when we write a used car buying guide, we look at each model through the prism of a used car buyer, and that means there are some additional factors we have to take into account. 

For starters, there’s the question of reliability. Luckily, we have our own annual, comprehensive What Car? Reliability Survey, the results of which are collated from tens of thousands of responses from actual car owners. It means we know how reliable a car is, what can go wrong with it and how good the dealers are at fixing it. 

And then there’s pricing. Obviously, a used car is going to be cheaper to buy than a new car, because nearly all cars suffer from depreciation from the moment they leave the showroom and throughout their life. How much they depreciate varies from model to model, and it often means that at a certain age, one car can be much better value than another even if it wasn’t the case when both cars were new. 

It goes without saying that any used car we recommend should be a good car to start with, one that fulfils its intended brief, whether it’s a sports car or an SUV. It should do what it does better than its closest competitors. 

On top of that, as a recommended used car, it should be widely available, with plenty of our favourite versions and trims on the market. 

To help with the purchasing decision, we have more than 1000 used car reviews on our website, covering just about every car that’s been on sale over the last few years. We also have hundreds of comparison tests comparing similar cars from various classes bought at a particular age and top 10 used car buying guides which highlight the best choices in particular bodystyles and at various different price points. 

To help you even further, we also have our annual What Car? Used Car of the Year Awards. Here, we list out our top buys in several different bodystyle categories before we whittle these down to just one overall Used Car of the Year.

On top of that, we also have plenty of pages of buying advice on our website: how and where to buy and sell a used car, and what to look out for when you do. 

And it doesn’t stop there. We also offer a comprehensive used car classifieds section where you can go and actually buy the same model of car you’ve just been reading about. Here, you’ll find over 400,000 cars listed for sale. That means that your own particular choice of second-hand car could be on your driveway sooner than you think. 

Our used car test team

Used cars editor Mark Pearson
Used cars writer George Hill

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