New research published by motoring organisation RAC has highlighted the considerable difficulties many people face when buying a used car from a private owner.             

A study of more than 2,300 UK vehicle operators has been carried out by the company and its results showed as many as 45 per cent of drivers believe they have been the subject of deception when buying a used car in this fashion in the past.

Of those buyers who felt they have been misled at some point, two-thirds (67 per cent) said they believed they had been sold a faulty car and more than one-fifth (21 per cent) felt they had paid more than the vehicle was actually worth.

The research also showed the top three concerns for used car buyers are purchasing a vehicle that has an existing fault they are unaware of (29 per cent), buying a stolen vehicle (24 per cent) and purchasing a car that has been previously written off (13 per cent).

In total, approximately 2.7 million of the 6.7 million used cars bought and sold in the UK every year are by private sale.

Robert Diamond, managing director at RAC Data Services, said: "Buying a car privately can work out cheaper than going through a dealer and is therefore a popular choice in the UK. But clearly many drivers don't have a lot of trust either in the person they're buying from, or in the car they end up driving away with.

"Sadly, motorists are telling us that buying a car privately appears to resemble something akin to motoring roulette."

He added that happily there are a number of measures buyers can take to reduce the likelihood of purchasing a dud.

The organisation's new Car Passport scheme can help give peace of mind that everything is as it should be when a vehicle is sold, while carrying out plenty of online research and knowing the tell-tale signs of common problems can stand individuals in good stead to make a fault-free purchase.