Your car is probably the biggest investment you'll make outside buying a house. If your budget is limited you'll probably be going second hand. But how do you know your new motor will be reliable and not a heap of scrap? Zoe Walker seeks a few tips...

YOU'VE been saving hard for a new car, eating nothing but bread and dripping for months. You've finally scrimped, saved and starved your way to £2,000 and you're scanning the market for your new chariot.

But how do you make sure your hard won cash goes to buy a faithful old friend, lovingly polished every Sunday by one lady owner, and not a money-guzzling scrapheap, last seen tearing up the A1 with a man in a balaclava behind the wheel?

First of all, don't be ashamed of the fact that you're not an expert, says Denise Raven, the AA's spokesperson for Yorkshire. After all, you don't buy a new car very often, so why should you be?

The main thing you need to be sure about when buying a second-hand car, Denise says, is that it hasn't been in an accident, hasn't been stolen and isn't unsafe. And thankfully there are ways of checking all of those.

A good first step is to pick up a copy of Parker's Car Price Guide from your newsagents. The monthly guide costs £3.50 and will give you an overview of current car prices. Consulting it will help you to make sure that the price you pay for your vehicle is fair and in accordance with today's market values, depending on the car's age, make, model and condition. Anything that varies wildly from the prices quoted in Parker's should arouse suspicion.

"There's no such thing as a bargain," Denise warns. "Be suspicious of them!"

A Car Data Check is a good idea for buyers who want to make sure that the car they have their eye on has not been stolen or illegally repaired. The check costs about £35 and can be performed by phoning 0870 600 0838.

"It's just a call to a call centre and you need to give them the registration number of the car and they can tell you if it has been in an accident and has been repaired," says Denise.

Next comes reliability. If you are the sort of person who only gingerly opens up the bonnet when the wiper fluid runs out and you want to make sure you don't end up saddled with a car requiring an expensive new clutch or exhaust, there are further checks which can assess whether the car needs mechanical or body work.

For a fee your local garage will probably be only too pleased for a mechanic to do this for you as you look over your prospective purchase. A bona fide vendor will not object. And anyway - as Denise says - it's your money. Alternatively, the AA can arrange an inspection for you. The cost varies according to the size of the car's engine, but prices start at just under £100. Information on car inspections can be obtained by phoning 0800 085 3007.

"The older the car, the more things you are going to get wrong with it. And I actually think it's more beneficial to get cars inspected at the lower end of the market," says Denise. "It's a bit like buying a house and not getting someone to look at it for you. And I can guarantee that it will pay you to spend the money it costs you to check it."

As a further precaution before you buy you'll need to know that the car's paperwork is in order. It is a good idea to ask to whether the car has a current MOT certificate and a V5 registration document. "Never, ever buy a car without the V5 registration document," warns Nic Barfield, editor of Parker's Car Price Guide. "And I always ask for a service history as well."

"I wouldn't recommend people to buy from an auction because it's sold as seen," adds Denise Raven. "I would definitely recommend them to buy from a garage because you will get more protection legally." And if you really want to be sure that the car is not going to end up costing you more than it is worth in running costs, ask the vendor how much they paid for their insurance as well.

"If it really is their car then they should be able to answer the questions," says Denise. "You are not going to get a brand new, current model for £2,000, but if you take some advice from experts and get a Car Data Check, then you should get something decent."

Just tax, insurance, petrol and fluffy dice to start saving for then.

- Visit Parker's Car Price Guide online at www.parkers.co.uk

Visit the AA website at www.theaa.com.

A Car Data Check will help you to discover if a car is stolen, a write-off, has outstanding finance or has been imported. It costs from about £35 and can be obtained by calling 0870 600 0838.

To arrange a car inspection with the AA phone 0800 085 3007. Have all the details of the car you wish to check to hand and be aware that specialist makes or models may need special attention.

Updated: 10:30 Thursday, April 24, 2003