Used car ads now allow buyers to be as picky as they please

Not that long ago, the options list for a mid-tier Mercedes C-Class or a base- model BMW 3 Series would have stretched further round the block than the queue at your favourite sandwich shop on a hectic weekday lunchtime. 

Dealership walls would echo with phrases such as: “Would madam like the extended ivory leather matched to the open-pore oak wood trim?”, or “Maybe sir is interested in the rear-seat entertainment package, and sun blinds on the side windows?” 

Things get worse the further up the luxury ladder you climb. Apparently, there are 46 billion ways to configure a Bentley – and that’s before you delve into the brand’s bespoke Mulliner programme where the possibilities are, quite literally, endless. 

It means that if you’re in the market for a high-end used car, the sheer quantity of combinations can be daunting – and doubly so on the used market. Finding exactly what you’re looking for is often a challenge; whether it’s a specific colour or interior fabric, or a larger sat-nav screen paired with an HD reversing camera, there may only be a handful of cars in your chosen trim – and there’s a good chance they’re dotted all over the country.

But it’s possible. And if you’re spending several thousand pounds on an approved-used car, you shouldn’t need to compromise. If that panoramic roof is important to you, make sure you find a model with it. If you have to have a last-of-the-line special edition with bright-red brake calipers, so be it. If the car’s out there, it should have your name on it.

Dealer groups can help you realise your dream, too. Many have branches stretching from Gloucester to Glasgow, and will deliver (sometimes for a small fee) to your local showroom. Someone I know recently found his perfect approved-used Porsche several hundred miles away, but after a quick phone call and a modest deposit, the salesperson had it on the back of a truck on the way to his nearest official franchise.

It’s easier than it used to be, too; you’re not looking at a grainy photograph in a newspaper advert any more – instead you’re presented with hundreds of high-quality images, and maybe a video. Having spent way too long browsing used cars for sale through our own Auto Express Find a Car service of late, the quality of adverts now means you can zoom in and check every little detail, so there is much less chance of surprise when you finally see the car in the metal.

Now you can buy a car through our network of top dealers around the UK. Search for the latest deals…