What to look for on a used car test drive
Published 12 October 2026 · reviewed 12 October 2026
In one paragraph
On a test drive, listen for knocks over bumps, whining from the gearbox and rattles from the exhaust. Feel whether the car pulls under braking, whether the clutch bites smoothly and whether the steering holds a straight line. Try every switch, the heater and the air conditioning. Drive at both town and dual-carriageway speeds.
A test drive is the one part of buying a used car that nobody else can do for you. Photographs show you the paint. An MOT history shows you the past. Ten minutes behind the wheel tells you what the car is like now.
How long should a test drive be?
Long enough to get the car properly warm and up to speed on a faster road. Two minutes round the block tells you almost nothing: cold engines run smoothly, cold brakes feel fine, and a vibration at 60mph never shows up at 20mph. Ask to drive on a mix of roads — stop-start town traffic, a bumpy back lane and a dual carriageway. From our forecourt at Plas Acton Garage, 282 Chester Road, Wrexham LL12 8DU you have all three within a few minutes.
Drive it yourself rather than being driven. You are judging how the car suits you, not how someone else drives it.
What should I check before I set off?
Check the cold start, because a cold engine hides nothing. Stand by the car when the key is first turned and listen. A rattle for a second or two that then clears, a puff of blue smoke, or a long churn before it fires are all worth asking about.
Then, sitting in the driver's seat:
- Does the seat go where you need it, and can you see out properly?
- Do all the warning lights come on and then go out?
- Does the handbrake hold on a slope?
- Is there anything showing on the dashboard that nobody mentioned?
What should I listen for on a used car test drive?
Turn the radio off and listen for knocks, whines and rattles. Each one points somewhere different:
- Knocking or clonking over bumps — suspension or worn bushes.
- A whine that rises and falls with speed, not revs — wheel bearings.
- A whine or whirr that changes with gear — gearbox or differential.
- A rattle under the car that gets louder when you rev — exhaust or heat shield.
- Squealing or grinding when you brake — pads or discs.
- A ticking from the engine that gets faster with the revs — worth asking about before you go further.
Wind down a window on a quiet road and listen again. Noises you miss in the cabin are often obvious with the glass down.
What should the car feel like to drive?
It should feel straight, smooth and predictable. The things to feel for:
- Braking — the car should stop in a straight line without pulling to one side, and the pedal should feel firm rather than spongy or sinking.
- Steering — hands off for a moment on a flat, empty, straight road: the car should hold its line. A vibration through the wheel at speed usually means balancing or something worn.
- The clutch — it should bite smoothly and not slip when you accelerate in a high gear. If the revs rise but the car does not, say so.
- An automatic gearbox — changes should be smooth and reasonably prompt, without a thump or a long pause.
- Every gear — use them all, including reverse, and listen for crunching on the way in.
- Air conditioning — it should blow genuinely cold after a few minutes.
Press every switch while you are moving: windows, mirrors, heated seats, wipers, lights, heater fan on all settings. Electrics are easy to forget and easy to check.
What should I check when I stop?
Look underneath where the car has been standing. A fresh patch of oil or coolant on the ground is worth a conversation. With the engine off, have a look at the oil level and the coolant level, and have another listen as the engine cools.
Walk round once more. Tyres are the quickest tell: uneven wear across a tyre's width often means something in the suspension or alignment needs attention.
Do I need insurance to test drive a car?
Yes — a car must be insured before it is driven on a public road, including a test drive and the drive home after buying it. Ask before you arrive how the test drive is covered, and bring your driving licence. Vehicle tax also does not transfer with a car: the new keeper must tax it before it is driven on a road, which can be done online straight away with the V5C reference.
What should I already know before the test drive?
Everything you can read, so the drive is only about how the car feels. Anyone can check a car's MOT history free on GOV.UK using its registration number — each test's result, the advisories and failures, and the mileage recorded at each test. On our site you do not need to go and look it up: every ONECARS car page old enough to have been tested shows that DVSA history test by test, with the mileage, alongside the car's photographs and its full spec.
Our cars are also checked on 34 points by ONEFIX, our own workshop on the same site here at Plas Acton, and the full list is published at how we check our cars. Where that check turns up work to do, the car is not handed to its buyer until ONEFIX has put it right — that rule sits in our system rather than resting on someone remembering. It means a test drive with us is a test drive of a car that has already been through a workshop.
What if I cannot get to Wrexham for a test drive?
You can still buy without driving the car first, and you are not stuck with it. A car bought from us online and delivered is a distance sale, and the buyer has fourteen days from delivery to change their mind and return it. There is more on how that works on our delivery page.
If you want to hold a car while you arrange a visit, a reservation holds it for fourteen days; within those fourteen days it can be cancelled for any reason and the fee comes back in full, and if you go ahead it comes off the price.
What happens after the test drive?
If you buy, the car stays looked after on the same site. ONEFIX — the workshop next door — services, repairs and MOTs the cars we sell, so the people who checked your car are the people who see it afterwards. Every car also comes with a free three-month warranty on the engine and gearbox, up to 2,500 miles, with repairs done by ONEFIX here; longer paid cover is available, and what it covers is set out at what our warranty covers.
What should I ask while I am there?
Ask the questions that the drive cannot answer — service history, how long the car has been with us, what the MOT history shows. We have put the full list on questions to ask when buying a used car, and the walk-round checks on what to check when you view a used car. If the mileage is the thing on your mind, how to tell if a used car's mileage is genuine goes through it.
A small car is the easiest place to start if you are new to this — the 2010 Volkswagen Polo 1.2 S on the forecourt at volkswagen-polo-2010-yf59wvw is £2,995, and it is a straightforward thing to drive and to listen to.
How do I book one?
Viewings here are by appointment, Monday to Friday 9 to 5 and Saturday 10 to 4. Pick a car from used cars, call the office on 01978 356983 or use contact, and say what you want to drive. If you are new to buying here, buying a used car in Wrexham covers the rest of the local ground.