Do you buy cars from traders?
Discussion
I've been car hunting for a while, I really only consider private sales or franchised dealers. I don't like the idea of some back street garage just trying to turn a car around quickly and doing shoddy work to make a quick buck. With a private sale, I can get an idea of what the owners like, how the cars been cared for and they probably can't do quick fixes.
There are plenty of cars from traders available to me, as a a rule of thumb, if they don't have a landline number I won't even give consider it. All garages have to give a minimum of one months warranty right? So there is some protection against private sales.
Question is, do you buy from car traders? Am I being paranoid?
There are plenty of cars from traders available to me, as a a rule of thumb, if they don't have a landline number I won't even give consider it. All garages have to give a minimum of one months warranty right? So there is some protection against private sales.
Question is, do you buy from car traders? Am I being paranoid?
Everything has its place, I will buy certain vehicles from traders and prefer private sales for other types. Knowledge of what you are buying is more important than who is selling it, I know of both traders and private sellers who can dress up and fabricate things with ease to make a car more appealing, if you do your research before hand aswell as knowing all of the standard things to look out for then whoever is selling the car becomes fairly insignificant.
I'm a trader, and will admit to selling cars in the past ranging from rouges to absolute pearlers. The most are honest cars with the right credentials. However, if I was the punter, and knowing what I know now, I would most certainly buy from a private, that way you are able to obtain the full story of said car and piece together a proper history of its life. The stories that traders will tell you are largely cock-and-bull, and so unnecassary. The practice of blanking over engine and airbag lights is also far too common amongst traders too, you'll rarely see a private doing that!
ajb85 said:
I'm a trader, and will admit to selling cars in the past ranging from rouges to absolute pearlers. The most are honest cars with the right credentials. However, if I was the punter, and knowing what I know now, I would most certainly buy from a private, that way you are able to obtain the full story of said car and piece together a proper history of its life. The stories that traders will tell you are largely cock-and-bull, and so unnecassary. The practice of blanking over engine and airbag lights is also far too common amongst traders too, you'll rarely see a private doing that!
Problem is many want to part exchange a sack of s
te they have failed to sell privately themselves 
POORCARDEALER said:
ajb85 said:
I'm a trader, and will admit to selling cars in the past ranging from rouges to absolute pearlers. The most are honest cars with the right credentials. However, if I was the punter, and knowing what I know now, I would most certainly buy from a private, that way you are able to obtain the full story of said car and piece together a proper history of its life. The stories that traders will tell you are largely cock-and-bull, and so unnecassary. The practice of blanking over engine and airbag lights is also far too common amongst traders too, you'll rarely see a private doing that!
Problem is many want to part exchange a sack of ste they have failed to sell privately themselves Not after my experience... at the end of the day, they're in it to make money... not sell you a car and keep looking after it for free.
A lot of their warranties aren't worth the paper they're written on. There's one good guy near me- think it's called Eclipse Car Sales near Hedge End. Runs it from his house, offers a proper warranty from a company. Downside are that his cars, as nice as they are, happen to be sodding expensive!
A lot of their warranties aren't worth the paper they're written on. There's one good guy near me- think it's called Eclipse Car Sales near Hedge End. Runs it from his house, offers a proper warranty from a company. Downside are that his cars, as nice as they are, happen to be sodding expensive!
POORCARDEALER said:
Problem is many want to part exchange a sack of ste they have failed to sell privately themselves
I traded in my 07 Golf GTI yesterday. Excellent condition inside and out, with DSG, 28K miles, full service history and 6 months' MOT. I'd washed, dusted and hoovered it and even shampooed the front seats so they looked as good as new. I asked for £9600, and after a bit of haggling, I got it.te they have failed to sell privately themselves After spending a couple of hours prepping the car, I was a bit disappointed that the dealer just took a quick walk around the outside of the car. He didn't want to look inside, or see the service history, or drive it, or even start it up. It could have had a dashboard full of warning lamps, or run like an absolute dog, and he'd have been none the wiser.
I buy them from whoever's got the car I want at the price I want. Doesn't bother me who they are (I don't buy cars people would be remotely interested in stealing!) it's just down to whether I want it or not. I'm not trying to be friends with them - I'll never see them again! If they offer me one of their crap warranties I usually tell them to keep it and haggle a bit more. If they underwrite it, they're not going to fix it properly anyway!
Chicane-UK said:
I think I'd only ever buy from a main dealer, or from a private seller. Never had much inclination to deal with independent garages for some reason though I couldn't say why really!
Don't be fooled by thinking that the car you're buying from a main $tealer is any more honest than one bought from an independent. As profit margins become increasingly strangled it's the main agents that do the most cost cutting with prep.I've never really thought about it tbh. The s2k came from a main dealer, who had dealt with it all its life. That was because it was the right colour, interior and spec, and buying one in the UK and importing it would have ended up costing the same. The Jag came from a home trader, and the Merc from a small dealer. All my previous cars were from auctions.
If I can get the car I want for a price I'm comfortable with, I don't mind. I just turn the bullshiometer a bit more when I deal with traders. When I bought the Merc I dealt with two guys (brothers) at the same garage who had two different stories about the car. Nearly put me off, but the car itself was straight. Just got to use your head.
If I can get the car I want for a price I'm comfortable with, I don't mind. I just turn the bullshiometer a bit more when I deal with traders. When I bought the Merc I dealt with two guys (brothers) at the same garage who had two different stories about the car. Nearly put me off, but the car itself was straight. Just got to use your head.
ajb85 said:
Don't be fooled by thinking that the car you're buying from a main $tealer is any more honest than one bought from an independent. As profit margins become increasingly strangled it's the main agents that do the most cost cutting with prep.
True, but you can always go back to them if needs must. And they will always fix it, as I've found. Very interesting replies, the majority seem to be of the same mind set. If it looks like a family garage and they look like genuine people, I think I'd go to see/buy the car. I'd never buy from a home trader. Nope.
Main dealer only if buying a sub 3 yr old car with a manufacturers warranty.
Nothing wrong with buying from a trader on older cars, guess what - they offer the same 3 rd party warranties as the larger dealers offer on 'cars older than 3 years.
Very little choice available on older stuff if you only look at private sales, just try searching on auto trader using private or trade search options - you will find very few private sellers.
Nothing wrong with buying from a trader on older cars, guess what - they offer the same 3 rd party warranties as the larger dealers offer on 'cars older than 3 years.
Very little choice available on older stuff if you only look at private sales, just try searching on auto trader using private or trade search options - you will find very few private sellers.
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