Private sale, how much would you spend?
Discussion
Looking at it from the other end, there are no comebacks with a private sale so if the car turns out to be rung or just a dog or the documents have been forged, how much could you stand to lose?.
I have never bought a car privately for more than £1600 and £2K would be my absolute limit.
Even in the case of that £25K Porsche. I would rather buy the same car for a couple grand more from an established trader/garage.
I have never bought a car privately for more than £1600 and £2K would be my absolute limit.
Even in the case of that £25K Porsche. I would rather buy the same car for a couple grand more from an established trader/garage.
It would be for me as £25K represents a significant "investment" (diversion of funds from family business plan)
I have spent that through dealers on new/newish cars and thought that gave me some measure of protection. If the car is not new though, and not under manufacturer warranty, what happens if the dealer goes under. Insurance backed warranties ?. I suppose the best bet is to know what you are buying and have a contingency.I would lack confidence in my ability to do that at that price level, especially if the car had the potential for expensive repairs.
As long as you do your checks, then the actual financial risk you take at £25k may not be a huge amount more than you take at say £10k. Assuming the car is straight/not stolen etc, then your risk comes down to things like a car needing expensive replacement parts (brakes, gearbox failure...whatever) - this is more down to the type of car than its value per se. Even then, your only additional risk is things that would not have been excluded from a dealer warranty anyway.
I've paid £40k + in a private sale - didnt concern me any more than spending £40k at a dealer...in fact I would've probably been less comfortable spending that from a dealer as I would've known my depreciation would've been worse. I fully checked out the car, spoke to the servicing garage etc etc - no regrets!
I've paid £40k + in a private sale - didnt concern me any more than spending £40k at a dealer...in fact I would've probably been less comfortable spending that from a dealer as I would've known my depreciation would've been worse. I fully checked out the car, spoke to the servicing garage etc etc - no regrets!
I look at it this way....
Every dealer used car was a private one a few months previous.
People selling privately are in the main not doing it to pull a fast one or make a profit, they either want more than the p/x value or aren't needing a replacement for it and so want a bit more than bwac. Loads of private sales are brought every week by dealers and simply cleaned and readvertised at many thousands more.
Loads of private sellers are your average family who in my experience are unlikely to own let alone sell a complete heap (or at least not one you can't easily spot!). They certainly don't want the hassle of buyers coming back, and more of the cars with intermittent faults or the early signs of x y z failure are likely to be chopped in at the dealers IMO.
Also and most importantly they aren't sales people (in the main) and so you can ask whatever questions you like and get a more honest appraisal, pick up vibes about what the car has been through with them and generally you then get a feel for type of person you are dealing with.
Saying all this the more you are paying the more confident you need to be about the marque and its foibles and if you are not in any way an enthusiast or mechanically minded or experienced I can see why a dealer is preferable, especially if the difference in price is hundreds and not thousands.
Every dealer used car was a private one a few months previous.
People selling privately are in the main not doing it to pull a fast one or make a profit, they either want more than the p/x value or aren't needing a replacement for it and so want a bit more than bwac. Loads of private sales are brought every week by dealers and simply cleaned and readvertised at many thousands more.
Loads of private sellers are your average family who in my experience are unlikely to own let alone sell a complete heap (or at least not one you can't easily spot!). They certainly don't want the hassle of buyers coming back, and more of the cars with intermittent faults or the early signs of x y z failure are likely to be chopped in at the dealers IMO.
Also and most importantly they aren't sales people (in the main) and so you can ask whatever questions you like and get a more honest appraisal, pick up vibes about what the car has been through with them and generally you then get a feel for type of person you are dealing with.
Saying all this the more you are paying the more confident you need to be about the marque and its foibles and if you are not in any way an enthusiast or mechanically minded or experienced I can see why a dealer is preferable, especially if the difference in price is hundreds and not thousands.
Should have clarified with more details I suppose. It's a mainstream car that's less than a year old so still has 2+ years of warranty left.
25k is about 4/5k less than dealers seem to be charging for equivalent cars. I guess I'll try ads on the usual places and see how things go. It's easily the dearest car I've ever tried to sell so it's a worry!
25k is about 4/5k less than dealers seem to be charging for equivalent cars. I guess I'll try ads on the usual places and see how things go. It's easily the dearest car I've ever tried to sell so it's a worry!
I would suspect a mainstream 1yr old car for sale privately might not get that much interest. People spending that using liquid cash are often, in my experience, looking for something a bit more unusual/specialist.
People buying mainstream cars often need finance and prefer dealers for this reason. That's not to say that there aren't people who buy mainstream cars cash and/or through personal loans, but I think you're limiting the potential market quite significantly considering the type of car you're talking about.
It then comes down to how much of a hurry you are in to sell it...
People buying mainstream cars often need finance and prefer dealers for this reason. That's not to say that there aren't people who buy mainstream cars cash and/or through personal loans, but I think you're limiting the potential market quite significantly considering the type of car you're talking about.
It then comes down to how much of a hurry you are in to sell it...
Each person will have a limit I guess.
A few years ago I bought my 18 month 911 Turbo Cab (since sold) privately. But it wasn't advertised. I found out about it through a good friend who knew the owner, very easy but much less risky than a random ad on the net where I would have been much more cautious. The upshot of mine was that I saved about 15% over the dealer price.....
A few years ago I bought my 18 month 911 Turbo Cab (since sold) privately. But it wasn't advertised. I found out about it through a good friend who knew the owner, very easy but much less risky than a random ad on the net where I would have been much more cautious. The upshot of mine was that I saved about 15% over the dealer price.....
It depends on the type of car too. If I was looking to buy a Ferrari, then even if private adverts were £5k less, I would go for the dealer option. But not just any dealer, it would need to be a highly reputable Ferrari specialist.
If I was in the market for a Golf or something similarly 'functional' (i.e. not unusual) then private would be my preference. Depends what's around for the budget, as if the right car was at a dealer then so be it, but I wouldn't hesitate spending the full budget on a private deal if it was the right car. Worth noting that I'm yet to ever break the £10k barrier for any car though, because I'm tight.
The last car I bought from a dealer was a nightmare, and the dealer had concealed a lot of things from me (things I should have spotted, but lesson learnt). My previous two cars have been bought privately, as they checked out fine.
In summary- budget isn't the factor for me. It's things like the type of car, and the age of the car (i.e. a 1-2 year old BMW from a BMW dealer would have the benefits of a their full checks and warranty). I like private deals though.
If I was in the market for a Golf or something similarly 'functional' (i.e. not unusual) then private would be my preference. Depends what's around for the budget, as if the right car was at a dealer then so be it, but I wouldn't hesitate spending the full budget on a private deal if it was the right car. Worth noting that I'm yet to ever break the £10k barrier for any car though, because I'm tight.
The last car I bought from a dealer was a nightmare, and the dealer had concealed a lot of things from me (things I should have spotted, but lesson learnt). My previous two cars have been bought privately, as they checked out fine.
In summary- budget isn't the factor for me. It's things like the type of car, and the age of the car (i.e. a 1-2 year old BMW from a BMW dealer would have the benefits of a their full checks and warranty). I like private deals though.
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