Private or Independent Dealer??
Discussion
Now then, if I can possibly sell my existing car I am looking to buy a Chimaera (but there where some nice Cerbie's at Duxford though 
). Consequently I've groomed the classifieds both on here, autotrader and the well known independents. I was wondering what exactly you get for your money when you buy from an independant dealership as opposed to buying private? I understand the peace of mind thing and the warranty but is it really worth the extra expense when you could go out and buy a private warranty yourself? Not so long ago there was a silver Chimaera 500 on the p'heads classifieds for £16K. Obviously it sold very quickly, but that very same car is now sat on a reputable independant forecourt for £21K!!!!!!!!!!!! 5 thousand pounds more, almost a third extra 
Have they really spent that much money on this car or are they taking the p**s and trying to make a quick buck? Just to rub it in the same car is on the classifieds in two separate adverts, one 5 grand more than the other
). Consequently I've groomed the classifieds both on here, autotrader and the well known independents. I was wondering what exactly you get for your money when you buy from an independant dealership as opposed to buying private? I understand the peace of mind thing and the warranty but is it really worth the extra expense when you could go out and buy a private warranty yourself? Not so long ago there was a silver Chimaera 500 on the p'heads classifieds for £16K. Obviously it sold very quickly, but that very same car is now sat on a reputable independant forecourt for £21K!!!!!!!!!!!! 5 thousand pounds more, almost a third extra Have they really spent that much money on this car or are they taking the p**s and trying to make a quick buck? Just to rub it in the same car is on the classifieds in two separate adverts, one 5 grand more than the other Not wishing to defend dealers (independant or not) but they do put rather large margins on the cars they sell simply due to the risk factor.
In general the cars they sell are perfectly OK. However, on the rare occassion they fail, breakdown, blow up or whatever they (the dealers) have to pay for the rectification work. Not cheap and they have to include their profit margin and a little contingency as well.
Also they will hopefully have spent a fair amount on the initial preparation. It is likely that most people when they come to sell / trade their existing TVR in wont do some of the little things - they are getting rid of it after all (common for all cars!). So there maybe a service (300-400 quid), maybe some paint work (couple hundred) and some other misc parts like tyres etc.... not cheap again and can start to add a £1000 or so on to the preparation charges....
The dealer has to be careful and get it wrong and they go out of business (as we have seen with some main dealers).
You pays your money and takes your chance.....
Cheers,
Paul
In general the cars they sell are perfectly OK. However, on the rare occassion they fail, breakdown, blow up or whatever they (the dealers) have to pay for the rectification work. Not cheap and they have to include their profit margin and a little contingency as well.
Also they will hopefully have spent a fair amount on the initial preparation. It is likely that most people when they come to sell / trade their existing TVR in wont do some of the little things - they are getting rid of it after all (common for all cars!). So there maybe a service (300-400 quid), maybe some paint work (couple hundred) and some other misc parts like tyres etc.... not cheap again and can start to add a £1000 or so on to the preparation charges....
The dealer has to be careful and get it wrong and they go out of business (as we have seen with some main dealers).
You pays your money and takes your chance.....
Cheers,
Paul
There isn't much turnover on their forecourts so they've got to make a reasonable whack on each sale just to break even. I'd guess a 5k mark up is probably about standard. What's your appetite for risk? Is it worth 5k to you to have someone else sort out the niggles and carry the can for anything major? Maybe consider that the niggles and 1st service comes to 1k, is the 4k you've saved likely to cover the cost of a major problem? Probably...
I went for a private purchase happily enough as I had known the car for a couple of years beforehand, but it would become a lot more marginal if I didn't know the previous owner.
I went for a private purchase happily enough as I had known the car for a couple of years beforehand, but it would become a lot more marginal if I didn't know the previous owner.
When I went to see one dealer car, I was shown a list of all the bits it'd had done to it to bring it up to saleable standard - almost £2000 worth of parts! And of course a car from a dealer would be nicely valeted and have a warranty - although you have to watch these, some of them don't cover everything...
In the end, though, I bought privately. I didn't know the car or the owner, so I asked David Batty to come out and rummage round the car to see if there were any big problems I should know about. Once I'd spoken to him I was able to go ahead and buy the car knowing that the car was reasonably sound and priced fairly.
Until this point I'd never been into buying privately - I like the peace of mind you get when buying from a dealer. But getting a respected professional out to look at the car was good - this set my mind at rest on a few key points and verified what the vendor had told me.
It all came down to finance in the end - I couldn't have afforded a Griff 500 from a dealer. So I could compromise and get a car I liked less from a dealer, or get the car I wanted but take the risk of a private deal.
Glad I bought it, though.
In the end, though, I bought privately. I didn't know the car or the owner, so I asked David Batty to come out and rummage round the car to see if there were any big problems I should know about. Once I'd spoken to him I was able to go ahead and buy the car knowing that the car was reasonably sound and priced fairly.
Until this point I'd never been into buying privately - I like the peace of mind you get when buying from a dealer. But getting a respected professional out to look at the car was good - this set my mind at rest on a few key points and verified what the vendor had told me.
It all came down to finance in the end - I couldn't have afforded a Griff 500 from a dealer. So I could compromise and get a car I liked less from a dealer, or get the car I wanted but take the risk of a private deal.
Glad I bought it, though.
I spoke to an independent dealer who admitted that he needs to add £5k to his purchase price on a Chim/Griff to make it viable. Having said that, dealers get hold of trade-ins etc from mainstream marque dealers and so may purchase at 1k or 2k below going rate. Therefore I think you should end up paying perhaps 2k or 3k above a private sale price if bought from an independent.
I think that's probably money well spent as it should cover a service, tyres, niggles, warantee etc, and in some cases front end respray. I bought mine privately and paid for the full AA inspection (how naive of me!). The first service then cost me £2,600!
It all depends on your budget. If you're trying to get into a Chim or Griff with max £14k say, then you have to go private. My advice then is to get a proper inspection from someone who knows TVRs.
I think that's probably money well spent as it should cover a service, tyres, niggles, warantee etc, and in some cases front end respray. I bought mine privately and paid for the full AA inspection (how naive of me!). The first service then cost me £2,600!
It all depends on your budget. If you're trying to get into a Chim or Griff with max £14k say, then you have to go private. My advice then is to get a proper inspection from someone who knows TVRs.
quote:
When I went to see one dealer car, I was shown a list of all the bits it'd had done to it to bring it up to saleable standard - almost £2000 worth of parts!
I bought mine from a main dealer because:
a) it was a very good price (not much above private sale money). I believe they should have had it up for about £500/£750 more.
b) year's warranty
c) as stated above, it had had about 2k spent on it by this main dealer. New w/screen/brake discs, tyres etc.
d) this car just felt *right*
Must stress, I was not looking to buy *just* from a franchised dealer
I thought it rare to see a car priced this low £15.5k) at a main dealer. Independents do have them this low. I would however, have bought the same car from an independent had it been at one, it just happened to be at main dealer and IMO, slightly underpriced.
I was planning to see this car and then another one in Herts on my way home – this car had done 8k less, but was in need of a service – and was at a garage (non TVR) – not a large dealer garage of another make, but just *a garage* . It was priced at £14k. But I could almost guarantee that it had probably had no money spent on it since it was brought in.
I felt better paying £1500 more to get a sorted, warranteed car.
If I was buying again, I'd not be afraid of buying privately, but I'd get the usual checks one by a good independent. Are there any BAD independents? Seems not, because word quickly spreads ...
Obviously, the newer the car, the more the dealer can make on it percentage-wise in the mark-up.
Mike
I bought my 30,000 mile full TVR service history 1996 Chimaera 500 from a private seller (Autotrader) back in March and only paid £14,750 (although I believe it's still worth well over £16,500), and the only things spent on it so far are a new starter motor and a front splitter. Buying two new tyres today though
I would certainly buy private again, but do all the checks, HPi, call the garage that has serviced the car. Have a bloody good look round it, inside it, feel inside the footwells and boots for any wetness! If you don't know enough about the mechanics get someone else to give it a once over (like David Batty above) and I always offer to put their car through an MOT, it's only £37 and quite a cheap way of seeing if there's something wrong with it. If money is the issue buy over the winter, prices really do drop loads and you'll get more car for your readies.
I would certainly buy private again, but do all the checks, HPi, call the garage that has serviced the car. Have a bloody good look round it, inside it, feel inside the footwells and boots for any wetness! If you don't know enough about the mechanics get someone else to give it a once over (like David Batty above) and I always offer to put their car through an MOT, it's only £37 and quite a cheap way of seeing if there's something wrong with it. If money is the issue buy over the winter, prices really do drop loads and you'll get more car for your readies.
Buy privately but be careful. When I decided to buy a Chimaera, I knew I wanted a post '97 version which rather ruled out dealerships on the grounds of cost. Consequently I looked at and drove a lot of cars until I found the one for me - it was really noticeable how different one car can be from another. The other thing that's invaluable is a proper inspection by a TVR mechanic. The chap who sold mine to me was quite happy to take it to a dealership of my choice. If someone's not happy to have an inspection, grit your teeth and walk away! Finally, you mention Cerbies - fabulous cars but in a different price league to keep on the road just because spares/services et al are so much more expensive. Anyway, good luck, I hope you find a good one - best money I ever spent!
Bought my 98 Chimaera from a dealer (3 weeks) ago. First time I'd even got a car in this price range (previously Triumph Spitfire for 1000 pounds!) I recokened that the reasurance and lack of hastle value buying from a dealer was worth it.
In particular I got years warrantee, full MOT, full service. Dealer stuck it on a ramp so I could have a good look underneath. 3 weeks on its been back to have the speedo sender unit replaced and a few minor bits (window rubbers, heater valve) all for free.
To be honest I didn't find that private sales seemed any cheaper - some were even advertised as more. Mind you, perhaps private sellers will move more on price - my dealer would not but threw in some goodies - ali stalks / handbrake grip & a car cover.
Anyway, that's why I went to a dealer...
First time I'd even got a car in this price range (previously Triumph Spitfire for 1000 pounds!) I recokened that the reasurance and lack of hastle value buying from a dealer was worth it. In particular I got years warrantee, full MOT, full service. Dealer stuck it on a ramp so I could have a good look underneath. 3 weeks on its been back to have the speedo sender unit replaced and a few minor bits (window rubbers, heater valve) all for free.
To be honest I didn't find that private sales seemed any cheaper - some were even advertised as more. Mind you, perhaps private sellers will move more on price - my dealer would not but threw in some goodies - ali stalks / handbrake grip & a car cover.
Anyway, that's why I went to a dealer...
Bought my '98 Chimaera from a dealer and reckoned it was worth the extra £2000 I paid over private. I got a fully sorted car - refurbished alloys, stone chips removed, fully serviced and 2 years warranty. Any niggles were sorted without question. With these cars there seems to be a massive difference in reliability from one to another, and I wasn't prepared to roll the dice on a private sale. Even if you get it checked independently I am sure these 'specialist mechanics' don't put their neck on the line and offer you a 2 year warranty based on their A4 sheet full of ticked boxes.
I went private albeit with an RAC inspection. With hindsight, I wouldn't have bothered with RAC (they claim to be expert in such cars but this was knocked on the head when the guy who turned up couldn't work out how to open the door). But do get an expert to look at any car you have a serious eye on. SGirl went for David Batty. David services my Chimaera and is a top guy who knows the cars inside out. An hour of his time is worth a hell of a lot of peace of mind.
One final point. There are very many examples of good Chimaeras out there. Take your time and be choosy.
David.
One final point. There are very many examples of good Chimaeras out there. Take your time and be choosy.
David.
I bought private myself and after a few niggles over the first year like new rear shocks,radiator, discs and brake pads the car is now 100% reliable so far, I say why not purchase a private car and take out a mechanical breakdown insurance from the leading insurers if desired this will save you a few thousand with also the peace of mind, the problem with main dealers is that they charge extortinate prices to have the car repaired. The best thing is if you are confident and capable to repair the car yourself to a certain extent, I've spoken to somebody who has just had all the brake discs and pads renewed with the standard parts costing approx £500. When you can buy these and fit yourself for around £100. As with most main dealers if there are any problems with the car these aren't usually rectified until after the car is sold and the new owner complains about these problems.
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Rob Ingleby here? (www.findasportscar.co.uk) 
There have been lots of good reports in Sprint in the past over his ability to find cars for people. He is also a friend of David Batty and recommends him for all servicing and rework. I used Rob to locate a good 4.3 for me - I didn't want any other model. He scoured the country doing all the leg-work and vetting any cars worth considering which met my requirement spec. I ended up with a very nice example with nothing wrong with it (apart from an inaccurate speedo) but it did cost me! The problem was with the seller who just wouldn't budge enough from his inflated advertised price.
Having said all that I have now noticed a very pretty Ocean Haze 4.3 in Autotrader at Henley Heritage for less money than I paid private!
You live and learn!
Roar on.
There have been lots of good reports in Sprint in the past over his ability to find cars for people. He is also a friend of David Batty and recommends him for all servicing and rework. I used Rob to locate a good 4.3 for me - I didn't want any other model. He scoured the country doing all the leg-work and vetting any cars worth considering which met my requirement spec. I ended up with a very nice example with nothing wrong with it (apart from an inaccurate speedo) but it did cost me! The problem was with the seller who just wouldn't budge enough from his inflated advertised price.
Having said all that I have now noticed a very pretty Ocean Haze 4.3 in Autotrader at Henley Heritage for less money than I paid private!
You live and learn!
Roar on.
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