Buying privately over £30k

[bp1000]

I'm getting impatient waiting for the right spec to come up

I'm considering buying private now but the car is over £30k

The car is quite expensive and complicated, although it does have a manufacturers warranty remaining I'm still nervous about handing over that amount to an induvidual who could potentiality screw me by selling me a faulty car.

Even worse a faulty car that the garage can't fix.

Any views on this, or should I wait until a dealer car becomes available?

What about asking for a dealer inspection which I pay for?

Thanks

Just to be clear the warranty is an extended manufactures warranty as the car is nearly 4 years old

[12v3pot]

Four years old ought to be OK, unless it's been ragged on a track often, or neglected. I'll be spending about as much (25000-30000) on a 15 year old car in the next couple of months, and most likely from a private seller. For that one it's all about finding a well-looked after car, but accepting that there's a risk.

[Matt UK]

Private buys are cheaper as they carry more risk - you just have to weigh it all up.

So long as the manufacturers warranty transfers to you, I can't see there being huge concerns. But it will give any dealer looking after your car to reply a big fat 'no' when it comes to supporting any contribution they may have extended to a customer who purchased from them.

[T5R+]

A genuine seller will allow you to have the vehicle inspected at a specialist. Anyone seller who purports to a "genuine" vehicle and refuses such a request would cast doubts in my mind.

Guess you can always buy an aftermarket warranty for added peace of mind.

Sums this large are not an issue eg undertake a bank transfer, after carrying out usual checks over title/HPI/etc

[philmots]

If its under manufacturers warranty then surely the seller would have any issues addressed..

Also can you run the reg by a dealer (or in BMW's case there's a phone line) and see what, if any warranty work has been carried out. This should give you an idea if its a bit of a lemon or not.

[Herbs]

Just pay to get it inspected by a main dealer and then if it is all ok, take out an extended warranty for peace of mind.

Playing devils advocate:

what happens if this person sells it to the dealer who then puts it on the forecourt with a £4k mark up - it may make you happier but does it make it a better car?

Inspection and private all day long.

[CrouchingWayne]

It's not something I have done and I understand the apprehension but a point I've seen raised on this topic previously is that if you do but private you would get to see the previous owner and perhaps gain an (admittedly brief) understanding of how they treated the car.

Something to consider in conjunction with the post regarding dealer markups - they don't change the car itself.

[Amused2death]

Don't forget the issue of "Log book loans"

Due diligence and all that

[bp1000]

I'm assuming logbook loans type stuff all show up on hpi checks which my mrs can do as she works at several dealerships

These loan companies I assume I pay off any finance directly and give seller the balance

Thanks all its put it in perspective. This could indeed be a dealer car for more money. Best to get it checked at local dealer and the warranty it comes with is slight piece of mind.

[Backtobasics]

bp1000 said:

I'm assuming logbook loans type stuff all show up on hpi checks which my mrs can do as she works at several dealerships

These loan companies I assume I pay off any finance directly and give seller the balance

Thanks all its put it in perspective. This could indeed be a dealer car for more money. Best to get it checked at local dealer and the warranty it comes with is slight piece of mind.

I'd be interested to know the log book loans answer on that one. I think the issue was it didn't show on any record???

[EddieFelson]

You know what they say about assumptions! Don't ever assume.

[Digger]

Naive question. What is this log book loan scenario?