Would you spend 22k on a private sale car purchase?

[Pig benis]

Hello PHers

I am now in the market for a BMW M140i and I've come across a lovely example that I am very interested in. The car is well priced, it has the options I want and is only 1 year old, so all is good so far.

However, I am just not sure if I want to spend £22k on a private sale with no come back to a main dealer. So to mitigate this I am planning on organising an AA car inspection (£220) for peace of mind, has anyone ever used this service before?

Also, I have done some research into this but I am still unsure. Will the BMW manufacturers 3-year warranty transfer over to the new owner? This is a show stopper if it won't.

Thanks all
PB

[Krikkit]

Warranty is with the car, so would be transferred.

I think the AA service is pretty good, although how much they can realistically do on a driveway is another matter. All I'd really be worried about is if it's been accident damaged, but HPI check it, make sure any finance is paid off and you're away.

[grumpyscot]

I would ask: Why sell the car privately at only a year old? I know some people only keep a car for a year, but .........

[anonymous-user]

How about organizing an inspection by BMW as part of the sale. You pay for it, if something comes up then you just walk away.

I'm sure the other guy would be happy with that.

[Pig benis]

Krikkit said:

Warranty is with the car, so would be transferred.

I think the AA service is pretty good, although how much they can realistically do on a driveway is another matter. All I'd really be worried about is if it's been accident damaged, but HPI check it, make sure any finance is paid off and you're away.

I had the same thought as you, I will call them to find out their steps of doing a vehicle inspection.

Okay, that is great news about the warranty, I think I will still call BMW to double check, as I've heard they can be sensitive with their warranties.

Thanks
PB

[culpz]

grumpyscot said:

I would ask: Why sell the car privately at only a year old? I know some people only keep a car for a year, but .........

I get what you're saying, but it doesn't automatically mean it's dodgy. I'd just get the OP to do a full HPI check and make sure there's no outstanding finance or anything on the car.

The warranty is based on the car and not the owner, so no transfer necessary. Get your relevant inspections done on it before you buy, just to be sure. If it all checks out, then go for it.

[Pig benis]

grumpyscot said:

I would ask: Why sell the car privately at only a year old? I know some people only keep a car for a year, but .........

I have the same suspicion, but I have spoken to the current owner and he moving house, so needs to free up some cash for a refit. He seemed legit on the phone, and I have part ex'd cars in the past when only 1 year old.

PB

[Pintofbest]

grumpyscot said:

I would ask: Why sell the car privately at only a year old? I know some people only keep a car for a year, but .........

Could be off the BMW staff car scheme - when you get management cars and buy them outright you have to keep them 12 months as part of the T&C's (might also be considered BIK if you flip straight away).

[Alex_225]

I have bought a care privately at that kind of money although admittedly a 7 year old car rather than a year old but if it's got a manufacturers warranty you have even less to worry about.

Outside of that, you'd perhaps want a good aftermarket warranty and perhaps an AA inspection or similar.

[jjr1]

I bought my one year old M4 Competition pack for £42k privately because it was cheaper than the dealers. I would have no hesitation buying privately as you save lots of money iin general compared to a dealer.......

[RT964]

I wouldn't give it a second thought - if the car is right for you and you're happy with the price, then go for it. The BMW still has 2 years of manufacturer warranty on it, so that gives a level of protection for you, however you could just get the seller to put the car through the local BMW dealer for a bumper to bumper check and that way you'll know if anything needs doing that wouldn't be covered by the warranty and negotiate that into the deal. May be worth finding out if it also has the service inclusive pack on it (which also goes with the car to the new owner).

I've bought and sold loads of cars privately up to £50k and, as long as you go in with your eyes open, haven't had any issues.

[xjay1337]

Drive the car, listen for any unusual sounds, check for any leaks.... and carry on......

Price doesn't really matter, and being a M140 rather than a Mclaren P1 should make any problems cheaper to fix anyway........

[Pig benis]

Thank you for all of the replies people. I will be going with a friend of mine to view the car, so if anything is untoward then we should (fingers crossed) notice it.

I have however just noticed how expensive the HPI checks are these days.... £19.99 for a decent level of checks... Blimey!!!! Talk about a rip-off

PB

Edited by Pig benis on Friday 4th May 14:07

[plenty]

Always. Prefer not to pay for someone's salary and overheads, and I trust my instincts when buying.

The one time I bought a lemon it was from a dealer, and the ensuing palaver was so painful and unsatisfactory that I'd might as well have purchased privately.

[Maracus]

Just sold my car for £24500 privately. Deposit paid, then the balance a few days later by bank transfer.

He did a HPI, the van had just over 4 months of VW approved used warranty left which would be reassuring as a buyer.

All went well, I was surprised how easy the sale went.

I sold my 328i last year for £17000 privately. Again, no issues.

[Shrimpvende]

I bought an Aston Martin privately for around £30k last year, then sold it again 6 months later privately without issue.

A couple of things:

Be careful around the payment. Much easier as a buyer, but the seller will likely want CLEARED funds, i.e not a cheque/non cleared transfer. Some online faster payments are limited to £15k, although this can be worked around by doing it in two transactions. The risk of doing this is having to wait for up to an hour for the funds to clear, or the first one going through and the second one having a problem. I always do either a bankers draft or a CHAPS payment in person in branch with the buyer/seller so both parties are happy. There's a small charge for the service, but at least it's safe. Obviously don't transfer the full amount until you've confirmed the car is OK and have started filling out the log book etc. The buyer for my Aston actually offered to transfer me the full amount the night before coming to view?!

Warranties transfer with cars, so sounds like you're covered there.

Even a 'free' healthcheck at a BMW dealer will pull up any immediate nasties, although it's worth paying for a proper inspection. Consumables like brake discs/pads should still be fine at a year old, but thickness readings will give you a good idea how much life they have left and how the car has been driven.

Get a full HPI check from the HPI website only, not a text check or similar. This way you're covered under their guarantee, so you can claim from them if it later turns out to have been incorrect.

Good luck!

[nikaiyo2]

Pig benis said:

Hello PHers

I am now in the market for a BMW M140i and I've come across a lovely example that I am very interested in. The car is well priced, it has the options I want and is only 1 year old, so all is good so far.

However, I am just not sure if I want to spend £22k on a private sale with no come back to a main dealer. So to mitigate this I am planning on organising an AA car inspection (£220) for peace of mind, has anyone ever used this service before?

Also, I have done some research into this but I am still unsure. Will the BMW manufacturers 3-year warranty transfer over to the new owner? This is a show stopper if it won't.

Thanks all
PB

You can get an approved used for £1500 more, not sure I would take the risk personally.

M140 is great tho... Enjoy.

[Legacywr]

I prefer to buy privately.

[ZX10R NIN]

I've done it on more than one occasion & everytime it went smoothly.

[Mo28]

Like others have said I would get a BMW check done it as well for piece of mind. End of the day its a car that gets modded by most owners so a simple ecu tune could invalidate the warranty etc.