Private or Trade?!

[R.O.S.S.I]

Whats the general opinion on here? Do you prefer to buy from a garage/dealer/tradesman where you have some sort of garage warranty, but end up paying a bit more for your cars.

Or do you prefer to buy privately with the risk of no comebacks whatsoever if the vehicle fails, but pay a generally reduced price?

I only ask as I've found a cracking deal on a car i'm after but from a private seller, the price is really cheap because it had to have its bonnet, wing and bumper replaced (which begs the question how badly it was bumped/crashed). It's a good price, but my gut feeling and what my family are saying if I go for it I have no come back whatsoever if the car breaks (is this the case even if the car is under manufacturer warranty still?)

 

[[TW]Fox]

I like to buy one owner cars from the original owner with manufacturers warranty remaining. That way you get mint cars, can judge the owner and guess whether his story about it being all Motorway miles is true or not, and you've got some warranty as well.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

Well the car in question is a Ford Fiesta 1.6 Zetec-S (that I was chunnering about in another thread), its at least £1500 cheaper than every other car for age and miles.

"(07) metallic sea grey, low genuine miles with service history, only ever used as second car, air-con, half leather interior, electric windows, c/d player, remote central-locking, 2 keys, unmarked alloy wheels, privacy glass, 1st mot due may 2010, 5 months tax, 1 previous owner, very good condition inside and out, had very light front repair hence price. faultless to drive. any inspection welcome. new house purchase forces sale. £4,999"

I rang him and asked him whatt he light front repair was, and he said it had had its wing, bumper and bonnet replaced about 10 months ago. Now the car is still in its manufacturers warranty, and It really is an awesome price, but the car is located 160 miles away lol, so it would be a huge journey to make with no come backs really as its a private sale.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Sounds like it was written off by the insurance company. Most odd for a car of that age.

 

[Giddy]

From a dealer, that way I can go an moan at them if something goes wrong.

 

[[TW]Fox]

From a dealer, that way I can go an moan at them if something goes wrong.

Which you can do if you buy privately, as well, if it has warranty. I bought privately at huge saving. The return spring then went in my gearbox. So I moaned at BMW and they replaced the whole thing.

Happy days!

 

[wez130]

i'm a bit dubious about buying privately, i think warranty is imortant so my last 3 cars i've bought with a 2 year warranty from the dealer, the last 2 cars i've used the warranty (seat ibiza the coil pack went, then i snapped the volume button on the radio, both replaced under warranty, mondeo had the cv boot sorted for MOT and the bushes replaced again under warranty). I've not claimed on my audi yet, but still got 21 months warranty left

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

So is the general concensus is that if it has warranty on it you should be ok as you can go and whinge to the manufacturer about anything that goes wrong. Where would I stand with the car i'm after though, if it has been written off previously, surely the car wouldn't be covered with warranty.

I take it this is what a HPI check is for? To check for things like this? Would it be wise to get one done? (anyone know of a cheap place to get one done?)

 

[mr tommo]

I bought mine private and saved £1500 over similar trade ones I was looking at. Paid for my insurance and my next tax disc

The car I bought ended up being from a police officer so that eased my mind a little with regards to the car being genuine and me handing over a lot of cash. Luckily Ive had no problems with mine yet, 2 months and 2000 miles on.~

Edit - with regards to the Hpi check. just get the proper one and pay the money and do it over the phone while your there. Thats what I did, I paid extra to ring but it gave me the opportunity to go over different aspects of the check with the person on the phone.

Thats just reminded me... My car was serviced at BMW Williams in Liverpool by the previous owner, who forgot to get the book stamped. I rang them and they told me to bring the book in and they would do it as its all on the system. Do I have to go to them or can I go to my local dealer?

 

[Giddy]

Which you can do if you buy privately, as well, if it has warranty. I bought privately at huge saving. The return spring then went in my gearbox. So I moaned at BMW and they replaced the whole thing.

Happy days!

True, however there's a certain peace of mind when buying from a dealer especially when handing over a sizeable wedge of cash.

Having said that, you don't know if your dealer will still be in business this time next week.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

I see, so a proper HPI check is in order. Hope it turns out OK as its a cracking price which will with the difference pay for my insurance and leave me some change! How would I go about checking if a car is still in its manufacturers warranty?

If I did decide to go through with it my sister is going down to London this weekend and said she would give me a lift down there so I could drive back.

 

[mr tommo]

I see, so a proper HPI check is in order. Hope it turns out OK as its a cracking price which will with the difference pay for my insurance and leave me some change! How would I go about checking if a car is still in its manufacturers warranty?

If I did decide to go through with it my sister is going down to London this weekend and said she would give me a lift down there so I could drive back.

Well if its less than 3 years old it will have a manufacturer warranty. If its over 3 years, then unless the current owner has taken out a third party warranty it wont be covered.

Also, you get a 14 day free insurance cover with Norwich Union (aviva) when you take out a £25 HPI check, so thats perfect for getting the car home without worrying about sorting out insurance Especially If your travelling quite a distance and don't want to be making a second journey to pick the car up.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

Well i've done a HPI check which confirms it was a Cat D write off on 8th Jun 2007. Does this have an effect on the outstanding warranty?

 

[djcj]

I prefer to buy from auction. Specifically british car auctions, the branch at either manchester belle-vue or preston. Some absolutely obscene bargains to be had, it's mostly full of dealers buying cars to drive back to their lot then slap a £1k mark up on them. As a private buyer picking up a car for my own use, can generally always out bid them (as no need to have to make a profit ontop of the price i pay).

Usually the cars on sale are being sold off from large fleets or ex mobility etc. I started by going along to a few auctions, noted down the mileage, age, spec and condition of the cars and walked round and gave a thorough once over of the cars i liked. Sat there and watched what price they went for, then go home and check similar aged cars with same mileage, spec and condition on auto-trader. And OMG what bargains, they go for about £1k-£2k cheaper than all the examples on there.

I will always buy my cars from auctions in future

 

[aproctor]

Well i've done a HPI check which confirms it was a Cat D write off on 8th Jun 2007. Does this have an effect on the outstanding warranty?

You do realise that when you come to sell this car (if you buy it) the value will still be much lower, if there is any demand at all.

£1500 is not a large amount of mark down considering the exra insurance and hassle you may have when reselling, and the fact that fiestas are so damn common.

If it was something a bit different or the discount was amazing then maybe, i personally wouldn't bother, especially if the seller didn't even mention in the advert it was CAT D (What else are they hiding?)


Remember buyer beware.

 

[Shimmy]

I think this depends on what scale you are buying.

On the lower end I'd buy cars private and just check the history of the car, maintenance, receipts etc...


However if spending quite a large amount of money, I'd be inclined to go to a dealer and get a warranty with it. Or if the car is still under manufacture warranty, I would look to go privately due to the savings.

 

[WHAT!!!]

I prefer to buy from auction. Specifically british car auctions, the branch at either manchester belle-vue or preston. Some absolutely obscene bargains to be had, it's mostly full of dealers buying cars to drive back to their lot then slap a £1k mark up on them. As a private buyer picking up a car for my own use, can generally always out bid them (as no need to have to make a profit ontop of the price i pay).

Usually the cars on sale are being sold off from large fleets or ex mobility etc. I started by going along to a few auctions, noted down the mileage, age, spec and condition of the cars and walked round and gave a thorough once over of the cars i liked. Sat there and watched what price they went for, then go home and check similar aged cars with same mileage, spec and condition on auto-trader. And OMG what bargains, they go for about £1k-£2k cheaper than all the examples on there.

I will always buy my cars from auctions in future

I worked for a local car auction company and i would say atleast 25% of the cars i drove into auction had some form of problem minor or major with them, even had a clutch go on me just before i went into the auction hall

I agree you can get some bargains at auction, but if its run the same as the one i worked for then all cars are sold as seen and means you have no come backs if there is a problem.

There was some really slimey dealers there to just out to take advantage of people and rip people off.

As for the car the OP is mentioned, did the description of the car state it was a Cat D ? as from what i read it seems the owner was trying to hide or play dumb the fact it was a Cat D

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

£1500 is not a large amount of mark down considering the exra insurance and hassle you may have when reselling, and the fact that fiestas are so damn common.

£4995, for an 07 reg, 1.6 Zetec-S with 3500 miles on the clock is pretty damn cheap. Considering when cars of a similar age and milage are going for over £7000-£7500 at LEAST.

Thats a worthwhile saving imo if I can iron out the Cat D issues and establish if the manufacturer will still honour the warranty till May 2010.

@WHAT!!!! - I did a HPI check online and it just stated it was a Cat D write off by the insurance company on 8th June 2007. I asked the owner what work had been done, and he said it had had a new bonnet, new front bumper and wing.

I have had a look on the car auction website, paid the £10 to get 40 searches. Seen a few cars but i'm a bit limited as to what I can get to as most auctions are on days I work, and I dont have a working (reliable!) vehicle to get me to any, plus I can't do the online Live BCA auctions as i'm not a 'Gold' member or whatever. Do you think its worth just going to a couple and having a walk around? I've got Belle Vue, Preston and Brighouse all near me.

 

[pull2808]

I rang him and asked him whatt he light front repair was, and he said it had had its wing, bumper and bonnet replaced about 10 months ago.

Sounds like it was written off by the insurance company. Most odd for a car of that age.

No it won't have been written off.

After my bump last summer i had bonnet, bumper, wing and lights etc replaced following shunt. The car is fine and it wasnt a big accident. The total repairs for mine were £2500 inc labour and that was an 06 corsa. Been an 07 car its highly unlikely to have been a write off.

Why not ask him if he's got the repair bill from the accident. I got a copy of mine as all parts fitted and work done had 2 years warrenty from the repair garage.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

No it won't have been written off.

After my bump last summer i had bonnet, bumper, wing and lights etc replaced following shunt. The car is fine and it wasnt a big accident. The total repairs for mine were £2500 inc labour and that was an 06 corsa. Been an 07 car its highly unlikely to have been a write off.

Why not ask him if he's got the repair bill from the accident. I got a copy of mine as all parts fitted and work done had 2 years warrenty from the repair garage.

I have had a HPI check done and it is down as a Cat D.