Tips for buying used from a dealer

Adam · 15 Jun 2006 at 19:17

Never thought I would ever be creating this thread but I have found a suitable car at a decent price at a local dealer.

I have always bought privately previously and have generally got some very good deals. Not many examples of what I am looking for privately so I widened my search on autotrader to include trade sales as well. The price is £6499, how much margin for negotiation will there be with a trade sale? Will I recieve anything extra over a private sale which is worth noting? Should I be sceptical that this car is so well priced from a dealer, certainly in line with many private sales? The car is a 172 Cup, 25k on the clock. Picture isn't great but it looks to be in good condition.

andi · 15 Jun 2006 at 19:24

Not neccesarily anything to be suspicious of, may well be a part ex car they want rid off.

What kind of dealer is it? Trader? Independant? Main Dealer?

I bought mine from a dealer, and I'm glad I did, I paid a bit extra for it, but the process was easy, no hassle with money, and I got a years tax, years MOT and a years warranty with £200 off. What each dealer offers with the car is up to them, but its not hard to get them to throw in extras like MOT and Tax, as its simple enough for them to sort out.

Adam · 15 Jun 2006 at 19:31

Its an independant dealer. I was looking to pay around £6200 in total for a Cup, so hopefully I may be able to negotiate slightly and get some extras thrown in. I was just so shocked to see an example so reasonably priced from a dealer which made the alarm bells ring. I have never considered a dealer before, not even bothered looking.

Might be worth a call to have a look tommorow though!

Adam · 16 Jun 2006 at 20:50

What a waste of time that was. Advert suggested 25k, the service history showed 42k miles 4 months ago! Walked out in disgust having travelled to see the car. The salesman got the hump but I didnt want to make a fuss infront of a girl who had just bought her first car from them.

Demon · 16 Jun 2006 at 21:45

That reminds me of going to see a 60K M3 in wales with my brother.. it was advertised by the dealer as 'mint' and 60K with FSH..

When we arrived at the 'hut' what can only be described as the closest thing to a geordie wide boy with a welsh accent appeared, and had the car 'brought' over by his associate.. 5 mins later, and wideboy delboy no2 steps out the M3 with blue shell suit to finish the effect..

Looking at the godawful resapray and worn pedals/seats and the fact the odometer read 143,000 we walked away, much to this guys disgust.. "But it's a minter, and I've got my mate to drive it all the way here for you to see it"...

Yeah, whatever..

timbob · 16 Jun 2006 at 22:13

I saw an awful example of a 106 GTI at a dealer a while ago, was described as great condition, 70k miles, FSH.

There was no service history, it was in terrible nick, engine was dripping oil, and the entire block was coated in oily/greasy goo. It smoked on startup, clutch felt really knackered, and felt like it was starting to slip. The interior was shot, seat bolsters collapsed, leather cracked and aging, pedals very worn, drivers seat runner rusted up. Looked like someone had taken a "1" off the "70,000" on the odometer.

And on the test drive, the dealer told me off for taking it above 4krpm (redline is 7.5k). Because the cambelt probably needed doing and might snap.

Luckily I'd only travelled 30 miles to see the car, else I'd have been really annoyed!

ajgoodfellow · 17 Jun 2006 at 01:59

When I was looking to buy an MG ZR I went to look at a 2001 example with 20,000 miles on the clock

The leather seats were ripped, both the original and replacement gear knobs were smashed, the clutch had gone, the engine was running rough, the coolant was very cloudy and very low (a bad sign on K-series engines), there was rust all over the bonnet and on every single bolt and join, the passenger side door mirror was broken, the service history was non existant, etc. Hardly a good example and certainly not worth the £5k they wanted!

Scania · 17 Jun 2006 at 13:49

ajgoodfellow said:
When I was looking to buy an MG ZR I went to look at a 2001 example with 20,000 miles on the clock

The leather seats were ripped, both the original and replacement gear knobs were smashed, the clutch had gone, the engine was running rough, the coolant was very cloudy and very low (a bad sign on K-series engines), there was rust all over the bonnet and on every single bolt and join, the passenger side door mirror was broken, the service history was non existant, etc. Hardly a good example and certainly not worth the £5k they wanted!

Little wonder Rover was "put down" if thats an example of how their cars fare after a mere 20k miles !!! :eek:

Dealers in the main are pretty carp imo.

The "Audi Specialist" who sold me my car assured me it had been serviced properly prior to me buying it, funny how when it recently had its "Inspection 2" service, the garage told me the pollen filters and fuel filters had'nt been changed on the car in "ages". :mad:

My Dad has had very indifferent service from dealers over the years, with the noteable exception of a VW garage in Dorset (Loders of Dorchester) they were superb, delivering ,for free, a Polo for my mum, from Dorset to Eccleshall in Staffordshire!

This was back in 1980 though!