Private Seller + Cheap Car = Too good to be true?

pow wow

So, I've found a car on carzone that I like, and for the mileage and age of it, compared to other cars listed, it seems very cheap. There are ones the same spec a couple of years older with way more mileage on them that are more expensive. I have reservations about buying privately anyway (though my sister bought her last one used from a dealer and ended up in court with them over it!) and can't help but think it's priced cheaply for a reason.

It's quite a ways up the country so I'm debating whether it's worth taking the trip to see it and taking my bro-in-law (mechanic) with me. I am going to call first anyway but I doubt they'd be truthful about why they were selling it off cheap if it was due to crash damage or mechanical problems now would they?

In your experience if it seems too good to be true, is it?

Spitfire666

i bought my first car, a 2001 peugeot 206 1.4 from carzone just over a year ago and i got it for about 2000euro cheaper then other ones at the time and i had it checked and it had been in one accident (minor) and when i spoke with the seller she told me it had been in one straight away and that it had a new front wing. had the car looked over and other than needing a set of brake discs and brake pads it was fine.

rockdrummer

Its very hard to tell. When I bought my current car 1.5 years ago. I got mine in a garage but it was 3 - 4 grand cheaper than anywhere else for the same model, year, mileage was pretty low aswell. But I got 1 years warranty with it, so if their was anyhting wrong with it it would happen in a year !

Best thing you can do is get somebody to look over it, and not one of the wasters advertised in the buy and sell - you dont know what their qualifications are !! The AA are very expensive, if you know someone who knows about cars or bring it to your local garage !!

Mr.Diagnostic

Hi,

First thing is dont ask the seller why it is cheap, maybe they dont know it is

Get it checked for outstanding finiance and make sure you get the seller to identify themselves. As you said, make sure to get it well looked at.

JohnCleary

Well with all the 'How do I sell my car' threads lately, maybe the seller just wants to sell the damn thing for a genuine reason, so decided to take the hit and lose a few quid.. Just a thought

Spitfire666

i know of one person who lost a few grand on what his car was worth as he needed it shifted double quick as he bought another performance car and couldnt afford to hold onto 2

Cyrus

you'll also find people have been offered terrible trade ins, even if they can get slightly more in cash its of more use to them as they can negotiate a discount from dealer

drdre

I bought a car for 2700 and it should be worth around 6k.
It just need a little bit of work done nothing major.Im happy with the purchase.I think carzone is excellent and private sellers are much better to deal with than garages in my opinion.

Marcus.Aurelius

Private car sales are always cheaper. Garages add 1000s onto their prices out of sheer greed.

drdre

maoleary wrote:

Private car sales are always cheaper. Garages add 1000s onto their prices out of sheer greed.

I sold my car privatly through carzone for 22k whereas garages were saying between 16-18k for a 05 golf that i bought a year before for 24k:eek:

ballooba

I had to knock a load off my car recently to sell privately.

Captain Slow IRL

check it's not on english or northern plates!

I don't know how people can be put off so much by a private sale - salesmen in dealerships (not all, but definetly some) look at work needing to be done to a car versus their commision - nuff said;)

saobh_ie

Used cars, private sale and dealers are typically overpriced in this country. You could have just found somebody selling a genuine car at a genuine price.

Go and check it out.

colm_mcm

maoleary wrote:

Private car sales are always cheaper. Garages add 1000s onto their prices out of sheer greed.

that, or maybe the fact that they provide a warranty, and sell the car in a condition that doesn't require any extra money to be spent on servicing or repairs.

testicle

drdre wrote:

I sold my car privatly through carzone for 22k whereas garages were saying between 16-18k for a 05 golf that i bought a year before for 24k:eek:

You saw them coming!