Dealers "own personal car"...? Dodgy?

jkp

First time car buyer here, approaching with extreme caution...

I phoned this morning about a used car, asking a few questions before i go out to see it.
This guy offers a warranty on certain cars he has listed, but the majority don't come with a warranty. I asked about no warranty on this car, expecting him to say it was because he was selling it on behalf of someone else, as with the straight sales in some on the auction places, but then he came out with it being his "own personal car".
Now, i'm straight up assuming this is a lie, though i could be wrong(no change of ownership in the last 3 months). A kind of lie intended to somehow reassure me about the car. but is it the kind of lie that i should walk away from?
The car looks in great condition and apparently has a full documented service history. Am I being overly cautious?

Mc Love

Why not bring someone with you that is a mechanic or knows about cars?

Or get a vehicle check done on it by AA

-Chris-

Nope, not being overcautious. If you think he's lying then I'd suggest he's not worth buying off.

Judge the car on its own merits, do a background check on the car, get it looked at by a mechanic or someone who knows what they're looking at, call the garages to verify the service history.

Make sure the car is priced as a private sale, with no warranty and basically no comeback then that's all it really is.

If you catch him in another lie, walk away immediately.

jkp

cool, thanks for the advice.
will go see it on tuesday, and if all looks good ill get the history check done to verify.
presumably if the log book is with the car it will tell me if he's the registered owner or not and i can call him out on that?
my budget is <€2000 so at this level it doesnt really make sense spending €300(thats what i was quoted) on an AA check.

-Chris-

If you transfer ownership from the old owner to a trader they won't show up on the log book, so if it's a trade-in he won't be on the log book. If it's his actual private car he'll be on the log book.

I wouldn't be toooo put off either way, but I'd definitely bring someone who knows what they're doing to view the car. You could save yourself a lot of heartache and hassle if you spot that any issues early on.

jkp

there lies the problem, as this will be my first car, i don't have a mechanic, or know any!
i've trawled the internet about known issues to look out for with this car, but knowing a headgasket might blow doesnt mean i know what a headgasket looks like.
there is one family friend who is a bit of a diy expert and has always serviced his own car, so i might see what favours i can call in to get him to view some cars with me next week.

-Chris-

Even a DIY expert or a friend of a friend who's in car sales who you can give €20 to, whoever. It's definitely worth it if you're not confident of it yourself.

GusGus

walk walk walk away ... sounds like a dodgy dealer. i dont care if you only have 2000 euro or not . you could be getting yourself into a load of crap . trust your instincts . there are a load of cars for sale and loads of sites out there where you will get a good car for that money .

i bought a car from a garage and your man was saying the same thing . he was selling the car for a mate then it was his own car ect. turned out the car had been involved in a hit and run and after i got it |I was plagued by the garda about it and who i bought it off. ect ect just hassel . car was a load of crap too and your man suddenly wasnt even a garage

mickob16

Id walk away,for your budget there are thousands of choices.My sister recently bought a Fiesta for about 1800 and she got a 3 month warranty.

I just dont get why its ok for a dealer to sell a car and be allowed to say if the engine falls out its tough luck.It should be a thing where if a dealer is not offering a warranty he should be obliged to carry out a full check and provide the buyer with a detailed report on condition of car.