Buying a used car in Ireland guide

scamalert · 03-01-2019 11:55pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

It’s quite common and in my opinion quite refreshing for a garage to advertise the actual price they want for the car net of any stupid discounts to make you feel better about your trade in being worthless to them.
You can be sure you’d get that car for €14k without a trade in too.

but they didn't do so, as OP mentioned price was different to what was advertised, no logic in this case :cool:

colm_mcm · 04-01-2019 1:15am

scamalert wrote: »

but they didn't do so, as OP mentioned price was different to what was advertised, no logic in this case :cool:

They’re saying it’s €14k but it’s really €16k, but we’re giving you €2k for your scrapper.

No less honest than saying it’s €16k and your car is worth €2k

SusanC10 · 05-01-2019 2:03pm

We are unexpectedly back in the market for a second-hand family car. Starting the search next week.

Unfortunately my Husband will be away for work for much of this search which leaves me going to Dealers on my own. I don't mind the Test Drives etc and we will be getting a Mechanic to look at the car before we buy.

But I could do with some advice on Pricing and haggling which would not be my strong point.
We are not trading in.

So if a car is advertised at for example €20k, is it acceptable to offer say €18k and see how it goes ?
Are the Prices online meant to be Cash Prices or Trade In ?

All advice welcome.

colm_mcm · 05-01-2019 3:50pm

SusanC10 wrote: »

We are unexpectedly back in the market for a second-hand family car. Starting the search next week.

Unfortunately my Husband will be away for work for much of this search which leaves me going to Dealers on my own. I don't mind the Test Drives etc and we will be getting a Mechanic to look at the car before we buy.

But I could do with some advice on Pricing and haggling which would not be my strong point.
We are not trading in.

So if a car is advertised at for example €20k, is it acceptable to offer say €18k and see how it goes ?
Are the Prices online meant to be Cash Prices or Trade In ?

All advice welcome.

There is no hard and fast pricing model that sellers follow. Some build in big margin to allow for bigger discounts or trade in boosts, some sellers prepare the car to a minimal standard and sell cheaper, some spend a lot on mechanical and cosmetic preparation and offer a better warranty so ask more.

The only way to know is to look at many examples and compare.
Try and figure out what you’re looking to buy too.
Post a few links up here if you like.

SusanC10 · 08-01-2019 4:03pm

Test drove a car yesterday and did a Motorcheck today as it could be a contender. Seller is SIMI Dealer but not Main Brand Dealer.

Motorcheck showed up Irish Finance outstanding. Rang Motorcheck and they said that it was a "Stocking Loan" to the Garage in question.

Is this normal?
If I bought the car would this existing finance be removed ?

Thanks in advance.

og2k7 · 08-01-2019 5:29pm

SusanC10 wrote: »

Test drove a car yesterday and did a Motorcheck today as it could be a contender. Seller is SIMI Dealer but not Main Brand Dealer.

Motorcheck showed up Irish Finance outstanding. Rang Motorcheck and they said that it was a "Stock In Loan" to the Garage in question.

Is this normal?
If I bought the car would this existing finance be removed ?

Thanks in advance.

Had that when imported the car from the UK - the finance was cleared when we bought the car and ownership changed. We got a copy of a letter from Santander saying they have no interest in the car. I'd say same thing in Ireland

SusanC10 · 08-01-2019 5:34pm

og2k7 wrote: »

Had that when imported the car from the UK - the finance was cleared when we bought the car and ownership changed. We got a copy of a letter from Santander saying they have no interest in the car. I'd say same thing in Ireland

Thanks og2K7.

Did you get the letter from Santander before or at the time of purchase ?

og2k7 · 08-01-2019 5:37pm

SusanC10 wrote: »

Thanks og2K7.

Did you get the letter from Santander before or at the time of purchase ?

I have spoken to the dealer and they assured me it was normal and got a copy of the letter in the mail before I sent the funds over. Then I got the hardcopy (which i will hold on to as long as I have this car) - all from the dealer (as you dont have anything to do with the bank in this transaction)

Would definitely check for assurances but nothing that would make you walk away (yet anyways)

Talk to the seller, get them to confirm all and provide as much info as possible: they should know exactly what they have in stock

efwren · 09-01-2019 2:36pm

Hi,

Am intending to go look at this car tomorrow:

www.braudstonemotors.ie/vehicles/volkswagen/polo/dublin/2095258

Its a 2008 vw polo.

Like many on here I have read through a lot of the useful info which has been fantastic.

Looked at 2 similar cars at the weekend with 0 or very little service history and which the dealers offered 0 guarantee so wasn't comfortable with that.

Waiting on the dealer to give me the registration details so I can do an online check. However when it comes to mechanically checking out cars I am next to useless.

Has anybody used

https://www.motorcheck.ie/used-car-pre-purchase-technical-inspection/

or

http://www.dublindiagnostics.com/diagnostics/

Been also trying to check out reviews of the dealer and there don't seem to be many online.

Thanks!

bazz26 · 09-01-2019 3:25pm

That car is a UK import so make sure to verify the service history plus run your own background checks on the UK reg. Also is 3500 not expensive for an 11 year old Polo?

efwren · 09-01-2019 7:04pm

bazz26 wrote: »

That car is a UK import so make sure to verify the service history plus run your own background checks on the UK reg. Also is 3500 not expensive for an 11 year old Polo?

Thanks for the reply!

Turns out when I contacting them to check the reg they told me it had been sold.

As regards the price to be honest judging on what it I have seen so far no it's about right..assuming the service history is good .

Looked at two 2007 fiestas last weekend that were just under 3 grand but had no real service history no warranty and had a few issues when driving .

colm_mcm · 10-01-2019 8:35pm

Look in the private market. Any dealer selling €3k cars is usually bottom of the barrel.

SeaFields · 10-02-2019 12:22pm

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/honda-cr-v-2015-4-wheel-drive-model/20732414

Any opinion on this lads? Both the car and any experience of the dealer? Was looking up north but spotted this. Milage relatively high but I imagine not an issue once serviced in line with the milage being done.

I'll be honest- head is wrecked from looking at cars. Specifically want a CRV as I am scrapping my accord. Have loved the look of them for awhile now.

colm_mcm · 10-02-2019 4:03pm

Feedback on that dealer is not good AFAIK.

MladenP · 24-03-2019 5:30pm

Hi all,

I've read the buying guide provided here and it is really useful. However, as this is my first time buying a car in Ireland, I have some questions that hopefully I can get answers to.

- Is Greenlight Verification provided by DoneDeal.ie reliable? Do I still need to do a car history check via MotorCheck?

- Is there another way to check the reputation of a car dealer, besides checking its Google Reviews?

- If the car dealer provides a paper/document where it's stated that the car has been serviced (belt, water pump, etc), is that something that can be trusted?

- I would purchase a car with cash brought from abroad, do I need to report the purchase for tax purposes?

Thanks in advance.

grogi · 25-03-2019 9:51am

MladenP wrote: »

- Is Greenlight Verification provided by DoneDeal.ie reliable? Do I still need to do a car history check via MotorCheck?

You're parting with your own money. You need to be satisfied that you are not buying a lemon.

Depending on the price, I would trust only my own mechanic or my mechanic and additional checks.

MladenP wrote: »

- Is there another way to check the reputation of a car dealer, besides checking its Google Reviews?

Talk to people around. Virtually every dealer will have some bad deals in the past, but some will not have any good...

MladenP wrote: »

- If the car dealer provides a paper/document where it's stated that the car has been serviced (belt, water pump, etc), is that something that can be trusted?

Don't trust anything that the dealer you're buying from says.

Verify the service history independently - preferably at the garage that did service it. Ask for service receipts and call the garage in question to verify. If it is the same garage that sells the car, I would only trust it if it was a main franchise dealer with established reputation, with original invoices included.

MladenP wrote: »

- I would purchase a car with cash brought from abroad, do I need to report the purchase for tax purposes?

You need to declare the cash when you're bringing significant amounts ( €10,000 or more) over the border to counteract money laundering. If you have it in the bank and transfer it between banks, all is good.

You need to have the car taxed tough.

MladenP · 27-03-2019 10:32pm

Thanks a lot for the answers grogi. This really helps!

Ray Bloody Purchase · 02-04-2019 12:33pm

Just browsing through used cars and saw this:

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/toyota-rav4-2-0-d-4d-icon-4wd-amp-leather-45k/21475709

Fairly high spec that's hard to get here. It's imported though.

What would be the pitfalls of going for something like this?

Yer man seems to be based in the arsehole of County Clare.

colm_mcm · 02-04-2019 10:52pm

It really is the middle of nowhere, even for Clare.

Esel · 03-04-2019 9:39pm

Ennis is?

Squidgy Black · 03-04-2019 9:43pm

Esel wrote: »

Ennis is?

He's not in Ennis, he's about 30km west of there.

Esel · 03-04-2019 10:24pm

Squidgy Black wrote: »

He's not in Ennis, he's about 30km west of there.

Just saw Ennis at first level on the ad. Place is remote alright.

bazz26 · 03-04-2019 10:26pm

He is alot closer to the west Clare coast than he is to Ennis.

MladenP · 04-04-2019 1:09pm

Does anyone know anything about this car dealer - Alan White Cars in Ballymount?

I found an interesting offer, but might be too good to be true - alanwhitecars.ie/vehicles/skoda/superb/dublin/2227974

Any feedback is appreciated!

Kilboor · 25-04-2019 9:42am

A quick warning. More my own stupidity than anything (and blinded by love of the car) but I can't recommend Donedeal's Green History Check.

I thought this would be a comprehensive check at the price it cost and when I purchased my car it came up clean on the check provided by Donedeal.

Turns out for some reason they only cover Category A and B write offs and not C and D. Cartell shows my car as a category D write off and I was informed of this by Donedeal themselves now I'm selling my car. **** happens and all that but I think considering the cost of the check these categories should be covered.

Will be using Cartell in future.

MontgomeryClift · 25-04-2019 2:45pm

I don't know if this was mentioned before in this thread, but maybe if the previous owner(s) left the old NCT discs under the current one, as some owners tend to do, then the mileage at NTC time will be recorded on them. Using this, you can get an idea of the average mileage on the car per year and see if it looks legitimate.

Liamo_mu · 28-04-2019 11:17am

Read the buying guide. Lots of useful info I wouldn't thought of.

As im looking at my first car I am understandably nervous. Im looking for the Fiesta 2013 model or above and have a max of 9k to play with. Based on my initial research this is doable but on the dealerships I recoginse they charge much more.

I have found good deals on places like topline motors etc but have no way of knowing if such a dealer is reliable. Safe to say im going to be second guessing myself a lot.

colm_mcm · 28-04-2019 9:06pm

Liamo_mu wrote: »

Read the buying guide. Lots of useful info I wouldn't thought of.

As im looking at my first car I am understandably nervous. Im looking for the Fiesta 2013 model or above and have a max of 9k to play with. Based on my initial research this is doable but on the dealerships I recoginse they charge much more.

I have found good deals on places like topline motors etc but have no way of knowing if such a dealer is reliable. Safe to say im going to be second guessing myself a lot.

Keep looking...

Dunno if 3 door is an issue, they’ll def knock the €500 off and it’s a ford dealer, and you have €1k left over
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-fiesta-zetec/21101118

Another
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-fiesta-2013/21194112

Oh yeah, on those fiestas, the one to avoid is the 1.25 60PS. There is an 82PS version of this engine which is much better, you’ll see both in your search. The 1.0 is better than the 1.2 60PS but I’d have the 1.2 82PS given the choice.

Liamo_mu · 28-04-2019 10:02pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

Keep looking...

Dunno if 3 door is an issue, they’ll def knock the €500 off and it’s a ford dealer, and you have €1k left over
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-fiesta-zetec/21101118

Another
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-fiesta-2013/21194112

Oh yeah, on those fiestas, the one to avoid is the 1.25 60PS. There is an 82PS version of this engine which is much better, you’ll see both in your search. The 1.0 is better than the 1.2 60PS but I’d have the 1.2 82PS given the choice.

Thanks for the info mate.

ForestFire · 29-04-2019 12:17am

Liamo_mu wrote: »

Read the buying guide. Lots of useful info I wouldn't thought of.

As im looking at my first car I am understandably nervous. Im looking for the Fiesta 2013 model or above and have a max of 9k to play with. Based on my initial research this is doable but on the dealerships I recoginse they charge much more.

I have found good deals on places like topline motors etc but have no way of knowing if such a dealer is reliable. Safe to say im going to be second guessing myself a lot.

I know you said you budget is 9k, but we have just put deposits down on a new Ford ka+ zetech (Inc drivers pack), for my wife's first car.

It has a better spec than a fiesta (even 2019) and it will have 7 year warranty, 2 years free service and 7 years break down cover(as long as its serviced in ford each year) .

We are planning on keeping it long term and have it on Ford 5 year hp at 3. 9/4.9 %(waiting on confirmation on 3.9%), so monthly repayments are reasonable (about 220euro). Cost of finance is 1.4k, if I remember correctly.

Some other benifits are,

6.5" touch display with Android auto (apple) , so will always have up to at sat nav, Spotify and anything else they add in future.

Speed limiter
Reverse sensors

You 9k is going to go on a car with unknown history and possible no warranty or 1 year?

If you thing you will keep this car for 5 years or more it might be worth looking if this would suit.

Buying a used car in Ireland guide

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