I've been looking for an used car ($4000-$5000).
Tried a few private sellers but just cannot trust them.
How do you find a good dealer?
I live in Brisbane North.
How do you find a good used car dealer?
Ltomatosauce on 06/07/2012 - 17:52
Comments
Likewise cant help with who's a good dealer. Is there such an animal?
Some tips
With a car around that price allow $1000 for possible repairs - ie if you want to spend $5K all up spend $4K. Many cars are sold for a reason. That being its had some repairs and they expect more so its cheaper to sell out. Now sometimes you get lucky and the previous owners fears aren't realised, but then sometimes they are real, and you need the money to fix it.
At that price range, you really do need someone to help you on the spot.
The dealer will have bought the car for at least $1500 less than you pay. There has to be profit and margin for when they have to sell it at a discount.
Another trick, is to visit some local retirement villages in case some one needs to sell their car, put a notice on a notice board there. At least in most cases these people will be happy not to have to go thru a hassle to put their car on the market. Worth a try.
Likewise cant help with who's a good dealer. Is there such an animal?
Exactly what I was thinking when I saw the title…they'd have to be rare as rocking horse shit, I've yet to encounter one! :)
Even the nicest car dealer will not want to know you after the sale. Learn that.
What you want first and foremost is a good car with no odd past history and I don't mean those little stamps in the service book either.
If you know nothing about cars then DO get it inspected. Most mobile mechanics can do this for you for a reasonable fee.
Marry them. That way they can't get away from after-sales service.
As others have inferred, I would go private at this price point & just pay for a mechanic report & REVS certificate.
That will be way cheaper than the used car dealer overhead & you will actually be far less likely to get something overpriced, dodgy & basically jerry-rigged to get past the minimum statutory warranty! ;)
Thank you for all the tips.
I actually tried a few private sellers but somehow I got a funny feeling from them.
3 of them were from the same ethnic background and makes me wonder if there is such a trend in their community to buy a cheap car from auction and sell it for profit (they make up stories like, oh I am moving interstate, my wife wants a smaller car etc)
Has anyone experienced the same?This is very common; however, is it any worse than buying the same car from a dealer who has done exactly the same thing, just for $1000 more because the dealer has to cover his overheads?
If you do find that habib has a car that you like, just do your REVS, stolen vehicle check & mechanic's inspection & treat the obligatory bullshit stories with the same contempt you'd have for the used car salesman telling you that it was owned by a little old lady who only ever drove it to church once a week!
Likewise, use the info to make a judgement. If you find the same ethnic group selling the car with the trumped up excuse, just move on. Look at another car. Buying a used car may mean a few weeks of looking. While a used car dealer has a number of cars the danger is that you use the price of one to compare with the price of another on the lot.
Now that is playing right into their hands as now you are dealing on their terms of reference.
Yep on a private sale you will have to do a bit of traveling and ringing around, but frankly that is the only way to buy and get a deal.
Good luck
Service records tell the story here, and I would never buy a used car without them.
Where do you find a good used car dealer - 6 feet under!
looking for an used car ($4000-$5000).
Unfortunately, at this price point accurate service records are as rare as those good used car dealers! ;)
SB. Totally agree and with deals like the Artscow one for cheap stamps, its not unknown for these to be copied and used, especially if they are the smart ones… and this would go for dealers as well as private sales
'I got a funny feeling from them', you pay more at a car yard precisely because they know how not to give you this feeling.
Private sales are the go, bought my last car off Ebay unsighted and was a great deal.
My experience is avoid buying off anyone who seems to understand how the car works.
Last time I went into a dealer I wanted to trade exactly the same model, same kms, cond, etc, but a sedan for a station wagon.
They wanted $9.5K for the car and wouldn't move and offered me $500 trade in.
I am not as anti dealer as some people here. I think the CAR is the focus, where you buy it from is less important. There is a (very small) amount of greater security at a dealer. If you do buy private, be very clear about who is paying for what (registration, transfer fee, roadworthy certificate) I assume details differ in different states.
A licenced dealer must provide a statutory warranty (nsw others not sure).
He also guarantees the title of the vehicle.
Both the above cannot be done by a private seller so there must be a realistic price difference.
Auction is the best place to buy used but it is not for the pretender.I'm not entirely sure if a $5k car gonna be young enough to still be eligible for stat warranty.
Yep, it's definitely a bit of a grey area with this end of the market: http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/Consumers/Motor_vehicles/W…
REVS certificate will fix the title thing though! :)
Can't help with actual dealer but I got the following information from a reliable source. Here it is- watch out for 'Hazelhurst' (not sure of spelling as it was over the phone so maybe a variation of this)- is a 'Hertz' ex rental used car and WTHA- that's 'We Try Harder Avis' is an Avis ex rental car. Good information to know as they are trying to keep that information from you and contact the previous seller to ask about the car. If they don't have this information for you to see, ask for it. Good Luck!