buying a car..

buying privately..                                        
Look in Autotrader and local press classifieds, but be warned - when buying from another member of the public, your statutory rights are very limited. Prices tend to be lower, but you won't get a warranty and you can never be sure that the car is not stolen,  free of finance, if the mileage is a fairy story or if this apparent bargain is a cunningly repaired write off. If you subsequently find out the worst, I'm afraid to say the chances of getting redress, compared say to your rights as a consumer buying from a garage, are poor. The words cheese and hard spring readily to mind.

True story - customer comes in to have a look at a very nice green metallic BMW 318 we have advertised. Turns out he has just bought a similar green BMW 318 for cash from a private advert in the local A*to*ra*er, and has probably come to gloat on his saving of two grand over our screen price. It wasn't long before we spotted that the registration number on his car was exactly the same as the number on our car in the showroom. Guess which car was the dud? Yes it was Mr Gloater's car, which turned out to have been stolen in London and given a new identity by 'borrowing' the reg number of a similar car from a dealer's forecourt - in this case ours. So Mr Gloater phones the police, one particularly dimwitted local villain is arrested and the bobbies are so grateful with our man's co-operation they impound the car. Result - two grand saving turns into a six grand loss quicker than you can say "well bugger me". The moral of this story is if you must buy a car privately, then at least have an HPI Check carried out, as this will tell you of any outstanding finance and whether the car is recorded on the VCAR Register - more commonly known as "the Hit List". For a small extra charge and by quoting the recorded mileage, HPI can also check if there is a mileage discrepancy. Do not under any circumstances part with any money until you have at least carried out a basic HPI Check.

Incidentally, in over 30 years of motor trade experience I can count on one hand the number of cars we have bought within the trade that have turned out to be dubious in the mileage or service history department. It's not that the trade are particularly honest with each other, which of course they are(!), it's simply a matter of preservation of business reputation that prevents one trader striping another.

On the other hand, and in common with most other dealers, at least once a month we are offered in part exchange from a member of the public, vehicles so questionable we wouldn't touch with a barge pole, never mind retail. Sometimes they are offered as trade-ins and their proud owners are totally ignorant of their inherent faults and after inspection we end up being the bearers of very bad news. On more than one occasion we have had to tell customers that their pride and joy was in fact a 'two-halfer', and the look of shock indicates that they had been blissfully unaware of the condition. An HPI check, carried out by all sensible dealers as a matter of course, would normally prevent this type of situation, but a bit of crafty footwork with cherished registration plate transfers can cover a multitude of sins.

Unfortunately there are some cars still circulating that are so dubious, any self respecting dealer would spot them the minute they drove on to the forecourt, and without wasting the cost of an HPI check. If the dealer does take it in part exchange, and if he's sensible, he certainly won't risk his reputation retailing it. It will then be 'traded'. The trader often, but not always, inhabits the nether regions of the motor trade and he will buy just about anything if the price is right. So if this lemon can't be part exchanged, or has been traded, where does it eventually end up? Well it normally reappears in private classifieds, which is where we came in. Or it may end up in the block. The 'block' is motor trade parlance for your friendly local car auction. Which leads us neatly on to buying at auction

Copyright © P. Gunundez 2002

For further information please telephone Denise on 0191 586 7724 
or you can e-mail here


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