Dealership vs Private

[Stuart_42]

I write to you as a man in need.

I've been spending the last couple of weeks on Pistonheads/Autotrader eagerly awaiting a sub-50,000 mile-ish Trophy to become available through a dealership. I've got Park's Renault (Glasgow) and Arnold Clark Renault both on the lookout. It seems there's not many of these cars up in Scotland. My question really is what are people's experiences of buying privately? Were there any problems with deposits? Cars with finance still running on them? Cars that had been thrashed on a track? Any other issues?

I'd prefer to go through a dealership to get some sort of security, warranty etc plus a trade-in for my current car but it's not looking promising, particularly when none of them really seem to know much about the Trophy. If anybody's thinking of selling one up in Scotland I'd be interested! The ins and outs of making a journey down south to buy one is giving me a headache but it may come to that.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Rexina182]

Put it this way, by going private you meet the previous owner. Going through a dealer, you don't.

 

[Matbrown]

I always prefer to buy privately, you generally get a better feel for how the car has been looked after when you meet the current owners and avoid lining the pockets of some scum-bag salesmen!


Mat.

 

[son of solo]

you wont find many trophys in the dealers anymore, they're too old, although there was one the other month on a thread, although only a 3 month warranty was offered...
there might be one in newcastle soon if my AG 200 gets the go ahead...

 

[felix]

Stuart, a lot of people have bought from here:

http://www.allvehicles.co.uk/


it's a long way from scotland though

 

[roystinho]

Steve at allvehicles is very reliable though, if he gets one in it's worth travelling down with the money cos it will be pucker

 

[PB.283]

I bought private and it meant I could get a better "feel" of how the car was looked after.

Also I wunt worry too much about car that have been on tracks, condition is much more important. Mine had been on a track (and will again) but in its 19000 miles it had 3 oil changes in the last 8k with reciepts to prove.

 

[=CatasTrophy=]

Im poss looking to sell mine in the next month or so ,will come with pp T26PHY , 22.5k miles ,full service history just had discs and pads allround its used mostly by my mrs and she is the first registered owner , the car was pusrchased new from parks in Dunfermline in sept/oct 2005 , ive not advertised it as im still undecided on what to get as a replacement .

 

[CJ.OK]

I'd NEVER buy from a dealer unless it was a new car.

As people have said..... Private you can often trace the history right back to the factory.

At a risk of upsetting people, i'd say buying second hand from a dealer is usually the domain of the thick :roll:. Overpriced and often a polished turd.

For me PRIVATE is playing it safe.