Buying from Trade In Dealership

DonalB1

Anyone have any history or knowledge of buying from a trade in dealership?

There's a car I'm very interested in, price is great and has I've ran a history check of car and there's nothing to worry about there.

A friend of mine said he knows of the people who run the garage and they have clocked cars before :eek:

Is there any way I can bring it to a mechanic who can make sure this hasn't been done? Way I see it is I know trade ins are worrying as there's no warranty but is it any worse than buying private?

goochy

sorry but youre heading doesn't make sense , trade in dealership ??

kilianmanning

I think he means that he is thinking about purchasing a car that was traded into a dealer, at a good price likely.

Donal, some cars that are traded in will be run into the ground heaps, some will be perfect.

DonalB1

goochy wrote: »

sorry but youre heading doesn't make sense , trade in dealership ??

Sorry my fault, it's a trade sales garage.

ironclaw

DonalB1 wrote: »

Sorry my fault, it's a trade sales garage.

No such thing. As a private consumer, you can't be denied your rights of Consumer Protection, which don't apply to Trade or Business to Business sales. Unless under really specific circumstances, and in writing, you waive them but you'd be foolhardy to do so. And even with such assertions, you'll likely be able to win a case based on consumer law e.g. Merchantable quality. End result, makes absolutely no sense for a business and a private individual to conduct a trade sale.

Any garage that is stating 'Trade Sales' or 'Sold As Seen' is best avoided like the plague. Best advice is to walk away OP unless you really, really know what you are doing and the car has been thoroughly checked. Likewise, the price would want to be unbelievable keen i.e. Below market rate, as the risk you are potentially entering in to is astronomical.

TL;DR: You are waiving your consumer rights, to buy from a business at a premium because its a business, you'd be better off in the private market as the potential come back for any difficulty encountered is the same.

biko

If the dealer or anything at all seems even slightly dodgy, just walk away.
There's many many cars on the market from trustworthy people.

No, a mechanic can't say 100% if a car was clocked or not (it depends blah blah but generally, no).

If you tell us what type of cars you're into, your budget and your location we can help with recommendations.

DonalB1

ironclaw wrote: »

No such thing. As a private consumer, you can't be denied your rights of Consumer Protection, which don't apply to Trade or Business to Business sales. Unless under really specific circumstances, and in writing, you waive them but you'd be foolhardy to do so. And even with such assertions, you'll likely be able to win a case based on consumer law e.g. Merchantable quality. End result, makes absolutely no sense for a business and a private individual to conduct a trade sale.

Any garage that is stating 'Trade Sales' or 'Sold As Seen' is best avoided like the plague. Best advice is to walk away OP unless you really, really know what you are doing and the car has been thoroughly checked. Likewise, the price would want to be unbelievable keen i.e. Below market rate, as the risk you are potentially entering in to is astronomical.

TL;DR: You are waiving your consumer rights, to buy from a business at a premium because its a business, you'd be better off in the private market as the potential come back for any difficulty encountered is the same.

Thank you for the post. It's much appreciated.

The car in question is cheaper than any other of the same year or model online. Is it really that much safer to buy from a private seller?

ironclaw

DonalB1 wrote: »

Thank you for the post. It's much appreciated.

The car in question is cheaper than any other of the same year or model online. Is it really that much safer to buy from a private seller?

Its the exact same: You have zero comeback. Zilch. Nada. Zip.

You pay your price and they keep your money, no matter what happens. Of course, some will argue you could take a dealer to the Small Claims, to that I say, best of luck and let us know how you get on. The cash requirement to pursue such a claim is totally prohibitive and most dealers open and shut every few years, to avoid this exact scenario.

A huge warning light in my book is a dealer selling a car below the market rate. A dealer has to make ends meet and has overheads, how can they possibly sell a car at next or below private market rates? The only reasons, in my book, that this can legitimately happen is if the car is a super exotic with a small market (Big engine, large tax, huge mileage etc) For a standard, common car, it probably means it needs significant work or is a lemon.

DonalB1

biko wrote: »

If the dealer or anything at all seems even slightly dodgy, just walk away.
There's many many cars on the market from trustworthy people.

No, a mechanic can't say 100% if a car was clocked or not (it depends blah blah but generally, no).

If you tell us what type of cars you're into, your budget and your location we can help with recommendations.

My location is Cork, but it will be my Dad and brother viewing them (they would have a better knowledge than me) and they're based in Galway.

I'm looking for a 07-08 BMW 3 series coupe. Hoping that the tax won't be over €710 so that rules out the 325. My budget would be €8,000. Milage, fuel type etc isn't overly important as long as there isn't any known issues with the model.

bazz26

If it's the place in Limerick that you asked about in the thread over in the Limerick forum then I've already given my opinion on these type dealers.

But here goes again. Just think about it for a minute and put the idea of a bargain to one side. They are selling cars well below what other similar cars are selling for. You have to ask yourself why. If the car is 100% as in it doesn't need any work done to it, hasn't been in a bad smash and the dealer was willing to stand over it with a warranty then why is it not being sold at full retail price?

Now these garages most probably have a business model of selling cars at trade prices which is ok if you are an expert in knowing a good car from a dog but my gut feeling is any good cars being sold this way would quickly be snapped up by the others in the motor trade well before joe public would see them.

colm_mcm

Indeed. It's often easy to gauge a private seller of their own car and ask them the tough questions about the cars history. If you're dealing with a pro who has stock answers for everything, knows how to mask underlying problems and is one step ahead of you then you have a much harder job.