Befor you buy a used car

tobylobs

Anyone who is about to buy a car from a used car dealer be sure you get it looked befor you part with any cash. I was lied to by one such dealer and when I complained he tryed every trick in the book to brush me off. The problem was the car he sold me was an insurance repaired car, it was well repaired by a top well know trusted brand name however the salesman left out this information. It took a lot of running around and going to the owner befor me to get it sorted. The dealer was in dublin and I am sad to say he is not alone in his ways of selling. This is a widespred problem within the motor trade, the big names dont want crashed repaired cars on their forcourts and often pass them on (cheeply) to smaller outfits who inturn try sell them to the public as good deals.
I returned the car after 7 weeks and a lot of hassel only to see the same car back on the fourcourt the next day reddy to be sold to the next mug, the sad thing is this guy gets away with it :mad: :mad: :mad: .

jd

My dad, myself and one of my brothers all bought cars off the same guy. I was the last to buy off him, part of the reason was the fact that I knew he was reputable..(and good value)
if you are going to buy a used car, try and find out as much as you can about the dealer.. or try and be in my situation
1

(dunno if this is allowed, but I got the car off Phil Kirwan Motors in Duncormick, co wexford)
jd

sceptre

Absolutely tobylobs - there are some real scumbags (for want of a better word - too early in the day). I know a chap who bought a car from what he thought was a reputable dealership in Limerick. Drove it for about two years, car seemed fine (only about two years old when he got it). It certainly didn't look like it had ever been in any kind of crash.

It wasn't until he traded it with another dealer (who unfortunately was the father of a mate) that it turned out the chassis had been welded together. The dealer who bought it said that he'd take the loss on the car - it wasn't something that was known to my friend while driving it (just as well he was a friend of his son I suppose).

I didn't think those kinds of practices still went on but it seems that occasionally they do.

Finding a reputable dealer (from recommendations of others) is the most important step in getting any used car, whatever the age.

mike65

The horrors of "cut and shuts" can't be over-emphisised,
in a crash they simply break in two. They're hard to spot unless its a very crude job, and of course when buying its not something you think about (which is what the unscupulous rely on).

Buy from a garage which has history and a reputation
you can check, simply by asking friends, collegues,
independant mechanics, motor factors etc.

Mike.

Chimaera

More importantly, no matter who you buy a car from, get your own mechanic to check it over, or get a proffessional inspector to look over it - it might cost you a bit at the time, but it's far better than being ripped off for hundreds or thousands, and the potential danger of a damaged car being bodged together and sold on.

Tobylobs: can you put up the details of that car here as well - and the dealer's name - if we start outing these people for the devious individuals they are, then maybe we'll see changes in the way they do business.

At the end of the day, if you're not sure about a car, just walk away - it's better to be safe than sorry, especially when large sums of money are involved.