Private sale - would you?

[jakesmith]

It's all good & well on a runabout for £2k but for a £40k+ Aston would you buy private? The one in particular is quite local, is serviced by my local well respected indy specialist & is well but not stupidly low priced. I could cal the dealer for a chat & use a full HPI check; still feels a bit risky, what would you guys do?

[AMV8Nick]

Can you tell us a bit more

[Jockman]

I would buy it.

Dealers are blood-sucking wkers

[yeti]

jakesmith said:

It's all good & well on a runabout for £2k but for a £40k+ Aston would you buy private? The one in particular is quite local, is serviced by my local well respected indy specialist & is well but not stupidly low priced. I could cal the dealer for a chat & use a full HPI check; still feels a bit risky, what would you guys do?

Talk to your local well-repected indy specialist! Ask them if they've seen any issues and agree to split the cost of a very thorough pre-purchase inspection with the vendor. If all is good, and you've saving a LOT compared to buying from a dealer, than go for it. However, a dealer car will have AM approved warranty, full prep, wheel refurb, no stonechips, HPI check and a fresh service. Add that lot up and if the car is still much cheaper, then it's worth it.

FWIW I eould buy private, but many others wouldn't.

[cayman-black]

Some of the best buys are private sales. Get it chacked out ,warranty put on if its still well priced why not.?

[michael gould]

Jockman said:

I would buy it.

Dealers are blood-sucking wkers

bloody hell Jockman.......Stratstone's really have pissed you off........to the OP....there is no reason why a private sale should be a problem....

but give us some more details.....eg

what car is it
how old
how many owners
millage
who has serviced it and have you spoken to them

give us a clue

[Jockman]

michael gould said:

bloody hell Jockman.......Stratstone's really have pissed you off........to the OP....there is no reason why a private sale should be a problem....

but give us some more details.....eg

what car is it
how old
how many owners
millage
who has serviced it and have you spoken to them

give us a clue

Listen to this man - he is one of the few that has actually bought his car privately - a resounding success.

Apologies to the good Dealers out there too

[Lunablack]

I bought my Vantage privately a year almost a year ago...... No regrets....

I got pretty much the exact spec I wanted, only 12k on the clock and I'm confident, that I saved a minimum of £5k for an equivalent dealer supplied car...

[AMV8Nick]

Jockman said:

Listen to this man - he is one of the few that has actually bought his car privately - a resounding success.

Apologies to the good Dealers out there too

One of which is Stratstones down here in the Midlands

[jakesmith]

I'm after a very specific spec & price, just seen one advertised on PH, Nicholas Mee service it & the car & NM are local to me.

I'm still not 100% decided on whether I should commit the ongoing funds to running the car either but I can't seem to shake the idea off, I'm sure some of you can empathise.

Buying a car privately conjours up fears of cloned cars, stolen V5's, log book loans etc - it would seem that a full HPI check is comprehensive but it's cover is limited to £30k... I have only bought privately once when I was much younger & didn't have a clue, think I was happier that way & luck had it that the car was fine

[jakesmith]

this is the car, obviously the plate would be changed immediately were I to purchase

Was Bose really an option? I thought it went 160W, Premium, B&O - or was Premium Bose?

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3536827.htm

Thoughts?

I didn't really want a SportsShift but as my new job is mainly motorway commute based it will make little difference to me & might be an interesting change, I won't be tracking the car.

Where is the switch if the car has heated seats?

[michael gould]

jakesmith.......if you can agree on a price with the private seller then make it conditional that the local Aston dealer will check it out.....which you will pay for......to buy it privately it needs to be 3-5k less than a main dealer

[yeti]

jakesmith said:

Buying a car privately conjours up fears of cloned cars, stolen V5's, log book loans etc - it would seem that a full HPI check is comprehensive but it's cover is limited to £30k...

Blimey, aren't you worried you'll be hit by a bus/meteorite as soon as you get out of bed?

If serviced by Nick Mee's team it will be a-OK, chat to them there, have them do the inspection, meet the owner, have a chat to him/her.

If the guy wants to meet you in the dark on a deserted industrial estate, demands payment in used £20s and the car has the rear end from a Mondeo I'd be a little bit wary; otherwise you're fine!

[Mr Overheads]

I bought mine privately.

I had it checked out by the local (to the seller) AM Dealer in Edinburgh for £100 and also talked to the couple of dealers who had had it on their books in it's lifetime.

I saved enough to be happy about it over the price a virtually identical mileage N400 was available at AM Cheshire. Have had zero issues with it except the BAR STEWARDS that have put a full length scratch down the side.

It even came with brand new tyres on the rear and new alloys all round due to bubbling on the current set of alloys.

Edited by Mr Overheads on Thursday 9th February 17:01

[michael gould]

yeti said:

jakesmith said:

Buying a car privately conjours up fears of cloned cars, stolen V5's, log book loans etc - it would seem that a full HPI check is comprehensive but it's cover is limited to £30k...

Blimey, aren't you worried you'll be hit by a bus/meteorite as soon as you get out of bed?

If serviced by Nick Mee's team it will be a-OK, chat to them there, have them do the inspection, meet the owner, have a chat to him/her.

If the guy wants to meet you in the dark on a deserted industrial estate, demands payment in used £20s and the car has the rear end from a Mondeo I'd be a little bit wary; otherwise you're fine!

good advise.....speak to Mee's ...they are well respected on this forum.....also speak to the last main dealer who serviced it......and finally have it checked out independantly before handing over the money........looks a great car

[jakesmith]

When you say get it independently checked, would you have it checked out somewhere other than where it was serviced to get a hopefully impartial view?

[yeti]

michael gould said:

looks a great car

I must admit, I did like the look of it. Nice colour combo, high spec. Shame its a 'slacker'shift, but guessing that's what you want!

[michael gould]

jakesmith said:

When you say get it independently checked, would you have it checked out somewhere other than where it was serviced to get a hopefully impartial view?

yes....its four months since it was at Mee's.....here is my crib sheet that I use which is a good starting point....

CAR QUESIONS FOR PRE OWNED CARS

1 how long have you owned it

2 how many owners


3 who did you buy it from

4 when was it last serviced and by whom

5 when is the mot due

6 has the car had accident damage or paint

7 what problems /warranty work has been carried out

8 condition of interior

9 condition of tyres

10 have the brake discs or pads been changed

11 why are you selling it

12 how long have you been advertising it

13 how much will you take for it

14 did you know that Michael Gould is a very nice chap

[Lunablack]

15.. Any outstanding finance??

I know I'm going to HPI it anyway... But it's always good to get as much info as possible

[yeti]

jakesmith said:

When you say get it independently checked, would you have it checked out somewhere other than where it was serviced to get a hopefully impartial view?

I'd say they were impartial anyway, unless they're selling it? If they're the servicing lot, they'll know what advisories they've flagged up previously.

Plus no-one else nearby really AFAIK.