There are a lot of aspects to consider when purchasing a used car. A car buyer usually decides everything from the model to the budget to financing options. But one of the most crucial decisions is to choose between purchasing the vehicle from a private seller or a dealership.
Both methods have their pros and cons; it mostly depends on your requirements at the time of buying. If you want to purchase a car with a warranty, a dealership is better. But if you are in the market to purchase a second-hand vehicle at the best price, buying a car from a private seller can save you a lot of money than purchasing it from a dealership — Unfortunately, private purchases do come with some risks.
Disadvantage Of Purchasing Via Private Seller
When you purchase a vehicle from a dealership, the dealer will take care of all the paperwork needed to purchase the vehicle. But it’s not the same with a private sale. In this case, it’s the seller who is responsible for arranging all the paperwork. But unfortunately, most of the time, they are not aware of the rules and regulations, which can create problems.
With dealerships, you won’t have to worry about scouring the title transfer papers or car financing papers; the dealers will take care of it all. Though these services provided by the dealership are not free, yet many car buyers agree that the additional cost is worth it.
Automotive dealers are also required to carry out their process while complying with the consumer protection law. But if you buy a car via a private seller, no such security is provided to you. Moreover, no private sale or as-is sale has any warranty coverage, but a dealership is a way to go if you want this type of safety.
Another service that the dealership offer is certified used cars. These cars are gently used cars sold by the franchise of the same brand of cars. These vehicles are certified to be low-mileage, acid-free, and a few years old. This type of assurance can never be received from private sellers, as many even lie about their cars’ condition.
Now let’s look at some advantages.
Advantages Of Buying From A Private Sale
The most significant advantage of purchasing a vehicle via a private sale is a lower price. Private sellers, unlike dealerships, don’t have salaries to pay and other overheads related to their business which results in a potentially cheaper car.
Another benefit is that private buyers are less skilled negotiators than the people at the dealership who use their salesmanship skills to increase the rate of the car. So, when the playing field between you and the private seller is levelled in negotiating skills, you can talk openly and agree on the right price for the car.
Most of the time, private sellers want to be done with the deal quickly, so they have a level of urgency that the buyer can use to their advantage to negotiate the right price. This is not possible at a dealership becasue not only the dealers are skilled at negotiation, but they also have no urgency to sell the vehicle.
This information should be enough to decide that private selling is a way to go if you want to get the best value for your cash. But because in the private sale you are dealing with people directly, there may be some scammers.
Watch Our For These Scams
Curbstoning
Curbstoning is when a dealer pretends to be a private seller to sell you a car. By using the curbstoning method, dealers don’t have to comply with the regulations and can sell you a car declared a loss by the insurance company as a used car.
A way to identify these scammers is to call them and tell them, “you are interested in the advertised car” if they ask you which one, it’s a clear sign that they are selling more than one vehicle and most likely are curbstoner.
Identity Theft
Buying and selling involve sharing of personal information. But if a seller demands a host of information from you before showing the vehicle, it’s a clear red flag that they are trying to steal your personal information. So always be vigilant before sharing your personal information.
Title Scams
As a buyer, you should never buy any car whose title cannot be immediately transferred to you. If the seller for any reason doesn’t want to transfer the title to you, it means that the vehicle is either stolen or is considered as a total loss by the insurance company.
Sell Your Old Car Before Buying A New One
Before purchasing a car, if you want to get rid of your old vehicle, why not try selling it instead of dumping it in your backyard? Many car buyers in QLD purchase all conditions of cars regardless of the make and model. One of these car buyers is Adrians.
Adrians is the highest rated car buyer who purchases various salvage cars in Gold Coast and offers customers top cash and free removal services QLD wide. So why clear up your backyard.
