So, you are thinking about buying a Used Car and you don’t want to have to deal with the car the dealer. More and more people are taking the Private Party Seller in to consideration in their search to get a good used car or truck at a good price without dealer scams, tricks and excessive profits. Look for ads in the local paper, or go online to Ebay or AutoTrader.com. (mostly dealers are on AutoTrader, but they do have some buying car privately ads)
Caution When Buying Car Privately
When buying a used car from a private party it is a good idea to buy from someone that lives close to you and maybe even in your neighborhood. There is a better chance that it is just a used car that they owned and want to sell, but did not like the numbers they got from the dealer for a trade-in, and they are trying to get a little more money for for their used car.
When you are talking to the seller to set up a time to look at the used car try to get as much information as possible. Get all the information that you will need to go to www.Edmunds.com and get a pricing report. Then you will have all the values to help you evaluate the vehicle. You will also want to make sure you get a Vehicle History Report at AutoCheck®
Here are some questions you will want to ask the private seller before going too far.
Why are you selling the car?
How long have you had the car?
Do you have the title and is it clear ?
Are they any mechanical problems with the car?
Has the car been in any accidents?
Have you had to do any major repairs on the car?
OK, you took a test drive and you did a used car inspection. Now you are comfortable with the answers and the results of your used car inspection.. Let the private seller know you are interested but you would like your own mechanic to check it out.
Beware: There are some people that buy used cars from auctions and car dealers and that would normally go to auction and resell them as if they were their car. Be careful when dealing with this type of seller, they will often say that it is their car and seem as a private party seller. I did not saying that these people are crooks or scam artists, but I am saying be careful and do your inspection and test drive. The Vehicle History Report should show you what you need to know when it comes to previous owners and how long they owned it.