Buy or sell your car on the Internet

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www.buy-or-sell-cars.com


TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR NEW CAR
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Our intention here is to help you avoid problems in an area which may be quite alien to you, that is buying a car privately from a stranger. We have said privately, because buying from a car dealer / showroom should be a quite straightforward matter, as you are safeguarded in just about every area, and many dealers will service and valet the car before collection. In buying privately you should accept it is a different matter. Firstly finance facilities are not available, and you don't have the warranty that may come with a car from the dealer. The best car in the world can develop a problem, despite being problem free at the moment - put it down to an act of god if you like, but it can happen. The up side of buying privately is that the price may be slightly lower than that asked by a dealer, so financially you start out in front, although you will have to sell your 'old' car yourself, (We can probably help you with that!).

Another option is of course a Car Auction. We have dealt with some of the UKs biggest auction groups in the course of our business, and do not intend to criticise them in any way whatsoever. All we will say, is that the average man in the street (whoever that may be) does not have the experience, or judgement to know what he is buying under auction conditions. The most experienced trade buyers that attend auctions 6 days a week, regularly make big mistakes - if they can do it, you certainly can, and probably will.

Lets assume you know a fair bit about cars, and are about to view a car at the advertisers house. Adopt a friendly approach with the seller, you are on his turf after all, and don't start kicking the tyres of his pride and joy shortly after arriving, saying you think it has not been looked after properly! There may well be points your not happy with - keep them to yourself for the moment, until you have established some form of rapport with the seller. Buyers that appear to be intent on criticism for the sake of it, do little more than alienate themselves from the seller and make any negotiations more difficult. If you are not interested, say so, and thank the seller for his time, remembering he may have put himself out considerably to see you. If you are still interested after inspecting the car to your satisfaction, but have noted faults that may warrant a price adjustment, simply ask if a reduction can be agreed to cover the scrapes on the wing, or whatever the faults may be. If the car is already priced accordingly, the seller may feel he can't reduce the price any further, in which case you must decide if it is still worth buying. If you think not, you may like to offer your phone number saying he is welcome to phone you if he finds he can help on the price in some way. The conversation is totally amicable, and 'no doors' have been closed. Business may still be done, even if not there and then

If you are now at the point of doing a deal, it is time to satisfy yourself that all is legal and above board. Have a good look at the vehicle registration form (still often called a log book) and check the vin number on the metal plate under the bonnet is the same as that on the V5 form. The MoT certificate (if applicable) should have an embossed stamp stating the name / address of the testing station, and show the vin number and registration number of the car. It should have no alterations for obvious reasons. The sellers name and address would normally be on the registration form, although there are a number of reasons why it may not be - eg: he did'nt bother registering the car because it was licenced when he bought it (although in fact he still should have done). He could also be selling it for a relative, or simply be an opportunist buyer after a quick profit - nothing criminal in that. Sometimes registration forms are sent back to the DVLA for quite legitimate reasons, and are therefore unavailable to be shown to a buyer at that time. Lot of grey areas could be encountered here, so it becomes equally important to satisfy yourself regarding the credentials of the seller. As we said on an earlier page most people are completely honest otherwise no business would ever be done, but you should ere on the side of caution. Incidentally you can pay to obtain a 'vehicle history check' from a company called HPI (Hire Purchase Information Tel: 01722 435500). This is not a free service and you will need your credit card details

The biggest NO NO of all. Never close a deal (part with money) with a stranger who has bought a car round to your house, seemed a little too keen to 'save you a journey' going to his house, and appears to only have a mobile phone number. ALWAYS go to the sellers house, and ensure you are not being met outside someone elses house. It has happened! Do not go alone, if you intend to part with a lot of cash. It is best to tell the seller you will just bring a small deposit with you to confirm any deal, and will pay the balance, perhaps by bankers draft tomorrow. Legitimate sellers will be perfectly happy with that.

You will have to make judgement regarding the circumstances, and the people you may be doing business with. The golden rule is if you do not feel happy doing business with someone, for what ever reason, DONT.