Buying a car from AUTOTRADER ? - Is it Risky .??

Karen_taris

have you guys bought a car from autotrader?

from a private person, or company via autotrader?

Is this risky (compared to using cargiant.com) as these autotrader private sellers cars could have hidden things wrong with the car, which they don't reveal?

(hidden past accidents, hidden electronic problems) ?

-and HPI checks sometimes don't log accidents straight away, so aint fully accurate?


What is your experience?
have you guys bought a car from autotrader? - how was it, has it been running fine, 3-5 years On ? (after buying it) ?

forgotmyname

Very risky as Autotrader dont sell cars. They only let sellers advertise them.

I have bought cars from everywhere. Ebay, Autotrader, Someone driving past and asking if i wanted any spares for the car i was working on and bought a whole complete car.

Cargiant advertise on the autotrader website so does that make them dodgy also?

Can private sellers hide faults. Yes. Can the same private sellers sell their car to cargiant. Yes.

If a car has hidden electronic problems then nobody will know about them until they cause problems.

Its possible for a delay in an accident being reported to the HPI. But usually the time it takes for the insurance to sort it and get repaired etc. Most will be shown fairly quickly.

But it wont show a car thats been crashed and repaired badly but not claimed through the insurance.

My current car was on ebay. Bought in 2009 and its now passing 170,000 miles.
Its at that stage now where i want something to break so i can get another one. But when its running well and suits my needs so well also. Its a keeper.

Always get your own HPI check. Proper HPI, RAC, AA etc not some cheapo usless text check or one of the spammers on here that say you can get a check for £5. Because thats all it is a check. Not an HPI.

You can spend a few hundred £ getting an AA or RAC inspection.

Karen_taris

Thanks, good points.

forgotmyname wrote: »

Its possible for a delay in an accident being reported to the HPI.

But it wont show a car thats been crashed and repaired badly but not claimed through the insurance..

^ How can this risk be eliminated, or how can you make sure you don't fall for that.. getting a car which has had damage and repaired nicely but not through insurance ?

Nodding_Donkey

Buy from a trader and ask the specific question. that way if it turns out he hasn't told the truth then you have a legal comeback.


You could also, and this may be a bit controversial*, inspect the car thoroughly and take a knowledgeable friend along. Lots of people get a bit blinded by 'shiny.. car.. must.. have..' syndrome and hopefully a mate will be able to see the warts as well. If the car has been accident repaired then there will be tell tale signs, just don't ignore them

*this will not appeal to the 'it's always someone else's fault' brigade

gilbert_and_sullivan

Recently had one of the best buys of my life from the bay of E, via auction from a private seller.

Less than half the price i could find an equivalent model from a dealer, so cheap that i factored in £1000 for serious repairs, in fact £16 for two drive shaft boot kits fixed the only faults i could find, its so good i'm in the process of refurbing it completely to make it last as long as possible, and it'll still be cheaper than anything i could have got from a dealer.

For private buys you must speak to the seller by phone initially, by text/email it could be his mates uncles brothers dog you are in contact with.
Use gut instinct, does the seller sound like a wide boy, con man, dishonourable chav at the other end, would you invite this person into your home? if it waddles and quacks its a duck.

If you don't know much about cars, take someone with you who does go underneath them regularly.

You'll find all sorts of heaps of junk at various dealer sites too, some dealers may try to put things right, some are the above wide boys.

Obviously you need to save enough money by buying privately to fix any faults, so the car needs to be around 25% or more cheaper than the same car at a dealer, probably 50% cheaper for older stuff.

My other car which came from a good midlands dealer is now 18 years old, i've had it around 12 years, whatever you buy the secret to long life is good maintenance, including keeping it clean underneath to prevent corrosion, the local car wash guys much favoured here by the bone idle don't clean the parts you can't see, neglected cars don't last.

spiro

I have a friend in the trade who buys from Ebay etc and he has one golden rule, when he goes to buy the car it must be the address on the logbook and he has to see the person enter or leave the property.

webby23

Sorry to be blunt but should someone who clearly has no idea where to even buy a car from.....actually be buying the car.......?

For gods sake take someone with you who knows what they are doing!!!!

forgotmyname

Karen_taris wrote: »

Thanks, good points.



^ How can this risk be eliminated, or how can you make sure you don't fall for that.. getting a car which has had damage and repaired nicely but not through insurance ?

Only a proper thorough inspection will show whether or not its been repaired and whether they did a good job.

I could say buy a brand new one. But brand new cars get damaged in transit and may have been repaired.
Usually its a minor touchup to a scratch but sometimes worse.

Cars are a risky purchase. Even brand new ones break down.

phill99

I'm really not convinced car ownership is for you.

You will never eliminate risks completely, its the nature of the game. If you want a completely risk free car purchase, your best bet is to get a bus pass.

rev_henry

Autotrader is nothing new. Until a few years ago, before ebay and the internet, it was pretty much the only way to buy a car. Other than just going to a local dealer or looking in the local paper.

If you were serious you bought the magazine on a Thursday morning and got on the road. By lunchtime you'd bought a car. There is nothing more inherently dodgy about it than any other marketplace.

forgotmyname

Dodgy sellers everywhere. Including your family and best friend after reading some posts on here where people have bought cars from them.