Best place to buy a used car with confidence?

bery_451

With so many dodgy cars out there where is the best place apart from dealerships and national shops that you can trust to buy a used car from? A place that is backed up by good customer reviews/feedback that gives customer confidence.


Also How do you tell how long the car has been advertised on autotrader?


Whats the best alternatives to autotrader?

Strider590

My rule is if they try to bullish*t me, I walk out.
If they try the hard sell, I walk out.
I dont trust people who talk too much....... So salesman types will always struggle.

Paula_Smith

I dont think there are that many dodgy cars out there - mostly you can tell if it is a good deal and the seller is genuine.

If in doubt walk away. If it seems too good to be true it probably is.

Buying privately has always worked for me - I have never felt that a dealer has given me any more confidence than a private deal.

forgotmyname

Apart from dealerships your looking at private sellers or dodgy traders pretending to be private sellers. And you wont find feedback on them.

The 1st you will know is when it breaksdown on the way home. But its too late then its all yours.

arcon5

The problem is cars by their very nature need continuous maintenance. Mechanically and structurally. Too many people think they can go buy a car and it shouldn't require attention yet 'because we only bought it last month', 'because we've only done 500 miles in it since we bought it 9 months ago' - then they are quick to go crying 'dodgy dealer' 'dodgy car' 'ive bought a lemon and want my money back' when in reality the car has already done for example 50k miles and yet your surprised that there's a knocking because a bush has worn...?!!


Point is, there are a lot of dodgy dealers out there --- just not as many as you probably think though.

PeacefulWaters

Strider590 wrote: »

I dont trust people who talk too much....... So salesman types will always struggle.

The best salesmen are the ones who talk the least.

hgotsparkle

I bought my current car privately from Gumtree, and from talking to the seller quite thoroughly he was a genuine guy, explained in detail why he was getting rid of it, how the car had never let them down and didn't try to talk to me whil checking the car over, just left me to potter about myself and I haven't had any problems with it so far...

motorguy

forgotmyname wrote: »

Apart from dealerships your looking at private sellers or dodgy traders pretending to be private sellers. And you wont find feedback on them.

The 1st you will know is when it breaksdown on the way home. But its too late then its all yours.

BMW now provide feedback on their website for every dealer, in terms of a "star" rating.

Strider590

motorguy wrote: »

BMW now provide feedback on their website for every dealer, in terms of a "star" rating.

BMW?
Are these stars made of chocolate?

Foxy-Stoat_3

Strider590 wrote: »

BMW?
Are these stars made of chocolate?

No but the soft centres are supposedly sealed for life !

roonaldo

bery_451 wrote: »

With so many dodgy cars out there

is there? Myself, family and friends have bought many cars without buying a dodgy one.

where is the best place apart from dealerships and national shops that you can trust to buy a used car from?

A used car is just that, you may be lucky and buy oen that needs nothing apart from tyres and brakes in 30k miles, or you may buy one that needs repairs after 5k miles. You havent even stated if you are paying £1k or £10k for a used car. Obviously a cheaper car is more likely to be unreliable. What makes a car "dodgy" for you?

Most dealers get cars from part-exchanges or from auctions. No one is a fortune teller and can tell you in 12 months you will be have no trouble.

I think you need to change your prospective. A good car is going to be one that has full service history, good condition and ideally lower milleage. Also Japanese car eg Honda is going to be more reliable than say an Alfa, it doesnt meant Alfa's are dodgy. Dont buy the first one you see, shop around.