Going to see car at main dealer tomorrow

velvetti

Planning to buy a 6 year old Toyota from main dealer. What questions do people usually ask and what to check? I’ve never bought from a main dealer before.

It’s approved used car with 12 months warranty minimum (2020 reg, 40k miles). 2 prev owners. I don’t think i need it inspected since it’s from main dealer and approved, but what do you all think?

One more question: I’m planning to get loan from bank and buy cash instead of pcp as i don’t want to navigate pcp terms and conditions regarding servicing and maintenance. The bank loan eate might be higher than pcp but at least I’ll have full ownership of the car and autonomy over how to maintain it. Am I being overly cautious?

CliveOfIndia

If it's a genuine dealer then you do have a reasonable degree of protection - but it's still prudent to check as much for yourself as you can.

Look online at the MOT history. This can give some clue as to how the previous owner cared for the car (did they replace things as and when needed, or did they just wait for the MOT to highlight anything wrong?). Are there any advisories from the last MOT?

How long has the current MOT got left to run? If only a few months, get the dealer to put it through an MOT before you buy.

Test drive the car properly (round town, on a motorway or dual-carriageway, etc.). Does everything work (aircon, radio, electrical gubbins, windows, etc.) ? Does it change gear smoothly? Any odd sounds or smells? Does it start, stop and steer properly?

Perhaps even more important, does it feel comfortable for you? It's no good buying a car if you can't quite seem to adjust to a suitable seating position, or if some of the controls seem a bit fiddly to reach.

If it's got a cambelt as opposed to chain, has it been changed when it should have, or is it getting close to needing to be changed? That can be an expensive maintenance item, but a critical one, so if it's due for changing soon, get the dealer to change it - or reduce the price accordingly so that you can get your own mechanic to do it soon after you buy it.

Has it got a full service history? Doesn't matter if it's not main-dealer, just as long as it's been done properly by a competent mechanic, and on time.

All basic stuff, you don't need any real mechanical knowledge, but worth doing.

Also, if the dealer offers a warranty, read the small print carefully to see what it does and doesn't cover. Make sure you're happy with the length and level of the cover offered.

daveyjp

Is it also a Toyota main dealer? If so you are correct all should be good, but do some due diligence anyway. Start with the MOT, it should have any advisories sorted out and a new MOT put in place before purchase.

As its less than 10 years old and 100,000 miles, Toyota will fix any problems and provide a new warranty as part of the purchase and this can be renewed every year with a dealer service.

If its not a Toyota dealer, MOT advice is the same and you can check if it had a Toyota main dealer service last time, if so the annual warranty will be in place.

We bought a 4 year old Yaris from a none Toyota dealer last year (although the car had come from a main dealer who has an arrangement with the dealer to sell stock to if they are overstocked). MOT advisories for tyres and brakes addressed, the car had a warranty from the last Toyota dealer service and this was renewed recently after a main dealer service.

WellKnownSid

Approved used - check out what they mean by that.

A “Toyota approved used” Toyota from a Toyota dealer is what you are looking for if you want the best cars. Any other combination is not worth the paper it’s written on:

A “Fred Motors approved used” Toyota from a Toyota dealer means they couldn’t put it through as Toyota approved because of age, condition or service history - or it would have cost too much to make it right.

With main dealer service history you will maintain the Toyota warranty for up to the day before the car’s 11th birthday

Arunmor

Remember the Toyota 10 year warranty. Dealer servicing will be an imperative for that to be in place so triple check that. Assuming it is, then you should be good to go.

Best to keep loan term to 3 years too to match the warranty,

https://www.toyota.co.uk/owners/toyota-warranty

daveyjp

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82061403#Comment_82061403

The vehicle does not need uninterrupted main dealer servicing for a new warranty to be provided at the next Toyota main dealer service. As long as any identifed repairs are carried out a new warranty will be provided.

Brie

I've gotten cautious about how well the signals can be seen. I was clipped by a car that couldn't see that I had braked and was signaling to turn. So car engine on, lights on, signal on, and then walk around the car to see how visible it all is.

another thing - sit in the car with the windows up and smell it. I saw a car being prepped for sale and it had about 30 car air fresheners in it which I presumed meant it was owned by a heavy smoker.

of course these are things that I'd do no matter who was selling.

Arunmor

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82061413#Comment_82061413

I'm not sure what you mean by uninterrupted main dealer servicing. To me the terms are clear .

Frozen_up_north

There is a difference between repairs and servicing. Provided a car is serviced according to the manufacturers schedule, using the same (or equivalent) filters, oil, etc. as required by the manufacturer, then your warranty should be fine regardless of whichever garage services the car. See:

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/buying-and-selling-guides/new-car-warranty-do-i-have-to-get-my-car-serviced-at-the-dealership/

When viewing a used car at a main dealer, be aware that the vehicle may only have had a basic clean and will not always have been serviced/through an MOT. The reason is that it may get sold by another main dealer and shipped to them, so the dealer where it is currently located would not want to use their money on the car if it's sold via another dealer. You will see the dealer has vehicles available from elsewhere in the country, giving you a wide choice of vehicles from other main dealers, hence the above.

Arunmor

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82061485#Comment_82061485

Not for Toyota cars, if you want more than the 3 year manufacturers warranty then it needs to be serviced at a Toyota garage.

Ms_Chocaholic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82061353#Comment_82061353

In terms fo the MOT history, we always got our car serviced at the same time the MOT was due so it would have looked like we did what you said but it wasn't so that's not entirely how it is. Just wanted to give other side for balance.