Is it worth buying a used car from a car dealership?

Where is the best place to buy a used vehicle?

The most common method, which previously had no alternatives, is buying from hand. The buyer himself searches for a suitable car through advertisements, contacts the seller and negotiates the terms of the transaction. The main advantage of this option is the opportunity to bargain with the current owner of the car and slightly reduce its price. Read about the intricacies of trading and ways to save money when buying a car in this material.

However, there are also some disadvantages:

1. When purchasing a car second hand, there is a high risk of its malfunction. During an external inspection, it may be difficult to notice certain defects, and many drivers do not consider it necessary to undergo a technical inspection before concluding a transaction.
2. There is a risk of falling for scammers. A buyer who is not a car expert may not be able to identify problems with the car. It may be brought from abroad without the necessary customs formalities or be wanted. This can lead to serious problems with the law in the future.

Buying a used car at a dealership is safer for the buyer than buying it second hand. Any car that goes on sale at a dealership first undergoes a comprehensive diagnostic test. When certain defects are identified, they are immediately eliminated.

In addition, a thorough check of legal aspects is carried out. Car dealership specialists determine the place of production of the car, the number of its past owners, actual mileage, maintenance, and so on.

Buying a car from a dealership deprives the future owner of a number of troubles.

We talked in detail about buying a car in a showroom or from someone else here.

However, the price will likely be higher than if purchased from a private party. In practice, a better option is to buy a car from a dealership, albeit for several thousand more, but get peace of mind regarding the legality of the transaction and the serviceability of the car. Another advantage of this option is the opportunity to receive free warranty service from the seller’s service.

Against buying at a car dealership

A car dealership is an intermediary between the seller and the buyer. In any case, he takes his percentage for the service, which ultimately significantly increases the cost of the car. A car of the same condition will cost less from a private owner.

Car dealership employees know nothing about the actual condition and features of the car. And they cannot advise or recommend anything to the new owner. For example, change the oil after 3 thousand miles, you may have to change the clutch, etc. But such sincerity even when buying from a private seller is only possible in one case - when you buy a car and a relative or good friend who has no intention of deceiving the buyer.

In car dealerships, before selling, they put on an external polish to increase the price, but do not make serious repairs.

Cars with a dubious history can be sold here, which can cause problems later. There is a risk of running into a car that has been stolen, seized, or is pledged to the bank.

Pros and cons of purchasing from a showroom

Having decided to buy a used car at a car dealership, the buyer must evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of such a transaction. The advantages of this solution include:

• Checking the legal history of the car. Car dealerships care about their reputation and carefully select the cars that go on sale. The risks of purchasing a problem car are minimized.
• Diagnostics of a car before putting it up for sale. The qualifications of the official dealer's specialists should not be in doubt.
• Availability of guarantee. When making a purchase at a dealership, you can be sure that if significant problems are identified, the dealer will repair it or return the money.

Along with the advantages, there are also some negative aspects:

• It is unlikely that you will be allowed to test drive the car. This is due to the lack of insurance and the need to maintain odometer readings.
• It will also be difficult to conduct a detailed inspection of the machine. The dealer may not allow you to measure compression or remove spark plugs.
• Increased car price. Salons rarely reduce prices for used cars, which cannot be said about private sellers.

Advantages of buying a car from a dealership

A specialized dealership cannot be called an ideal place to buy a used car, but this method still has more advantages than disadvantages. Let us dwell on these points and thoroughly study each of them.

Guarantees

Buying a used car from a specialized dealership has more advantages than disadvantages. Whatever one may say, purchasing a car on the secondary market is associated with risks. But the car dealership provides guarantees, which cannot be said about private resellers or owners, who care about little other than profit and profit. Further conversation will concern only official, well-known salons, for which it is important to maintain their reputation.

Each used car in the showroom that is put up for sale undergoes a thorough inspection, detailed diagnostics and undergoes repairs if necessary. The past of the car is also studied, every detail is taken into account:

• number of owners;
• actual mileage, which may not correspond to sensor readings;
• presence of “chronic diseases”;
• how and where the service was performed.

You can find more than one car dealership selling used cars that is ready to provide warranty service. These are the kind of salons you should give preference to.

Additional service

What would be preferable for you: spending time studying dozens of advertisements, calling the indicated numbers, numerous meetings and a detailed inspection of each car, or staying in a clean salon, whose employees will blow away dust from you and offer the best options. Just imagine that you are sitting in a comfortable chair with a cup of aromatic coffee in front of a neat and polite employee who is ready to show you every car that interests you.

The sale of used cars through a dealership is often accompanied by the provision of additional services, the opportunity to take advantage of bonuses, special offers, or obtain a loan on favorable terms.

If the picture depicted seduces you and this is how you imagine the process of buying a used car, then you’re in the right place for a car repair shop.

Purchasing methods

There are several ways to purchase a used car from a dealership.

In small salons

This option is one of the most undesirable. Typically, such organizations buy the cheapest cars with significant defects and sell them at a large markup. But in this case, the issue is not only about price. Repairs of such cars are carried out as cost-effectively as possible.

It is unlikely that anyone will spend significant funds on a car that will be sold in the future. This leads to possible technical problems in the future. It’s also not so simple with documents. Small showrooms and resellers usually do not register the car as their own.

Until the actual registration, the car remains in the possession of the previous owner. The reseller will try to avoid mentioning himself in the papers and sell the car with the signature of the previous owner under a fictitious contract.

This scheme usually works, and the new owner registers the car without any problems. However, in certain cases there are misunderstandings.

Let's say the old owner may get tired of waiting for the sale and cancel the registration of the car in his name. Then the new buyer will face serious problems when registering. But it will be almost impossible to get funds back from the reseller.

In general, buying a car from a reseller is a valid option. But before concluding a contract, it is important to carry out a detailed diagnosis of the car and require the seller to carry out the transaction on his own behalf, indicating the full price of the car in the documents.

In a relatively large center

In large salons, everything is much simpler with documents. Typically, the company enters into a vehicle commission agreement or an agreement for the provision of sales services with the owner.

Attention! In such agreements, a separate clause is discussed that the previous owner must not terminate the registration of the car, and also that he guarantees the absence of any claims to the car from third parties.

In such showrooms, the technical condition of the car is usually much better than in small companies and resellers. Large organizations are concerned about their own reputation and do not sell cars with significant defects.

But minor flaws that do not have a significant impact on the operation of the car, such as scratches, can be disguised so that the appearance of the car matches its price. The quality of such repairs also does not always meet the necessary requirements.

In addition, large showrooms provide the buyer with a guarantee on large parts and components of the machine. It, in essence, is a time to check the product, but in many ways protects the consumer from purchasing low-quality products.

Thus, you can buy a used car from a large dealership. For the future owner, this is a guaranteed legal purity of the car and protection from serious defects immediately after purchase. We talked about how to check the legal purity and technical condition of a car here.

But it is worth remembering that the salons do not have information about how the car was serviced and used, so no one can guarantee you that you will use it for a long time and without problems. In addition, prices in such companies can be significantly higher than in small salons.

According to the trade-in system

This is the safest option for buying a used car. According to this system, cars are handed over not because they are completely unfit for use, but to receive a discount on a new car. A mandatory requirement is that the vehicle being rented out does not have any serious problems and is ready for active use in the future.

It should be taken into account that showrooms that primarily sell new cars do not repair used ones. Cars are sold in the same condition as their previous owners. Accordingly, you will notice the existing defects immediately and can draw conclusions about whether it is advisable to buy a particular car.

Salons working with a trade-in system also usually offer reasonable prices, since their goal is prompt sales and compensation for losses incurred due to discounts.

For purchases at car dealerships

Before choosing a car from a dealership, you need to choose a dealership with a good reputation. Such establishments do not engage in the resale of stolen cars, or those that are pledged or under arrest.

Pre-sale preparation, the external gloss of the car does not harm, but vice versa. Any private owner can do the same to increase the price.

A private seller can tell the buyer the whole truth about the condition of the car only if the car is being sold to a relative, friend or good acquaintance. Or if the seller is an honest person. In the showroom, most often the manager will only say good things about the car, but evaluate the condition yourself.

As for the price, it can be even lower in car dealerships. Some car dealerships take cars for sale and pay money to the seller only after the sale.

Others buy the car outright and then put it up for sale. This is how cars can go on sale at a price below the market price - when the seller urgently needed money and he sold the car at a low price.

There may also be cars on sale whose owners have defaulted on the loan, and the bank has put the car up for sale at a price below the market price. This may happen because not all banks have services and specialists for assessing and selling cars. This is often entrusted to car dealerships, which have one goal - to buy cheaper and sell faster. And selling cheaper means faster.

How to buy a used car from an official dealer?

Buying a used car from an authorized dealer involves a certain sequence of actions.

Is it possible to check the car yourself?

Most often, it is impossible to conduct a full vehicle inspection. The buyer can only inspect the vehicle. When looking at a potential new car, it is important to pay attention to the following points:

1. Appearance of the car. Inspect the body for abrasions, chips, and dents. Also evaluate the car’s paint job—highlights may indicate an accident history.
2. Movable mechanisms. It is worth inspecting the doors, hood, trunk, etc.
3. Compliance of numbers with the data specified in the PTS.
4. Salon. Evaluate the covering, under which defects may be hidden.
5. Odometer readings.
6. Trunk. Estimate the distance from the body to the parts. There is no rust allowed inside the trunk.

Inspecting the machine will allow you to identify its weak points, which will be easier to deal with in the future. We wrote about the inspection, check and test drive of a car when buying a car here, and the intricacies of checking a gearbox when buying a car are described here.

What to pay attention to when signing a contract?

Before signing the purchase and sale agreement, it is important to study all its clauses and notes. This is necessary even if the document has already been provided by the manager for review, since it can exist in two copies - for inspection and for signature. The signature version may include edits that the buyer does not want.

According to the law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, the buyer can return the purchased car within 15 days after the transaction is concluded. Returns are possible if there is a clause about this in the contract.

We wrote here what to do after signing the purchase agreement.

What documents should I check?

When buying a used car at a dealership, you need to check the following documents:

• Certificate of deregistration of a car with the MREO. If it is missing, you need to request a document confirming that the car is not stolen.
• Service book. This document includes information about all work carried out on the machine. The data will help identify the weak points of the vehicle and pay attention to them in the future.

Read everything about buying a used car, including how to find a suitable vehicle and fill out the documents correctly, and learn about vehicle diagnostics before buying a used car here.

If you decide to purchase a car, then our useful articles on buying a car without license plates, using maternity capital, at an auction, transferring money during a transaction, purchasing a new car at a dealership, negotiations, and insurance when buying a car can help you.

Is there any point in buying a used car from a car dealership?

Good afternoon. In today's post, I want to raise a question that is relevant to most motorists - is there any point in buying a used car from a car dealership?

From the article you will learn the advantages and disadvantages of such an acquisition.

The author of this article is a professional reseller and periodically receives offers to deliver this or that car for sale to the dealership, and also, sometimes, purchases cars for customers through the dealership, so the article can be trusted.

Where do car dealerships get used cars from?

In car dealerships, used cars end up in only 2 ways - they are put up for sale by citizens (individuals) and sold through the dealership, or the car belongs to the car dealership itself, since the car dealership received it as a partial payment for a new car (trade-in).

What is trade in?

Trade-in is a scheme for exchanging an old car for a new one, when the cost of the old car is offset by the new one. In this case, the car becomes the property of the car dealership and is sold by a legal entity. Do not confuse trade in with commission. A car put on consignment remains registered with the old owner and is simply displayed at the car dealership.

Buying a used car at a car dealership.

Pros.

When purchasing a used car at a car dealership, you are subject to the law on the protection of consumer rights because... Most car dealerships provide a guarantee (about 2 weeks) on the main components, and most importantly, a guarantee of registration. Those. When you buy a used car from a trusted car dealership, you can be sure that the car will be registered, and if there are problems with this, you are guaranteed to get your money back.

Also, when buying a car at a car dealership, you can count on the fact that it will not have much technical problems because Most car dealerships conduct a full diagnostic, and then sell the car to them.

The last pleasant plus is that you can bargain well for a used car. For example, I managed to lose 55 thousand rubles. for ml320 2001 with an offer price of 340 tr.

Minuses.

Unfortunately, there are many more disadvantages than advantages. It is important to understand that the car dealership makes money and does not engage in charity. Every demonstration place, pre-sale preparation, every manager, all this costs money... And the one who buys the car will pay all these expenses.

I'll tell you an example from my practice, spring 2021. My relative traded in a 2012 Chevrolet Lacetti, from one owner, with a mileage of 82,000 km, he had the car all the time, the front bumper was made of painted parts. In general, in terms of technology, everything is excellent... The market price of such a car is 300-350 rubles, to offset the new Skoda Rapid, the car was valued at 200 rubles, my surprise was great when, 3 days later, on the av100 website. ru I saw this car for 340 TR, with a mileage of 46,000 km and its price was still below the market. The entire investment of the car dealership is dry cleaning of the interior and checking the mileage!

Thus, the price of a car at a car dealership will be higher in any case, and the car dealership will make money in any case.

How to choose a car dealership?

Reputation is the currency of the 21st century, it is very difficult to earn, but very easy to lose. Therefore, when choosing a car dealership, look at customer reviews and the age of the enterprise. You should trust old car dealerships with a large number of positive reviews.

Another important point - look for old car dealerships at this address. It often happens that a fraudulent car dealership changes its sign and continues to deceive customers.

The high quality of used cars sold can only be guaranteed to be obtained in showrooms that have been in business for many years and carefully monitor the condition of the vehicles they sell. Otherwise, by contacting the first organization you come across, you may run into deceivers, or simply not very competent specialists who may well sell a car with uncorrected defects.

Conclusion.

Buying your own car is the dream of many people around the world, but, unfortunately, not everyone can afford exactly the vehicle they dream of. In cases where a potential car owner wants to purchase a car of a certain model, but does not have enough money to buy it, there is usually only one solution - buying a used car. Every year, the service of car dealerships selling used cars is becoming more popular, and more and more people are choosing this method of purchasing a used car as an alternative to regular purchasing from private individuals. As a rule, car dealerships justify your trust, and used vehicles that can be purchased there are in really good condition, which is a rarity when buying a car second-hand.

Therefore, if you have little understanding of the car and are willing to overpay, there is nothing wrong with buying a car through a car dealership.

If you understand the structure of a car and the specifics of the legislation, a car dealership is an extra intermediary for you.

If you still have questions about how to buy a used car at a car dealership and whether this makes sense, or if you want to supplement the article, write comments.

Best regards, administrator

Share

Car mileage

It is believed that the lower the mileage, the less wear all the parts and mechanisms of the car have. The less the car has been used, the longer the new owner will be able to use it without investing in the vehicle.

Having chosen the car you like in the showroom, ask for all the documents for it. After receiving the title, pay attention to the year of manufacture and mileage of the car. Please be aware that odometer readings may not be accurate. The former owner could roll back the mileage to artificially increase the value of the car.

Real mileage can be determined by indirect evidence. On average, a Russian driver travels about 20 thousand kilometers per year.

If the car is two or three years old and the odometer does not exceed 40-60 thousand km, and the interior is in a “killed” condition, then you should think about purchasing this car. A heavily worn steering wheel and pedal pads, a dented driver's seat, faded paint on the sills in the driver's area, and frayed seat belts will indicate a very active and long-term use of the vehicle.

A high mileage will be indicated by the poor condition of the rims, tires, bumpers and the dull surface of the headlights.

All these observations are subjective. In addition, fraud at car dealerships is quite rare. If you have doubts about the veracity of the mileage readings, just say that you want to see other cars in the showroom.