Buying used - Private Versus Trade

I

iwatchlive

Member
 doing the E of my BASE
Hi all

Going to look at a few Zeds this week and needed advice on my options if I decide to buy privately rather than through a dealer. I’m looking for 2004’ish 2.5 or 3.0 auto Z4 Roadster.

I know what to do & what to look for when I test drive / check the car out at the first stage, but before I hand over my hard earned I want to know the car is mechanically sound.

If I buy privately I know buyer beware is the right attitude and that I won’t be protected legally if the car turns out to be a dud. So I thought the best thing to do with a private sale would be to get a full engineers report before handing over the money, however this is where I need advice.

What’s the best way to get an engineer’s report and who should pay- the seller or the buyer? Naturally I do not want to throw a couple of hundred quid down the drain if the car turns out to be unacceptable and where should I be taking my business, The AA or BMW? Anyone have experience of the AA and BMW & the pro’s & cons of both. What should I be paying BMW? I know the AA will be between 250 to 300.

Last of all, if I do buy via a dealer, what sort of warranty should I expect and what should I be expecting to pay if I want to extend this.

All advice gratefully accepted and thanks in advance.


iwatchLive
 
I had a report done via the AA and can say it was well worth the money. Obviously only get the report done if you are at a point that you are happy to buy the car based on what you have seen and heard and have agreed a price. If anything comes up on the report you can either walk away knowing you had a close shave or if it's not that bad, hagle some more!
 
I had a report done via the AA and can say it was well worth the money. Obviously only get the report done if you are at a point that you are happy to buy the car based on what you have seen and heard and have agreed a price. If anything comes up on the report you can either walk away knowing you had a close shave or if it's not that bad, hagle some more!
 
I bought mine from a dealer, it wasn’t my priority just that the car with the colour, spec and mileage I wanted was there. However it did come with warranty although with 101 caveats in the T&C’s

One thing with (reputable) dealers is that they will do their own stringent checks as they also don’t want to buy ‘crap’ then have problems selling it on
 
I've never bought a car privately always through a dealer,the minium you get with a dealer is a years warranty which you can extend once the year is up.
A couple of months after buying the Zed the coil packs went so just called BMW assist they came and sorted me out and all F.O.C. if not under warranty it would have cost me £200 +the hassle of getting the car to a dealer/garage.
So i would go AUC i know you pay a bit more for the car bit in IMO it's worth it.Good luck in your search :thumbsup:
 
You don't really need AA inspection if the car has BMW remaining extended warranty. I will only buy the car from private seller if it has BMW warranty.
 
I would say buy Private, mainly as mine will be up for sale soon privatly!
To be honest, I think that AA or RAC is a great way to get peace of mind. I have also noticed that many dealers are cheaper than the Private ads....
 
I personally think the AUCs are too overpriced, although some may think it worth the extra for piece of mind.

Private for me is best if you can find the right car and get someone knowledgable to take a look at it - you'd have to be very unlucky to get bills in the first year of 3k + which is the difference between the average Private v AUC.

Having said that I bought our Zed from an indy with a 3 month unconditional warranty - and paid about £1800.00 less than an AUC - a good "halfway house" IMO. :thumbsup:
 
bmwangler said:
I personally think the AUCs are too overpriced, although some may think it worth the extra for piece of mind.

Private for me is best if you can find the right car and get someone knowledgable to take a look at it - you'd have to be very unlucky to get bills in the first year of 3k + which is the difference between the average Private v AUC.

Having said that I bought our Zed from an indy with a 3 month unconditional warranty - and paid about £1800.00 less than an AUC - a good "halfway house" IMO. :thumbsup:
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AUC one years warranty+ you get chance to extend if you want i'd rather pay the extra just for the peace of mind.
 
I'd personally buy private if you can, as it's a Z4. You will more often than not find the owner is an enthusiast, and the car will have been better looked after.
 
IK. said:
I'd personally buy private if you can, as it's a Z4. You will more often than not find the owner is an enthusiast, and the car will have been better looked after.
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Good point IK. Plenty of cars with problems get P/X'd just to shift them without any comeback.

I know there are a**holes around who don't care, but I feel the majority of people (particularly fellow sports car enthusiasts?) might not fancy selling-on a car with undisclosed problems knowing they may have the guy back on their doorstep the next day. :rcard:
 
Exactly. The bloke buying my car had apparently seen one similar at a dealer for a similar price, yet he bought mine; because it was in excellent condition.
 
If you find a private deal that looks good to you make them an offer with the condition that the seller has the car inspected at a BMW dealer of your choice. Also that your offer would have to be re-negotiated if major items are discovered during the inspection. Or that they be fixed before the sale. This will give you a fair road map what you need to do to the car in the near future. It will be to the sellers benefit to have this done and pay for the inspection. I did this and paid for the inspection when I sold my 2002 M3 early this year. You can always negotiate with the seller that if the report is good and you purchase the car that you split the cost between you for the BMW inspection. In my M3 case a bad coil was found and replaced I paid for it before the sale.

You may find a good private sale ....

On the other hand your best deal (it will properly cost you a bit more - however, you will have I believe a year warranty) would be to purchase from a BMW dealer. In Canada we have what is called a BMW Certified deal. I don't know what system you have in the UK.

Good luck with your hunt

Cheers,

Rolf-Dieter
 
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