Experienced resellers say they negotiate twice: when buying and when selling a car.
If you are a seller, you can be sure that it is unrealistic to sell a car for this price now, and it is also full of defects.
Buying a car, you will hear that it is in perfect condition “for your money”, and since prices are constantly rising, you will not be able to find the same option cheaper.
And now we will take the noodles out of the ears and turn on the head …
How do you determine if you are outbid?
Many motorists have a reasonable question: are there honest resellers? On the one hand, resellers want to earn as much as possible – that’s a fact. But how far they are willing to go for that depends on the individual.
You can recognize an outbid by the following signals:
- In the advertisement, the description of the car consists of dry monotonous phrases: “haggle on the hood”, “sat and went”, “not a little, not pretty”. And almost no information about the repairs made over the years of ownership of the car.
- The reseller is not inclined to long conversations on the phone and tries to make an appointment as soon as possible.
- On the car sales site, you can study the seller’s history and account. If a seller advertises the sale of several cars, it is most likely a reseller. However, many today are “encrypted” by registering on sites with different logins and phone numbers.
- When inspecting the car, check the seller’s initials in his personal document and in the vehicle passport (PTS). Outbids rarely register themselves in the TCP, and if the full names in the documents don’t match, then you have a clear outbid or even a scammer. We do not recommend buying a car without the personal presence of the owner, stated in the title.
- You can determine the dealer by looking in the trunk of the selected car. The real owner only puts down some personal items from the car at the last. Outbid, as a rule, the trunk will be perfectly clean, and from the accessories only a jack and a Christmas tree aroma.
And is the car really in good condition?
It is quite possible to buy a good car from a buyback. However, you should reasonably assess the situation and, unlike buying from the owner, be prepared for two risks.
- Professional resellers can distribute an engine with a working volume of 1.4 liters for 1.6. Or even disassemble some extra equipment.
- The mileage will most likely be run on the car and over time hidden flaws may appear on the car.
And of course you should not expect a set of winter tires from the reseller. A good reseller will offer the second set of wheels for sale separately to make some extra money.
How do you refuse the car you like even before it has been inspected?
If the owner (or outbid) has not reported that the car has been in an accident, this is a reason to refuse the inspection. Before making an appointment, check the history of the car against the VIN number. There are many services for this and they are all paid, but it is worth it.
Here is the result of checking three different cars:
One of the cars had a serious accident “with a change in the geometry of the body” (this does not bode well for the buyer), the other had a twisted mileage (and twice), and the third was repaired. The costs are clearly underestimated, but this allows you to locate problematic body elements and pay more attention to them during the inspection.
In most cases, buying a car from a real owner who has driven it for several years is more profitable than buying a buyback. Other things being equal, you can save 3-10%, depending on the class and condition of the car.