Used car buying - Am I asking too many questions/for too much info? (vehicle, manual transmission)
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This is Cass. As some of you may know I am looking to buy a used car and have seen a few cars, had a scam presented to me and am still looking.
My first preference is to buy through a private party, I am in the Houston, TX area. I am looking for a commuter car to drive about 600-800 miles a month, mostly highway and within the local neighborhood. I am looking to spend $5000-6000 if possible.
Myself and my partner are both presentable individuals, very respectful, not pushy, educated. Whichever of us goes to view the car, we always give the seller assurance about our sincere interest in their car, and meet in a public space, usually a major retail busy parking lot, close to the seller.
We tell the seller upfront that we will follow all guidelines for a private sale as per the TX DPS website. At the time of sale, we can pay at the bank itself, so there is no question about the authenticity of payment.
We also tend to ask them about the title, and whether it is clear and clean.
We rarely test drive the car on the street, just a quick spin around the parking lot, because neither of us are mechanically gifted to be able to diagnose a car beyond any issues that are evident.
If we like what we see at the viewing of the car, we ask the seller for a pre-purchase inspection, at our cost, by a mechanic convenient to them, and of their approval.
While viewing the car we also tend to ask the seller questions such as when the battery was replaced, which many do not know about, whether there is a spare tire in the trunk, whether all the power locks work, very trivial questions I think.
Oh yes, lol, and we also ask them, but do not demand, if they will be able to share any maintenance records at the time of sale.
It seems like many sellers get discouraged with these questions, which seem pretty straightforward. And some may not want to go through a prepurchase inspection, which we are paying for.
Is it wrong to ask these questions? Is a prepurchase inspection request at our expense considered an unfair request. We only ask for these if we are ready to buy the car barring any issues at the time of inspection.
I know it is a sellers market, especially for a good used car....any advice?
Thank you!
Cass
Last edited by cassiebrighton; 09-13-2014 at 07:51 AM..
If the seller does not want to cooperate with a pre-purchase inspection don't waste any more time. And the mechanic who performs the pre-purchase inspection should be YOUR choice.
The so called pre-purchase inspection sounds like a reasonable request until you want to actually carry it out. Who is going to do the inspection? If it is your mechanic he probably isn't anywhere near the seller. Who is going to make the appointment, arranging for a convent time, taking the car in, the wait, skipping work etc. etc. And after all that you may not want it. Is the seller expected to go through all this with another buyer? I have sold a lot of cars and nobody has asked me to take the car in for an inspection. If you insist on having the car looked at, take your own mechanic with you and have him. Anything more and it is not going to happen. You are unsure of yourself judging a car, you are better off dealing with a dealer. They tend to stand by their vehicles better than your fly by night CL seller.
The so called pre-purchase inspection sounds like a reasonable request until you want to actually carry it out. Who is going to do the inspection? If it is your mechanic he probably isn't anywhere near the seller. Who is going to make the appointment, arranging for a convent time, taking the car in, the wait, skipping work etc. etc. And after all that you may not want it. Is the seller expected to go through all this with another buyer? I have sold a lot of cars and nobody has asked me to take the car in for an inspection. If you insist on having the car looked at, take your own mechanic with you and have him. Anything more and it is not going to happen. You are unsure of yourself judging a car, you are better off dealing with a dealer. They tend to stand by their vehicles better than your fly by night CL seller.
I've had PPI's done as a buyer and seller. It's not rare nor uncommon.
As a seller, I know that I have a serious buyer on hand if they're willing to shell out $100 or so for a PPI (especially on a $5k car).
Everything you are asking is a legit question. You are just getting people that are wanting a quick sale to someone that does not care. If they refuse an inspection, red flags all the way and forget that one. I would not even meet with them if they refuse on the phone. You should ask every question you can think of about the car. It is a large purchase, so you need to know as much as possible. There are lots of cars out there and hopefully you can find a true owner that knows something about the car they are selling. I was looking for a particular car (manual transmission Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix) and didn't find anything reasonable in town, so I ended up going to San Antonio and buying from a long time owner that had answers for all my questions. We talked a good 30+ minutes about the car before I drove to see it.
Just be sure that you select the mechanic, but make it convenient to them. Your questions and requirements are perfectly reasonable, and a decent person selling their personal vehicle should have no problem with the pre-purchase inspection. And, you need to know about the title before you pay for the inspection, so I agree, just keep doing what you are doing and search for a good vehicle and seller.
__________________
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
They want you to spend your money, so who are they to object to your questions?
I arranged a prepurchase inspection for my son once and the mechanic came back telling me that the seller, a used car dealer, gave him such a hard time that I should not only stay away from the car, which had a bunch of problems, but from the dealer. That's the kind of inspector you want.
No. You can never ask too many questions when buying something worth that value.
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