June 19, 2010

Private Car Sales Why do they do it?

I often wonder why people buy cars from individuals rather than dealers. I have seen individuals advertising cars for $10,000, $15,000 or more. Who buys these? Buying from someone you do not know from Adam, a high priced item that could have problems. What happens if there is a title problem? If the car breaks down the next day? There are a lot of things that could happen. I look at it from the dealers side, because that is what I am. If you buy a car from a dealer, there is a public place of business rather than a street corner or curb in front of someones house. There is a phone number listed where you can reach someone if something goes wrong. There is a license and a bond up to $100,000 in case there is a problem, There is the implied warranty that comes with every car sold by a dealer in Arizona that it will run at least for 15 days or 500 miles.

Maybe someone had been pressured by a dealer one time. Maybe they got a bad deal. I know that the person who buys from a private party does not pay sales tax in Arizona which is a 9.3% advantage over a dealership.

I know that I have heard horror stories of people who buy cars with motor and transmission problems, title problems, not to mention trying to contact the seller if these problems occur.
Paying a little bit more might be good insurance!

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