When buying a used car, you have two main options – buy from a private seller or use a dealership. Both options have their pros and cons. This post compares the two options, including their benefits and drawbacks.
Why buy from a private seller?
If you’ve got a budget of less than $2000, you’ll likely struggle to find anything in a dealership. However, you’ll find plenty of cars being sold by private sellers for less than this on sites like Facebook and Gumtree. While some of these cars may have done a lot of miles, you’ll still find some pretty decent cars. Private sellers will usually be more open to haggling, allowing you to grab more of a discount. You may even be able to buy without having to take out a car loan, saving you money on interest in the long run.
Using a private seller isn’t just good for buying cheap cars. Many rarer cars may be hard to find through dealerships, however a search on eBay may help you to find the car you’re looking for. This is something to consider if you’ve got a very specific car in mind.
The drawback of using private sellers is that you don’t have the same protection that you do with a dealership – if the car ends up having hidden faults, you won’t be protected by a warranty and will find it more difficult to seek legal action. You may be able to avoid this by looking out for certain red flags: be wary of sellers that don’t allow a test drive, don’t supply paperwork, seem very pushy to make a sale or want to meet up somewhere other than their address. There are different things to consider when buying from a private seller online.
Why buy from a dealership?
There’s a greater level of trust when buying from a dealership. Used car dealerships have to follow certain rules as to what they can sell and many offer warranties. There are some dodgy dealerships out there, but these can usually be avoided by reading online reviews.
There are many other perks to using a dealership. There’s a greater chance that the car will be thoroughly clean and there may be more accurate information supplied on each model. You may be able to buy certain extras such as gap insurance. If you decide to buy cars online through a dealership, there may even be the option of free or discounted delivery compared to buying private. Part exchanging may also be an option at some dealerships, which could be handy if you’ve got a working car to sell.
Of course, cars from dealerships are more expensive. Most people have no choice but to buy a car on finance – if you have a poor credit score, you may struggle to get approved. That said, there is always the option to shop for loans elsewhere (just be wary that low credit loans tend to come with higher interest rates).
Thanks for reading and y’all stay dandy.
-Diego
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