Buying Used Xr6T From Dealer Or Private

[blue_xr6]

Hi guys,

My BA XR6T just got written off after a crash. Now I am planning to get a used FG XR6T. Do you guys think it's better to buy it from a dealer or private. From my past experience, with older car (less than $15K), the prize from dealer is always a lot dearer than from private. However, with recent research, for the used FG XR6T, it's very hard to find one with low kms under $32K from private and there're a few of them under $30K from dealer.

I think the dealer is never stupid to sell a car that is under the market value unless the car has problems. Plus, it's hard to see problems with the cars if buying from dealer as the dealer can cover these smartly where as it's easier to see if the car is good if buying private.

Please give me advice should I go for dealer or private. Another thing surprise me is that since the new series 2 FG nearly come out, I expect the market value of the series 1 will drop, but it's not. I bought my 2003 BA XR6T in 2006 for $25K, there's no way that I can get the 2008 XR6T now for that kind of money.

[Never had any say Panda]

I always buy from dealers.. My best advice is:

• Never let the dealer know you're desperate for a car... If you tell the story of the written off car they'll know that you need it now. Act non-chalant so they'll think that you need serious convincing.
  
• Get it mechanically inspected by someone outside the dealership.. This is necessary as most dealerships even perform their own road worthy inspections.
  
• Dealer markup is huge.. Take whatever price they want and offer 4-5grand below it.. (Mine was 28.5k I drove it out of the dealership for 24k.. Was a ute though). Salesman aren't authorised to make those calls either so don't hesitate to ask him to ask his boss.. (or her)
  
• If you can wait a bit look at cars that have been on the lot for a while.. This is different with all dealers of course (depending on the money they have floating around) but generally cars are financed and they get a set period to sell it before interest gets charged. If the car has sat at the dealership for around 4 weeks they are going to be really keen to get it off the lot.
  
• Service history is important. It doesn't tell you that the car wasn't flogged but it does tell you how frequently they got it checked up.
  
• Check the car.. There are tell tale signs of modifications. I personally don't like buying a car that has been modified in anyway even if it has been returned to stock. (I prefer a blank canvas).
  

Also I was surprised how good the dealer prices on the turbo's were compared to private sellers. But 'apparently' there are alot of them being reclaimed by finance companies and sold to cover cost.

And the 3 month warranty from a dealer is hard to beat if there is anything wrong..

[blue_xr6]

Thanks Brenno85, your advice did help a lot, I'll use this as a guide when buying my car. I definitely don't want to buy car that's been modified (even I will modify it after got it). Is it easy to tell if the car has been modified and removed (should a mechanic be able to tell).

Another thing is for the FG XR6T, is the sat nav standard? Also is tow bar standard? I personally don't like car with tow bar (it look ugly and may be used to tow something which I think not good for the car), but all the car for sale got tow bar, so I reckon it should come standard with the FG XR6T. Let me know if I am wrong

[Never had any say Panda]

Sat Nav isn't standard (About a $2k extra new), Neither is a towbar.. If you buy one with a towbar you can just remove the end of it if you don't like the appearance but I think the ford factory fitted ones cut the bumper.. So choice is yours. Towing isn't all that bad for the car provided it isn't overloaded and people don't mix high gear with cruise control..

Good luck with your purchase mate.

[Henz]

Firstly, dealer warranty isn't worth the paper it's written on most of the time, so don't let that sway you. The advantage of a dealer though is generally you can take the car for a few hours to any panel beaters/ mechanics you know.

Privately, it's harder to do but also you can still haggle, and can meet the person that's been driving the car.

I brought my ute through a dealer, they had 29k on it IIRC. I took it to 2 mechanics and one panel beater to make sure I was getting what I wanted. Got ford to print off the warranty paperwork. I even found the old owners detials in the car and gave him a call. When your spending that much doesn't hurt to be thorough.

I ended up getting it for 26ish 18 months ago.

[tab]

The statutory warranty on second hand vehicles is arguably the best warranty out of all of them, so I certainly wouldn't say it's not worth it.

[Henz]

meh

[Never had any say Panda]

Yeah I've got nothing to complain about with mine.. Admittedly it's the squeaky gate concept with some dealers but make enough noise and it'll get fixed.

P.S. New turbo Core and idler pulley for me.. And didn't come out of my pay cheque.

Edited 29/09/11 03:53 AM by Brenno85

[Henz]

With my first T, I tryed every avenue to get the dealer to come to the party with warranty but they wouldnt budge. Everything that broke they were quick to say wasn't covered. Inc the turbo.

[Never had any say Panda]

Geez I can see why you don't like dealers then.. I'd be pretty pissed in that case too (having a similar fight with Ssangyong at the moment)..

So to clarify for Blue_XR6.. I've never had a problem when going through a 'big' car dealer.. I'm fighting tooth and nail with a small guy to get something fixed..