is buying a used car from dealers that are not main ones risky ?

Question

if i want a used car with 12 month warranty and in good condition, should i consider any other dealers then main dealers from the car manufacturer's website ?

Answer 1

From my experience main dealers are the riskiest of the lot. Poor mechanics generally take up the work in these garages that were trained well on how to use computers but have no real understanding of how a car works, meaning your car if faulty may never be fixed properly, and generally more expensive for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

Answer 2

Buying a used car is risky no matter where you buy it. My parents bought a used FORD from a FORD dealership and it ended up costing them about $5000 in repairs in 2 years!!!!!!

Also bought a Nissan from a used car dealer and it never once broke down in almost 4 years.

So it really depends on the car more so than the place you buy from.

Btw, there's no law that says used car dealers must give a "3 month warranty"!!!!!! That is not so in CA as most dealers sell "As Is" and no warranty is offered. Those that do are doing so on their own as a marketing gimmick.

Answer 3

It depends on what your looking to buy, main dealers generally wont sell anything over 3 years old. After that they go to non franchised traders.

Ask people local to you to recommend a good used trader. Do be realistic though, if your wanting a years warranty you will have to pay for it. Most garages will give you 3 months major mechanical warranty but can organise extra warranty through insurance services.

However as in most warranties there are numerous get out clauses as many things a car will fail on are wear and tear items, which the warranty holder will point out are part and parcel of any used car.

Best advice i can give is you get what you pay for and anything that looks too good to be true usually is.

Answer 4

Buying a used car always has it's risks. The smaller car companies only buy cars that are high mileage or there is something wrong with them that they can hide or fix really cheap. If they fixed it cheap...you can bet you will be fixing it again soon. My suggestion to you is that if you find something that interests you...take it for a test drive and go to your favorite trusted auto mechanic to check it out before you commit. You can usually talk those people into a warranty of some kind. Take someone with you who is not afraid to haggle a deal. You never know, you might just get a good deal.

Answer 5

if you buy from a used car dealership you have by law 3 months standard warranty. small garaged have had a bad name in the past due to tv programmes, but not all are bad. ask what warranty they offer before, and always get it in writing. If you are in any doubt, get a AA inspection before you buy the car, most garages will be ok with that, or take along a mechanic to look over the car with you. If you have doubts at the time...walk away dont let the sales person talk you into something you are unsure about

Answer 6

there is nothing wrong with buying a used car from a small chain or single-office dealership. be sure to do some research on the dealership if possible, and if you decide to check out what they have to offer, make sure to ask a lot of questions about the car, and make sure the salesman knows what he's talking about. find out about how they inspect the cars before they sell, find out what exactly they inspect on the cars, and definitely go on a test drive to make sure the car seems alright to you. if you are finding this car cheaper at a small dealer, then you might want to just buy it, and then take it to a larger dealership and have their service department take a look at it for you, just to make sure everything is good to go.

Answer 7

main dealers are just there to make extra money as they have more overheads, find a dealer that someone you know would recommend before the main dealers. i bought my car 4 months ago from a small family firm, since then i've had a few minor problens but they've gone out of there way to fix it and i can't fault them one bit.

Answer 8

There is a huge diff between buying from a non franchise and a franchise, go to this web page http://www.usedcartips.org/TENTHOU.html
for an explanation....
from there go to main page and study the 10 steps how to buy a used car, its free advice from an old man selling cars for 30 years...good luck

Answer 9

You can buy a Car then buy a extended warranty your self much cheaper and better. dealers jack up the price,and have fine print to weasel out of it.

Answer 10

i bought my car from a small local dealer 3yrs ago, i paid £4000 for a 01 reg, he gave me 3 months warranty, a full tank of petrol my car valeted and £800 for my old p reg micra.... and in the 3 yrs I've had my car I've had no problems with it what so ever...so no i don't think they are a risk.