Buying Privately

This should be cheaper than buying from a dealer, but can carry certain risks. The vehicle may be stolen. It may have been used as security for a loan or hire purchase agreement and actually belong to a finance company. It may not have been serviced recently and is unlikely to come with any warranty.

You have fewer legal rights if you buy privately. The vehicle must be as described but the other rules don’t apply. If a private seller lies about the condition of a vehicle, you can sue for your losses – if you can find the seller.

Unscrupulous dealers may pretend to be private sellers to avoid their legal obligations and to get rid of faulty or overpriced vehicles. Look out for those who advertise alongside genuine private sellers.

Signs to look out for include

  • Ads which give only a mobile phone number or specify a time to call. It may be a public phone box, not the seller’s home or place of work.
  • The same phone number appears in several ads; when you phone about the vehicle the seller asks ‘which one’.
  • The seller wants to bring the vehicle to you or meet you somewhere, rather than you going to the seller’s home/work.

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