Can you trust a used-cars dealer in the UK?

Cars from Dealers command premium prices in the UK.

Cars that may cost £1000 in a private sale will be £2000 on the Dealer forecourt.

Not quite sure why you would want a UK spec. one as, although the steering wheel is on the correct side you crazy Danes insist on driving from the passenger seat.

As for getting it back to Denmark, could you put it on a trailer (or get one of us to drive it)

Martin

Old Thread

Bought my jimny 10 months ago. Actually a RHD I found cheap in Germany. The original plan was to use is offroad only, not road legal. So RHD didn't matter. But now, I'm considering getting it road legal. Might as well get as much fun out of it as possible

The reason I looked for a Jimny in the UK is that they are far cheaper than in Denmark and Germany.

We don't have the best name i see!

I would hope that garages like mine would disprove the norm. We are entirely ethical and, whether you believe it or not, Martin's suggestion of a margin is wildly inaccurate.

If you buy from a car dealer (a licensed profession in Scotland) then you have a 6 month warranty regardless of what the dealer says.

And as for my cars, i have NEVER bought a car from an auction which is the same for many car dealers in the UK. All of mine are underwritten from franchise dealers so that i have a history.

Cars can go wrong, we dont design them or use that car every day. Thousands of moving parts, one can go without warning. There wouldnt be a help section on here if that wasn't true.

We do get a bad name and thats justified by some dealers actions, but if people buy a car off an old petrol station forecourt from a guy who's office is a portakabin, or the car seems cheap, there is always a reason.

But then again, what would i know, i used to be an Estate Agent!!!
:blush:

In a defence of garages
Why do people trade cars ?
1 they want a newer one
2 it has a fault
3 they have been advised of a fault that wont pass next mot

Now when you trade a car for any of the second 2 reasons you dont say to the garage " hey yea my cars shagged but i still want the best trade in price " . . . ,no you say its great ii just fancy a change

Most small faults are temp fixed before trading so the new owner and the garage has no idea untill something goes wrong
Regardless of what you may think it is imposible for a garage to fully check a car before re-sale

My post of £1000 = £2000 was not meant to be an indication of margin!

Its just that Jimnys at the low end of the price range do not go below £2000 on a dealer forecourt as they have to cover their costs, therefore as a car gets cheaper with age the apparent "margin" a dealer has to charge is a higher percentage of the cost.

Here is a W reg with 98,000miles for £2,300 probably would be nearly £1000 less privately.


www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2...earch/true?logcode=p

If exporting the car there is nothing to be gained from buying from a dealer and paying over the odds for it, better to find a private seller with a genuine reason for selling.
We bought ours from a family where the grandfather had died and as he had loved the car so much it reminded them of him too much so they had to get rid of it! It came with a full service record and has been a great car, there were a few niggles that the old guy had been working on but nothing of any importance.
As suggested getting one close to a port might ease the process and you can always ask to see if anyone on here could sus a car out before you travel based purely on an advert.
Good luck .
Mike