Buying a used car direct from owner

[denwee]

Wah ... This one must intro

help him advertise ... another angel

[Odessus]

Now I know who to call when I want to sell my car. Hahaha...

[PearlJam]

What make you think buying from a pte owner is cheaper ??? Those pte seller who know how to goes about to advertise his sale are mostly as smart as dealer ...... Pro : Cheaper in pricing ..... Con : Risk , 1) you cant cfm is he the lawful owner ? 2) Cannot test drive 3) Risk you money if later you found out he is not the owner after paying him 4) You are not protected if you bought a lemon . But ...... sorry to say huh , you want buy cheaper but afraid of being conned and again buying from dealer you cant swallow the dealer make some money from you .................. Left with 2 option Buy from owner which you personally know last option Don't Buy and sleep in peace . btw , what car are you buying ? which model ? which year ? How much ? Maybe I have friends selling than I can act as centre man and witness all transaction ..... but I charge .

 

Randy, are you a car dealer?  How much do you plan to charge in such a case?

[PearlJam]

denwee, you and I are on the same page as far as buying from a private seller is concerned.

 

I have only bought directly from private sellers perhaps twice, the last time was perhaps almost a decade ago from an angmo expat who was leaving the country.  After that I have simply bought new because trading-in a used car means you get 'over-trade', a kind of discount on the new car price. 

 

Buying a car direct from a friend is usually difficult because that friend will get a higher price when he trades in his car, due to the over-trade.

Those who sell privately are usually those who no longer wants another car, selling off an extra car or an expat leaving.

Whether I can swallow or not the dealer making some money from me is not the issue here in this thread.

Here in this thread I am trying to gather more info, insights and experience about buying direct from owner-sellers.  As denwee said, there is a win-win situation here.  And buying cheaper doesn't mean having to take unnecessary risk of being conned.  We try to be as prepared as much as possible.  Knowledge is power.

[denwee]

Buy from friend I won't .. hard to put a price

I treasure friendship more than the few Ks more/less

But I did sell to friend b4 .. give personal warranty plus service credits ..

[F&F]

An alternate view to the "no test drive till confirm buying" thing... Probably this chap has met his fair share of jokers just looking to have a joyride fun ride. Then don't buy. Damn alot nowadays especially if your car is towards the sports type.

[Odessus]

No wonder so many want to test ride my BMX. Too sporty.

[F&F]

I was going to say the same of my 5-year old stinky roller blades 

[mk168]

Just to share my experience...

Last week just bought a car direct from owner, after asking some dealer to help with paper work and they are asking between $300-$500/-.

Another friend recommend me to go through SGcarmart and was surprise that they can help with all the paperwork free. ( provided you take loan from them, which I took DBS) They act as a middleman for both buyer and seller, which give me a peace of mind.

All forms can be downloaded at the website. Eg Invoice, testing car etc etc.

No hard trying.

[CarCrazy]

I believe if u walked in to DBS or UOB directly and apply for a car loan. They will do the paper work free or in worst case $50 admin. That is what I experienced previously.