Ekul61

Beside from the extra cost. I am very anti dealer. Maybe I'm wrong. I should just spend the extra $3000 and purchase from a dealer

LS2NSUV

In 2010, I purchased my 04 Z from a very small classic car dealer, but did not pay anything around asking price. I'm not typically comfortable with dealers as well when purchasing used, but the car I was searching for and found was a low mileage vehicle(1300mi)that I was fairly sure there would be no issues.

Also there was a bit of luck to my purchase as I waited the dealer out for about 5-6 months, hoping no one else was more interesed in the car or willing to pay more than I, to where he gradually dropped the price in my budget. In the end, between asking and selling, I got the car about $5K off his initial asking price of $32K.

This is prolly not typical of a dealer to drop the price so much, but I feel that time was in my favor and the fact that (IMO) his initial asking price was a bit high to begin with.

91GreatWhiteShark

I bought mine from a dealer. They screwed up and listed the car $5k less on the ad on the internet than what was on the windshield. Good thing I made a copy of the ad. After a few minutes of arguing, they broke down and gave it to me for the ad price. I'm sure it helped to have a check from the credit union to pay for the car.

65GGvert

I hope you find that yellow coupe very soon.

Blitzkrieg

I bought mine from the original owner with all records and receipts.

He also gave me a cover for the car, 4 Mobil oil filters, 2 cases of mobil 5w30 oil, all 3 service manuals. He was asking 26k for the car, I bought it for 22.5k.

I really liked buying from the original owner, He was very meticulous about the car, and his garage was cleaner than my house, and I have a clean house!

During the whole transaction, I did not smell any BS! Good luck on your choice!

VETJAZZ

Very similar to my purchase experience!

LS2NSUV

Had a similar situation at Connell Nissan in south L.A.

Listing in Auto Trader was $2K less than their on site asking price. I did not have copy of ad so I tried to get them to go on the Internet to verify ad. They just kept punching up there own dealership site home page and stated that that was the price. I felt like I was talking to a brick wall. They simply refused to look it up on AT.

After getting home from the 3hr round trip drive, I sent a not so nice email to the sales manager. His 3 paragraph response in short was, "we will honor the Internet price, but please note that we are in business to make a profit."

With a response like that and at this point in the "game" I told them, "I don't care if you took $4K off....I don't deal with dishonest people and I'll take my business elsewhere.

LS2NSUV

A lot to be said about buying from a private party. Getting the records and knowing the detailed history is a major plus.

If i were to buy anything with about 20K miles or more on the clock, I would most likely want to transact with a private party.

jrose7004

I bought my 04 from a Cadillac dealer but I did my online research and bought it right.

GPGG70

Private seller, original owner. Do your homework and know what to look for. Ask a ton of questions. Take a boat load of pictures. Get all the documentation you can gather from the seller. I take into account how the person lives as well.
Also ask him/her that you need at least 6 hours to go thru the car the first time. If they bulk at any of the above, then walk away.

zesstey1

I am a car dealer and i would feel more comfortable buying from private party there are to many shady car dealers out there. I watch dealers buy junk cars an polish them up an sell them to some poor bastard. New car stores tend to buy nicer stuff but your going to pay retail. Not all car dealers are bad just check the car out really good!!

TorchRedRocket

Both dealers and private party sellers can be deceitful. However, buying from a private party does give one the advantage of being able to talk to the current owner in person and really get a feel for how the car may have been treated.

johnson-rod

First time around with a Corvette I went to a dealer. I visited several that were pretty shady and passed. I eventually went with a big local dealer that had a great, clean, low milage trade-in. There were some small problems with the car and they fixed them all with no questions asked. (they should based upon the money they got)

My wife always buys new and she was more comfortable with a higher price with a guarentee. Like they say, "when mama ain't happy - nobody happy".

Now that I have somewhat of a clue I'll probably go private next time around.

Kmcoldcars

In the last 5 years I bought the 1991 coupe, the 1992 coupe, and our 1974 Pantera from private owners. Generally they were honest and could provide some history of the car. The Pantera was from the original owner so I got a lot of history on it. However, since he was not a car person he was not aware the car had been repainted by the dealer before it was sold by the dealer ( a somewhat common occurence for Panteras).
I bought our 43000 mile 2000 BMW M roadster from a small used car dealer in Anaheim, Ca. It was listed on Ebay. I called and talked with him, made a deal, flew down from Seattle , checked out the car and bought it. I drove it home in 2 days with no problems. We still have the car about 5 years later.
I bought our 22000 mile 2002 Z06 from a small specialty used car dealer in Sacramento in 2009. It was listed on Craigslist. I called them, made a deal on the price, flew down with a cashiers check, checked the car over and bought it. I drove it home in 2 days with no problems. We still have the car 2 years later, and it has been problem free.
Good deals can be gotten from private sellers. However, when the economy is poor and cars are not selling in the winter, dealers can be very agreeable to making deals just to sell the car. When I was looking to buy my first C4 3 years ago I got a dealer to drop their price from $ 12000 to $ 8000 over the phone on a nice low mileage 1992 coupe as no one was buying Corvettes up here.

fendermender

Buying any car this old, I would say you need to know what you are looking at first and foremost. Then know what the going price is and don't get emotionally attached. These are toys so it's easy enough to walk away if you don't let your emotions get in the way.

I wouldn't pay a dime more one way or another be it dealer or PP. Car is what it is. What is a dealer going to do? Arrange financing? Sell you a warrantee? You can do that yourself unless your credit is junk.

Someone mentioned an advertised price being a mistake. That was no mistake my friend. Dealer tried that crap with me when I was buying my then wife a 1yo Crossfire with 2,000 miles. Had it advertised in the auto trader for 14,900. When I went to buy it they first tried to sell me the payment. When that didn't work with me they said the price was 28,000. I pointed out the ad and they said there had been a mistake but to show goodwill they would sell it to me for 14,500. I said BS, I sell cars and if you got a price out there of 14,900 you were expecting to come down. I was gonna offer 13 and dicker a bit and buy it for 14 even. We don't need this car, it's gonna be a toy. So take it or leave it. Bought it for 14,000.

RetiredSFC 97

You have to know what you're buying. You can be taken just as quickly by a PP as you can be by a dealer. And a lot of PP sellers try to sell at dealer retail cost and that's not practical nor reasonable.

I generally try to buy from a PP and I've bought all my vettes that way. But a PP will take you just as quick as a dealer will if you let them.

I've been taken by both and I've received fair treatment from both. It's a crap shoot.

tak06

Totally agree, bought over 50 cars/trucks since '66, both have their positives and negatives.

z76232

On my toys, Viper, Vette, Harley I looked until I found a 1 owner low mileage vehicle. They are out there and it seems to me if you get a one owner car that has any age on it at all and has very low miles, they were loved and taken very good care of. Just bought my 02 convert. with 4800 miles on it for a very decent price. Looked like it was never driven off the showroom floor. Really love it. IMHO:Wait and get what you want and the best you can afford.
Dave

f6john

I bought mine from a BMW dealer. With time and haggling I arrived at a fair price. I did have a car fax but not any previous owner info other than some notes made in the owners manual. I would have liked to have had a conversation with the p.o. to ask a few specifics but that wasn't an option. After 11 months and 6k miles no surprises. If I were buying a high $, ultra low mile car the full history would be mandatory for me, dealer or private. Most important is to do your homework and know what you want and what you're willing to pay, then keep lookinr until your car turns up.

OkieBikerDude

I've had pretty good luck buying from both. The real key is being able to walk away. In the past (before turning 50) I would get emotionally involved with a particular car and pay more than I needed, but that happened with a private party as well as dealers. Now, thanks to the internet, I know that the exact same car is for sale one hundred miles down the road.

I do like being able to trade in a car which is a possibility with a dealer. I know I lose money on my trade in but once I'm through with a car, it's history, the sooner the better.

Okie