Buying a CLK blind. Is the AA's word good enough

[gbjeppm]

My experience being on the end of an AA report is that they can be misleading.

A guy buying my old W202 had a report done, the car had done 96k. The report stated that the car's Cruise Control did not work, it did, but does not start until 30mph.

Also the synopsis seemed to be aimed at the inspection of a brand new vehicle which this was not (96k and 10 years).

The closing line was "the cars condition is not what you would expect of a new vehicle". It did put the buyer off, yet it was one of the cleanest W202's you could have imagined. (the buyer admitted he knew nothing about Car's and would only trust an AA inspection, I doubt therefore he would ever buy a 10 year old Merc)

 

[st13phil]

I'm with Alfie on this. As a private sale you have pretty much no right to recourse if it all goes to a ball of chalk and £9k is still a tidy sum of money to most of us.

I take it you've already spoken with the vendor and asked all the normal questions about his history with the car? From the ad it sounds genuine and while he's unlikely to tell you it's a steaming pile of poo, con-artists are the most convincing people on earth so it does give you a chance to ask questions like "do all the tyres match" which can give some indication as to how well they know the car themself. Also, it sounds like you want to use any inspection report to negotiate the price down. If you can't or won't pay the asking price even if the report says its the best example in the country then you need to suss out the vendor's willingness or otherwise to negotiate on price before you go any further. There's no point in spending money on an inspection if the buyer won't budge on price and you can't fund the £9k he's asking.

If you still want to proceed then do get an AA or RAC inspection report on the car. The vendor may want you to commit a deposit to hold the car which you can make conditional upon a satisfactory inspection report, and your own subsequent viewing. You'll need to think how to make such a payment if that's the case.

My experience of AA and RAC inspection reports is that they are thorough to the point of nit-picking, so even a good car may look bad in writing! You really must talk through the report with the inspector to get a feel for whether there's anything you should be really concerned about.

As for the final deal, it depends upon how clinical you can be about it. While the vendor may feel that he's on a winner if you make the effort to travel 4 hours to see the car, if you can convince him that you're prepared to walk away if he doesn't deal there and then, waving (say) £8.5k in cash under his nose can be quite persuasive. One other tip is to take a trusted mate with you. They don't have to know anything about cars per se, they just have to be able to recognise if you're going gooey-eyed over something that's not quite right

Whatever you do though, do not buy it blind!

 

[andybelfast]

The closing line was "the cars condition is not what you would expect of a new vehicle". It did put the buyer off, yet it was one of the cleanest W202's you could have imagined. (the buyer admitted he knew nothing about Car's and would only trust an AA inspection, I doubt therefore he would ever buy a 10 year old Merc)

There's nothing like stating the obvious!

 

[Rory]

Mercedes Direct do a 30 days money back scheme.

Sorry to distract from the thread, but...err....no they don't. They do a 30 day (1000 mile) exchange scheme "subject to conditions".

I read reports of people who've invoked that clause with other manufacturers and had a lot of hassle - finding an equivalent car suddenly becomes very difficult.

 

[chriswt]

Whatever you do though, do not buy it blind!

Don't worry I wont buy the car blind. I just wanted to use the report as a bargaining tool but still, as silversaloon said, walk away if I find that it's not good enough.

As for getting hold of the money I'll need to do the viewing in the week so that I can get to a bank and arrange a bankers draft while the seller stands next to me. I just don't trust banks because they have a tendency of not being able fulfil certain simple requests depending on the position of the moon that day

After everyone’s fantastic input I’m starting to go off the idea of an inspection now. Its £260 I might not need to spend.

May be I’ll get a basic inspection next week for £160. Then that should give me a bargaining tool and I can may be even arrange a price over the phone. Then I’ll go and see the car the following week and if its not what I thought I’ll walk away and if its great then I can arrange a TT of the money there and then.

The owner of the car runs this firm www.nuwayinstall.co.uk, may be a could negotiate a discounted home cinema intallation!!

 

[renmure]

I bought my CLK blind from a trader on ebay from Portsmouth and my F355 blind from an intermediary in Essex. Both a long way from Scottyland. In the case of the Ferrari I did get a pre purchase inspection carried out by a Ferrari garage but I did leave it to the intermediary to arrange it. Both cars were better than their advertised descriptions. Guess I am just a trusting sort of guy

 

[Ade B]

I got an inspection done by a local MB specialist before viewing the CE in Glasgow, cost me £45 - they faxed me a report and I spoke with the guy on the phone - as a result I got a new OVP relay and anti roll bar bushes replaced by the vendor.

When I went to view the car and test drive it, I negotiated some more money off for water in the rear footwell (blocked drains). My only disappointment was the wheels were in far worse condition than the pics showed and there was a blob of rust on the boot cill.

The vendor also sent me details of the vin and registration docs so I could make the usual checks, I got a letter from the previous owner confirming the car's history - the vendor was very friendly and helpful, put 12 months MOT on the car and I even got 3/4 tank of fuel.

I made a weekend out of the trip (used to live in Glasgow) so I went with my wife and caught up with an old friend.

All in all the whole process was a positive experience mainly due to the helpfulness of the vendor, but I suppose it could easily have been a waste of time if I was fussier, or the vendor had been telling porkies.


Ade

 

[prprandall51]

Hmm. If I had a potential buyer who had paid £160 for a report and was prepared to travel four hours to see the car and then tried to negotiat ethe price, I would consider myself to be in an incredibly strong bargaining position.

If I were you, I would go and see the car, tell him you were in the area anyway (any reason will do - seeing relatives, etc), negotiate the price and then have it inspected. You can then use the report to negotiate further if necessary.

Unless you are buying from a soft touch he will be able to stiff you for the full wedge if you make such a strong commitment at this stage.

Philip

 

[280gee]

For what it's worth; I had an inspection done last year by the same people that do them for the RAC and the AA. It saved us from buying an almost immaculate looking car which actually had some serious safety issues as well as rust.

In spite of this the dealer refuses to return my deposit. No fool like an old one I suppose.

 

[chriswt]

Hmm. If I had a potential buyer who had paid £160 for a report and was prepared to travel four hours to see the car and then tried to negotiat ethe price, I would consider myself to be in an incredibly strong bargaining position.

If I were you, I would go and see the car, tell him you were in the area anyway (any reason will do - seeing relatives, etc), negotiate the price and then have it inspected. You can then use the report to negotiate further if necessary.

Unless you are buying from a soft touch he will be able to stiff you for the full wedge if you make such a strong commitment at this stage.

Philip

These were some of my concerns but I'm fully prepared to walk if I can't get it for the price I want. The car has been for sale for a long time on pistonheads so I may be able to get it for a decent price.

Cars with 4.3 lt engines can't be the easiest to shift and factoring in the current concerns with the economic climate I'm hoping the buyer would rather have some extra cash than an extra car.

Also the seller is more than happy for the car to be inspected as he said he really confident that the car is A1.

 

[280gee]

Worth bearing in mind perhaps is that you'll not be able to get the car up in the air unless the seller has access to some facility.

 

[Madeira Jon]

If that M3 registration comes with the car, you will get £1,000 from a BMW M3 owner for it!

 

[crockers]

I fully understand the caution and the requirement for an inspection, but I don't understand the two long and costly journeys. Isn't it possible to either have an agreed form of cash transfer, or make arrangements with a bank to get the cash if required?

Is it possible to allow someone to use a computer and immediately transfer cash from one bank account to another?

I am not suggesting you have a secured hidden money belt.

Regards
John

Trouble with this is that it takes 3-5 days to hit your account....only way is by telegraphic transfer that costs £25 or so. You will need to have made contact with your bank to let them know you want to do this by phone...Usually you have a series of pass words set up - or have a personal banker ... but cant be done just out of the blue over the phone.. May be possible if you have a branch nearby and take with you adequate prove of ID etc..

Internet banking should be instant --- but its just a glorified cheque -- and allows the bank to earn interest on your money...£bns a year

 

[Dieselman]

Trouble with this is that it takes 3-5 days to hit your account....only way is by telegraphic transfer that costs £25 or so.

You mean CHAPS as opposed to BACS.

Cost me £21 to send £20k last time, but it's guarenteed transfer.

 

[crockers]

You mean CHAPS as opposed to BACS.

Cost me £21 to send £20k last time, but it's guarenteed transfer.

Yes ... but you had to arrange it in advance... you didnt turn up at the car and then make a call to arrange it there and then ...or did you?

 

[Dieselman]

True. I went into the bank and filled in a form, they did it on the spot.

 

[glojo]

A forum member very kindly offered to buy something on my behalf. He gave me his bank acount details and within minutes I had transferred the necessary funds into his account; all done within minutes. The other methods might cost money, but how do those costs compare to the days committed in travelling, and the actual costs of maing the two journeys?

Just my observation and the most important thing is the buyer does what they are happy with.

Regards
John

 

[hawk20]

Hello,


If it were my money I would go and look first sorry, I went from Chester to Maidstone to look at a A210 for my wife. Drove back after looking at it and sorting the transfer then went back again to collect the car

A car second to your house is proabably the most you will spend on a single item. I woudl rather check it myself. Pictures / reports are fine but YOUR eyes are better.

Just my way of doing things.

Thanks

Yes but surely he will have both? First the AA check (they are very thorough and usually pick up things many, or most, of us would not notice. And this can be used to help haggling on price). Then if the report is OK he can go and see it and if he likes it, haggle and then buy. If not leaving is still an option. Seems OK to me and only one trip needed.

 

[Will]

Chris,

Firstly - if the report comes back as good - what do you intend to do? You've paid out £160 or £260 and are you likely to get much cash off the price?

Would you be happy to pay the full £9K if it's what the seller says it is?

If so that's the right thing to do I guess, but as others have mentioned, you don't actually know at this stage whether the seller will move on price, especially if he thinks you're keen after paying out for an inspection

If you're looking for a 'bargain' I reckon it's not that cheap personally. I've seen proper CLK55s down in the south with similar mileage, better spec (COMAND etc) and in good straight condition for £2k more than that.

Good Luck,

Will

 

[television]

Its the same as buying a house, it can be pre arranged and executed by time or you both go to his bank.

Thats what the guy did that bought my 129, we both went to his bank and did an instant transfer. it cost about £20 last year