When you wish to buy a used car in Melbourne, you clearly have a number of options at hand. For instance, you could:
- Buy a car online; Or
- Buy second hand car from a car dealer; Or
- Bid at a car auction; Or
- Go through the process with a trusted broker.
Which option works best?
We’ll find out below!
Buy Car Online
A common option chosen by many Australians is to buy car online in Melbourne. After all, this is a convenient mode of buying used cars, with plenty of choices to select from.
But is this is really as perfect a way of buying used cars as it is frequently made out to be?
Below we list some of the pitfalls that come with opting to buy used cars in Melbourne online. To avoid these pitfalls completely Find A Car For Me can do this for you here.
Lack of Transparency
Without wanting to sound pessimistic (that is really not our aim!), reality is that many sellers lack transparency while selling their cars online. Common lies and/or misinformation include:
- Not informing buyers about any accidents the car may have had; and/or
- Keeping buyers in the dark if the car is listed as being stolen; and/or
- Not being open about any finance owing on the car; and/or
- Not being transparent about the actual mechanical condition of the vehicle.
Beyond the above, graver instances include ones where nefarious buy car online sellers end up hiding the fact that the car in question is in fact stolen! Yes, that happens more frequently than you might like to believe when considering buying a car online!
Haphazard Pricing
Another big challenge faced frequently when looking to buy second hand caronline is haphazard pricing. To give you an example, the exact same make and model of a particular vehicle is quoted at wildly different prices on second hand automotive listing sites. This is in spite of the fact that other factors – be it year of manufacturing, number of miles it has run, number of owners it has had, etc. are also quite similar.
Buying a Car from a Dealer
Besides the option of buying a car online, another possibility lies in buying used cars from dealers. Typically, these are professionals with reasonable experience in selling used cars and therefore, the likelihood of you getting a good deal in terms of a solid vehicle at a reasonable price is fairly high.
Yet, there are some pitfalls to buying a second hand car from a dealer too. Instances include:
High Prices
While dealers often claim to charge to have very cheap prices on their stock; often this is not the case. Cars at dealers are often charged at very high prices which contain the dealers commission plus a large mark-up.
A dealer will often plan to drop a very small amount off the price of a car to make a customer feel like they have left the dealership with a good deal. However, often the buyer has gotten a bad deal but not quite as bad as they would have had they paid the full asking price.
Thus, effectively, they not only extract commission from customers, they also pocket a sizeable mark-up charged on the vehicle.
Pushy about Add-Ons
Another shortcoming with car dealers is that they tend to be pushy about often useless frills like paint protection, extra warranty, etc.
Some of the craftier dealers out there actually build these add-ons into the purchase price of the vehicle they are selling; many innocent buyers don’t even realize that!
Common Factors Listed Previously
Factors such as lack of transparency as well as arbitrary, slapdash pricing apply frequently in case of second hand car dealers too. There is especially no assurance about:
- A genuinely non-accidental vehicle
- Good mechanical condition of the vehicle
Opportunistic, Pretentious Car Dealers
Where there is no denying the sheer number of professional car dealers out there, unfortunately, there is also a significant number of opportunistic and pretentious dealers out there who really couldn’t care less once the car deal is done.
To give you an example, let’s say you bought a car that clearly seemed fine at the outset. Later on, you discovered many issues in the vehicle. Now, unscrupulous dealers will simply look to wash their hands off the whole scenario, implying that they have no further liability since the deal to buy second hand car in Melbourne is already done.
These are risks which you really have to be prepared for, when it comes to second hand car dealers.
Buying from Car Auctions
Now, yet another option that you have is to buy at a car auction. After all, all major cities across Australia hold car sale auctions quite frequently. These are especially good opportunities to grab vintage, exotic, or somehow highly coveted vehicles, that too often at truly affordable prices.
However, they also sell cars that are more run of the mill as well.
Yet, it is true that buying from car auctions also has its own set of perils, as listed below.
No Opportunities to Test Drive
One of the first things you want to do when considering the option to buy a car, especially a used one, is to take a test drive. After all, this will quickly give you an instinctual sense of the condition of the vehicle, the way it drives and handles, and so on.
At car auctions though, such test drive opportunities are extremely rare.
Roadworthiness
While the ability to grab exotic, coveted vehicles at car auctions is quite exciting, that is clearly not enough. An important aspect you need to consider is roadworthiness; whether the car is legally allowed to be on the streets of the Australia.
A lot of car auctions will simply override providing any kind of information on this front; especially since many are themselves clueless about the laws that apply!
Having forewarned you, this is an important aspect we feel you really should keep in mind while considering buying cars at auctions.
Getting a car from auction to pass a roadworthy test can be an extremely expensive exercise.
Inability to Inspect
Just as most car auctions make it difficult for prospective car buyers to take their vehicles for a spin, they make it just as tough to carry out any close inspection. Often, you can view the car and rely only on the report as provided by the auction house.
In many cases, you cannot even start the vehicle.
Therefore, your chances of ending up with a dud vehicle – when you thought you were buying a star are in fact rather high!
The risks involved here include:
- The car having mechanical issues.
- The car having been in an accident, perhaps more than one.
- The car being involved in any kind of illegal activity.
Buying from Car Brokers
Now, the final option you have is to buy your desired second hand car from a broker.
Time and again, we have noted that out of all the options listed above, choosing to buy used cars in Melbourne from car brokers in Melbourne proves to be the most risk-free, with few chances of something untoward happening.
We explain our above mentioned assertion below.
Skilful Negotiation
Of all the parties mentioned above, car brokers are invariably the most skilful in successfully negotiating prices to a level which is not only agreeable to both buyers and sellers; it is also a far likelier reflection of the ACTUAL worth of the vehicle in question.
Adept Communication and People Skills
Let’s face it; during such transactions, often there are occasions where one party proves rather difficult to handle in comparison to the other. In such trying scenarios, having an individual with adept communication and sound people skills proves completely priceless.
Many car brokers DO have such skills and therefore make a worthy choice as far as contacts to buy a second hand car in Melbourne from.
Making the Most of Precious Resources
For the vast majority of us, time and money are both precious resources that we have much less of than we desire. In this particular scenario, car brokers really help in saving significant time and money by closing deals to buy second hand car in Melbournequickly, that too at the best possible price.
Conclusion
In this article, we have listed all possible avenues to buy used cars in Australia.
Among all of them, car brokers clearly come up trumps, taking multiple factors into consideration.
All this demonstrates how Find a Car For Me can get you the best car for the best deal.
To find out more about how Find a Car For Me can get you the best deal, please contact us by email or by phone on 0411 769 772.
