How to buy a used car from a private individual in complete serenity?

Published on : 06 November 20195 min reading time

To buy a used car with complete peace of mind, you will have to complete certain phases. For most people, the transaction of a used car between private individuals is a stressful step for both the buyer and the seller. Buying cars from an individual is an approach that can save time and money. The customer can negotiate prices more freely in the presence of an experienced negotiator who has a different business method from a professional working for a car dealer.

How to buy a used car with peace of mind?

Buying a vehicle from a private individual is often a tedious step. The buyer must take several steps such as searching the Internet, examining the vehicle, testing it, analysing the repairs and work done, negotiating rates, and making payment. All these elements can be challenging. About half of used vehicles have problems during the first year after purchase.

These problems can occur despite careful checking of the engine condition and successful driving tests. These essential steps before buying a used car do not protect buyers from mechanical breakdowns. Fortunately, there is a solution that allows the buyer to drive a used vehicle with complete peace of mind. This is the subscription to a mechanical insurance contract. This coverage covers the motorist in the event of a random breakdown that may occur after the car is purchased.

Remedies after the purchase of a car from an individual

As part of the legal guarantee against hidden defects that applies to the seller, the law allows the buyer to request the cancellation of the sale. To benefit from the legal warranty, it will be necessary to ensure that the defect is serious and prevent normal use of the vehicle. The severity of the defect considers the age of the car. To determine whether it is a hidden defect, it will be necessary to consider the age, price and mileage of the car. Another important criterion is that the defect must be present at the time of sale.

This last point is not always easy to demonstrate even when all the safety features have been checked before the car is purchased. The use of the legal warranty makes it possible to cancel the sale or partial refund request that covers at least the cost of the repair. The buyer must check that these other insurance contracts do not include legal assistance coverage. If the amicable settlement of the dispute has not been successful, it is recommended to commission an automotive expert to carefully examine the car for sale.

You can get an idea of the formalities by reading this article: Buying a car: Administrative formality.

How to buy a used car on the internet?

Many web services make it easy and secure to buy a used car on the Internet. These portals reassure sellers who fear not being paid and buyers who fear leaving with a defective car. For example, there is a used vehicle sales platform that mandates a mechanic to inspect the car to be sold and offer new buyers a 6-month mechanical warranty. There are also start-ups that guarantee the transaction replacing the bank cheque with an instant and irrevocable transfer. If the transaction is irrevocable, this means of payment authorizes the buyer to modify the amount of the transaction at the last moment, when he notices that the car has a hidden defect.

To avoid unpleasant surprises, the buyer should carefully read the seller’s announcement. In this way, he will be able to get a first idea of the seller’s profile, but also learn about several specificities of the vehicle: the make, the year of construction, the model, the mileage, the fuel or the type of gearbox. The buyer may contact the seller to obtain additional information, take the time to check the true value of the car, call on a professional to appraise the used car for him.

How to manage the payment of a car purchased online?

When buying a used car online, you must consider payment problems. To pay for a car, is there a secure payment method? Cash payments should be avoided when making a transaction of this value. Indeed, the seller will have no recourse if the scammer pays for the transaction with counterfeit bills. In addition, the source of large amounts of cash is not always justifiable. To avoid taking the slightest risk, forget about paying for a car in cash.

The use of a cashier’s cheque is the safest way to pay for a vehicle. The problem with this type of payment is that the cheque is issued by the bank. It is therefore not modifiable, and the buyer must request it in advance. To properly manage the payment of a car purchased online, it is recommended to carry out the transaction during bank opening hours. In this way, the buyer can contact the bank issuing the cheque to ensure that the transfer is authentic.

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