Finance check when buying from dealer?

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eliza

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We plan on going to a main dealer next Monday to negotiate the purchase of a 2/3 year-old car. We have already decided on the type of car we want and the dealer has 6+ of these cars in stock at the moment and these are priced very competitively.

The dealer has a good reputation, is the main dealer in this type of car and will offer a one year warranty. The type of car we want to buy has a reputation for being highly reliable and the cars we will be test driving will be 2/3 year-old petrol engines with low mileage.

Ideally we'd like to complete the deal there and then on Monday if we can. Would we be foolish to buy a car without running a finance and history check on the car first, have a mechanic have a look at the car, etc. or is this unnecessary when buying a relatively new car from a main dealer?
 
eliza said:
... Would we be foolish to buy a car without running a finance and history check on the car first, have a mechanic have a look at the car, etc. ...
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IMHO, yes and it would also be foolish to sign the SIMI contract you will probably be presented with (you maybbe told that it is for VRT / VAT compliance or tracking, but that is nonsense).
 
mathepac said:
IMHO, yes and it would also be foolish to sign the SIMI contract you will probably be presented with.
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I see nothing wrong with having the items mentioned checked. Remember Arthur Daly on the TV. He really displayed integrity for Motor Dealers. How is any Motor Dealer going to know and be honestly told if a car was in a prang.

I bought a car for my son two years ago from a Main Dealer and asked was the car ever crashed. I was told no - definitely not. It transpired that it had been in Waterford, (we're in Galway) and it was too late when we found out. My son had a terrible accident in the car, thankfully he is OK, but get it checked regardless of the reputation of the Garage.

As for SIMI contract, well they will tell you it is part of their terms of trade etc.etc. Unless you have them sign your terms of trade disregarding theirs you're on a hiding to nothing. The SIMI terms are farcical and I personally would never sign one again ever.
 
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I was really hoping that a SIMI-registered dealer would be able to run a finance check on the car and give us the same level of assurance that a car did not have an outstanding loan etc. as running the finance checks online ourselves.

I don't have the registration details of the particular car we are most interested in buying but I do have the registration details on two of the cars for sale we're less keen on (higher mileage and garish colour). A finance and history check on these cars would probably take a day or so to complete either way I think?

If we don't buy a car tomorrow, we will have to hire a car for a week or so as our current car is completely out-of-action.
 
Had a look at the cars at the dealers today.

We've decided on the one we want - a Sept 2008 model with a 20 month warranty. I will go back next Monday with mechanic to have a look and negotiate.

This car has not been taxed since Sept 2009 and is not registered as having any owners. It has low mileage. I'm presuming it was a demo car of some sort? Is this a cause for concern. A new model is out this year and these 2007/2008 cars are very competitively priced compared to other dealers.
 
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