Hi All considering buying a car through a private sale (saw add on carzone). Have never done this before so am wondering what if any are the potential pitfalls and how can I avoid them? thanks
When ringing the contact number, say that you are ringing about the car. If he/she says "what car" you know that they are a dealer posing as a private seller.
Other than that use your own judgement and arrange to meet at their house to verify ownership. Good luck
Apart from the normal mechanical checks you should check the chasis number against the owner certificate to ensure the seller is the owner. I Looked at buying private a few years ago and a friend in the trade said I should check for outstanding HP on the car. There is a way but unfortunately I cannot remember the process.
www.cartell.ie should tell you about outstanding finance for a fee of €40
best of luck. I bought a car last week off carzone in a private sale and all went well and I now have my own car up there for sale so I'm in the other position..