lamar411

It would be kind of awkward in the beginning, but they should understand eventually. Make sure your ready to explain how you got their number tho.

LexBob2

Personally, I'd be very cautious about talking about one of my previous cars that was sold to an individual through a dealer. You never know what might transpire between the new owner and dealer, and I wouldn't want to get caught in the middle of some dust up, legal or otherwise, about the car.

MongooseGA

iTrader: (6)

I used to work for a brokerage and we were always buying cars from local owners. Most of them had no problem being contacted by perspective buyers to help out with a sale. They were all asked beforehand, of course, if they'd be ok with it. It was a show of good faith to the new buyers.

If you decide to call the previous owner, just preface just saying you aren't meaning to be intrusive on their time and they should be ok with it. If they really didn't want to be contacted, they could have taken any of their old receipts out of the books before selling.

jadu

iTrader: (42)

OP, did you call?

COOLIS

I had the same thing happen when I bought my GS430 at the dealer. I went online and got the service records from Lexus. One of the lines listed the previous owners cell number, but it was from back in 03 (it was 09 at the time). I decided what the heck and called the owner. The guy was extremely rude at first. I told him exactly what I was calling for but didn't state my name. He kept saying I can't believe you would call and not introduce yourself. Well after introducing myself, and telling him I wasn't coming after him for anything, he eased up. Turns out he was a really nice guy, and was more than happy to give me info on the car. One small dent I didn't even notice until after I bought the car was from his wife hitting the garage while backing out. He also told me the name of the shop who serviced the car for the last 2 years of ownership(previous years were at Lexus). I called them, and verified the car was well kept up. Turns out the previous owner was a lawyer which is why he was so cautious from the start. He was pissed for what I paid for the car, because the dealer had given him such a low amount for trade. I'd say go for it. The worst thing that will happen is click.

GoodRevs

I called again today and the person picked up, it sounded like a little old lady which would explain why the phone kept ringing last time I called (no answering machine). She didn't care about the slip and answered my few questions pretty straightforward and said she got rid of it because she wanted something new, pretty basic. I'm a little disappointed, was hoping the person would be more talkative, but I guess it's better than the person saying, "Oh ****, you didn't really buy that, did you?!"

LexFather

^^ Thanks for keeping us updated!