Devh

This is very good advice however just because a person refuses doesn't mean there was something nefarious going on.
When I was selling a Toyota Camry my phone was ringing off the hook for people to come look at it but the first person who arrived wanted to take the car to their mechanic and it was a big pain, and an inconvenience for me. I could have easily sold the car to the next buyer without the hassle. That person did purchase the car but he pulled a fast one at the last minute after I let everyone know who called the car was sold.

When I find a good deal in the market I check the car over as much as I can but if it has low millage and or is still under warranty I will take a risk and secure the deal if it's a deal before someone else does. I learned the hard way by second guessing and losing out because I decided to wait. Some people want to sell quick and price their cars to sell.

I'm now selling a Honda Accord and I don't plan to go though the whole mechanic affair because it will be priced to sell to the buyer who comes with the cash in hand and I will tell those that would like to inconvenience me or low ball to take a hike.

DiggerJim

When I sell one it's "as is, where is". As long as I've priced it fairly I'm not going to diddle around. If someone wants more than that they can go to a dealer or find another seller. That's part of why a car is priced lower in a private sale. I don't have enough life minutes left to spend them doing the back & forth and risking someone screwing it up going to their mechanic (and who is to say their mechanic is honest and doesn't "find" stuff that wasn't there when it went in?).

There's always another buyer.

Devh

The best way to do it right is to bring a mechanic friend or an enthusiast that is well versed in auto mechanics.
I have been asked by friends family and forum members at least once a year to accompany them and I generally take an objective look because I'm not the one buying and the owner generally doesn't have a problem as long as I'm not rude or ask direct questions. Through casual conversation with the owner I can pickup on important clues as well as examining the car. Price negotiation is something I generally don't get involved in unless the car is overpriced.

Having a second set of eyes even if they don't know much about cars is always a good thing especially if your thinking with your heart then your brain.

Gbp

Whether your price is fair or not depends on the condition of the car. You probably know the condition of your car, but the buyer doesn't. As the adage goes, "Trust, but verify".

A compromise solution like this might work. But I don't know how much additional information could be gained about possibly expensive needed repairs if the car were examined at a shop.

swfla

iTrader: (1)

There's no hard fast rule. As I said private owners can and will balk at this approach. I don't know their reason. It creates a new problem. How to get the seller to agree to this.
The concern I addressed was HOW TO NOT Spend Money On Mechanics Multiple Times. I don't have an answer for how to do it all
Life is choices.
Is it reasonable to balk at the hassle over a $5000 car? Maybe. How about a $30,000 car? Who decides where the line is drawn? The seller and the buyer aren't on the same team.

SW17LS

Personally, I would never agree to price and terms on a car and then agree to an open ended "anything the mechanic finds comes off the price". Never, EVER. And anybody who buys a car I've owned is buying an incredibly maintained, even over maintained car with complete records, etc.

Reason being its too open ended. I would have no problem agreeing to let the car be looked at by a mechanic, but I would never agree to repair items based on what that mechanic says without knowing who that mechanic was and what the recommended repairs or replacements were. I've been around the block, I know mechanics recommend things that don't need to be done, and I know buyers can have their mechanics come up with things to get the price down.

We'd need to look at the list and then negotiate, and depending on what was recommended I might want to get my mechanic's opinion as well.

So, you might wonder what I was hiding and walk away from my car, but that would be your loss. Expecting a seller to agree to an open ended list of repairs sight unseen isn't reasonable IMHO.

Baopee

same thing happened to my old Acura legend, it was t-boned, insurance had totaled it, next thing I know, I found it on ebay with 0 previous accident on the carfax report.

Gbp

For a private sale, I'd only use a PPI (pre-purchase inspection) for a car after the price had already been negotiated, with the stipulation being as long as the car checked out to be in the same condition that the seller represented it as, the sale would proceed.

If the PPI revealed issues that weren't disclosed, then I'd plan to walk from the deal rather than try to renegotiate the price. Again, I see the PPI as the last step in the buying process of a car that I really wanted to buy, and I'd consider the PPI as my last piece of due diligence before handing over the payment. The owner always has the prerogative to try to re-negotiate, but I wouldn't expect them to do it, and if I felt the owner had been dishonest, I'd walk regardless.

Devh

Not necessarily and it doesn't have to be that way. Both the buyer and seller want to benefit by cutting out the middle man. It really depends on how you approach the situation and not all people are going to be masters of the art of deception and not all cars are going to be the worst case scenario. I usually find women owners over price their cars and when they go to buy they low ball and feel a sense of indignation when you don't comply so I avoid dealing at all costs when they go down that road.
If you want to play the mechanics game then the perfect candidate is an overpriced car because it's probably sitting for a good while and the owner will usually put up with the hassle to sell the car.
Whenever owners play the KBB game I know there is no deal to be made. I have seen all types even deceptive ones but the majority are not aware of a lot of things about their car and just want to sell it ASAP without losing thousands of dollars on the trade in. If people want to sit on a car they can go right ahead.
Buying a used anything is a risk and if you are not good at it, it's better to spend more money and not seek bargains.

Devh

This is a very good way to do it. It would be a good idea to hand over a refundable deposit and enter into a contract based on the outcome.
I have had a situation where I did not hand over a deposit and had a motorcycle sold to another buyer after the sale was agreed upon.

swfla

iTrader: (1)

Was just presenting the general idea. The details are important and I'm glad you guys hammered them out. That's what lawyers do too

Baopee

I just scheduled PPI for my girlfriends car, found her a 5 month old used 2015 E550 coupe.

SW17LS

This is how it should be handled.

swfla

iTrader: (1)

You've stated what I was trying to say much better than I did. Thank you.