Used Car Dealers Feedback (Part 2)!

[Mancypher]

On 12/9/2022 at 7:15 PM, thebestbees said:

I am just looking at a bread & butter Korean car, as it’s my first car I want to have a low maintenance car

Korean car shouldn't give much of a issue. Just that some Korean cars the parts are more expensive than jap cars. 

[andae]

Yes there is early repayment penalty. However u can ask them directly,  some dn have some have.

Can see u done your homework, so best is take a look around. Sit down get a breakdown from them. 👍

[Ct3833]

On 12/9/2022 at 4:50 PM, jcchia said:

@thebestbeesI got a Merc from Sime Darby AS, well served and no hiccups at all. price a bit high but with a peace of mind. 

Sime darby and republic sell only very good used car from their own trade in customers, those cannot make it ones will go to used car dealers out there 

[kingofxiaomi]

Had a chat with @CarBoHydrate via PM about acquiring used cars since both of us are getting one. So just gonna share my experience here.

Leasing a Civic currently, so decided to buy a civic since it's a good car - though FC isn't great. I took a few months to narrow down my options (from 3 year old car to 6 year old car so that I can use bank loan instead of in-house loan - accumulated interest is insane). Watched Youtube videos on how to inspect used cars, as well as going through this whole thread, and wrote down notes for it. For those interested - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Uh6iO53rUYnllf5tkOMxa9OrY8mV12YUwuLdX6Wuq7w Note that this guide is for Honda Civic 2016 and is best when you go down with another person (Me/You column. For rows that are joined/side by side, you guys have to do it together).

Dropped a call on Tuesday to see the car on Wednesday. Enquired about bank loans + what additional fees there are (if admin fee, then it's fine, any other fee I would have just ended the call). Went down with my partner + another friend who knows a little more about car than me and just went straight to inspect the car.

Car honestly looks to good to be true, except for a few points

• Scratches and dents (meh...)
• Engine oil is dirty and some fuel isn't topped up
• Exhaust tip is wrapped with some rubber/plastic thing is looks melted
• Engine was a little noisy when car was started (sounded like it's coming from the belt area. we are not 100% sure if it's supposed to be like this but after looking at our current leased car, it looked and sounded the same? My friend said it could be some battery generator or something)
• No maintenance/service record (but like what others said here - if you don't expect to give your records when selling your car, don't expect to have it when buying a car)
• Stock exhaust is re-routed if I'm not mistaken - from the side to the center (either way, I might be changing exhaust anyway so doesn't matter)

Once we are done with inspection, took the car out for a spin on the roads and carpark.

Initially tried my luck to nego it by 5k (even though the car looks really good) and he isn't budging. Asked if insurance has to be done through him, and he said no. Admin fee is $500 non-negotiable as well. Gave a last offer of 1.8k reduction and walked off, telling us to go discuss a bit and get back to him. We also found out that the road tax is expired since Oct and he renewed it on the spot for another 6 months (till Apr)

We planned to go to another shop nearby to view another Civic but the car wasn't available. In the end went for lunch -> decided to go with the car that we inspected -> called third party workshop (Precise Auto @ Kaki Bukit) to get inspection done -> told the dealer -> met at the inspection place (dealer drove the car, we drove our car). Interestingly, he didn't bother about the deposit before sending for inspection. He said that we can just sent it down - happy, buy, not happy, don't need buy, which was great.

After inspection, 3 pointers were listed down

• Engine mount vibrating when engine started
• Anti roll bar linkage worn (the car has shock absorbers at the front)
• A nail was found nailed in horizontally (we were told that we don't have to change the wheels, it's an easy fix)

I told the dealer if he can change the mount for us or at least 50% but he isn't budging. Only offered to pull the dents out for us on the car. The other 2 points are wear and tear items so I didn't wanna bother the dealer with those. 
I discussed a little with my partner and we decided to get it. We drove back to the office, signed 2 forms for bank loans submissions + a simple form by his company (also wanted him to state that if the bank rejected my request, I should get back my 1k deposit). Didn't request anything else as I also knew that a 6 year old car is going to have its wear and tear and we need $$ to repair it.

TLDR money-wise

• 66k car
• 20k down, 46k bank loan (2.78% interest as said by the banks when they called to confirm my request)
  • $1107 per month installment (within budget)
  • $500 admin fee (the dealer wasn't pushy, no insurance to purchase from him, no deposit when send to workshop, renewed road tax - gonna let him have it)
• Which means that next week when I go down to collect the car and make the payment, it will be 20k + $1107 (first month) + $500.
• Insurance with my partner and I will be around 2k as well.

 

Edited December 11, 2022 by kingofxiaomi

[CarBoHydrate]

18 minutes ago, kingofxiaomi said:

Had a chat with @CarBoHydrate via PM

Thanks again bro for initiating the chat and sharing all the info with me, was really helpful. 

Enjoy your ride! Hopefully I'll have a smooth viewing later too 🤞

[markw12]

@kingofxiaomi I would advise against getting dealer to repair.

Don't know how the workmanship is. Is the part quantity mismatched?

[kingofxiaomi]

 

2 hours ago, markw12 said:

@kingofxiaomi I would advise against getting dealer to repair.

Don't know how the workmanship is. Is the part quantity mismatched?

The only thing I asked the dealer to repair is to fix the dent. In his words ; "$50 let workshop pull only". I will be fixing all the other wear and tear and doing normal servicing.

> Is the part quantity mismatched? 

What do you mean uh?

 

3 hours ago, CarBoHydrate said:

Thanks again bro for initiating the chat and sharing all the info with me, was really helpful. 

Enjoy your ride! Hopefully I'll have a smooth viewing later too 🤞

All the best!

[Ct3833]

My friend ask can trust him or not ?

Car dealer says man who bought second-hand BMW blocked him after public complaint

https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/car-dealer-says-man-who-bought-second-hand-bmw-blocked-him-after-public-complaint

 

Edited December 11, 2022 by Ct3833

[markw12]

@kingofxiaomi My engine had valve cover gasket leak on one side. I understand its only one side. Dealer was informed so they replaced one side lol.

As I daily drive my car with alot of KMs clocked, the second side started to leak. As precautionary, I did both side. 😂 🤦‍♂️

[Ct3833]

25 minutes ago, markw12 said:

@kingofxiaomi My engine had valve cover gasket leak on one side. I understand its only one side. Dealer was informed so they replaced one side lol.

As I daily drive my car with alot of KMs clocked, the second side started to leak. As precautionary, I did both side. 😂 🤦‍♂️

This type is wear and tear, if one side is leaking , SOP is to replace both sides, otherwise end up making another trip to workshop and paying for another labour cost. 

[markw12]

@Ct3833 thats why i mentioned better not let dealer do lor. 
Whenever i service my ride, i watch the mechanics fix. 

Edited December 11, 2022 by markw12

[Winson84]

hi gurus, i was texting with a dealer to view a used car. 

To test drive outside and bring the car for inspection requires a deposit of $2,000.

Refundable if the car has major accident issue, gearbox or engine issue. if wear and tear then do not count.

is this reasonable, or I should jus skip?

 

[Fcw75]

8 minutes ago, Winson84 said:

hi gurus, i was texting with a dealer to view a used car. 

To test drive outside and bring the car for inspection requires a deposit of $2,000.

Refundable if the car has major accident issue, gearbox or engine issue. if wear and tear then do not count.

is this reasonable, or I should jus skip?

 

Move on.

[Ct3833]

9 minutes ago, Winson84 said:

hi gurus, i was texting with a dealer to view a used car. 

To test drive outside and bring the car for inspection requires a deposit of $2,000.

Refundable if the car has major accident issue, gearbox or engine issue. if wear and tear then do not count.

is this reasonable, or I should jus skip?

 

Stay far far away, you are unlikely to  get back your 2,000 unless you buy the car that you may not like at the end. 

[Mooose]

28 minutes ago, Winson84 said:

hi gurus, i was texting with a dealer to view a used car. 

To test drive outside and bring the car for inspection requires a deposit of $2,000.

Refundable if the car has major accident issue, gearbox or engine issue. if wear and tear then do not count.

is this reasonable, or I should jus skip?

 

on paper may not look unreasonable, but used car dealers being what they are (of course with the exception of our resident james) you will not see your deposit back ..

even if there is major accident issue, they will just deny it is not major .. even if got gearbox or engine issue, they will just deny and say its wear and tear .. then how? you either will walk away losing $2000 or buy the car with its issues ..

many used car dealers do not have a good reputation for good reason .. dont believe better ask james .. if you are not too familiar, suggest you get from one of the reputable ones like republic or sime darby .. more expensive but probably less to worry and may be better in the long run as they do cars that are better (not so questionable history) ..

[PSP415]

54 minutes ago, Winson84 said:

hi gurus, i was texting with a dealer to view a used car. 

To test drive outside and bring the car for inspection requires a deposit of $2,000.

Refundable if the car has major accident issue, gearbox or engine issue. if wear and tear then do not count.

is this reasonable, or I should jus skip?

 

Skip, walk, jog, whatever suits you. There are quite a few dealers with no-obligation door step viewing. 

Stay safe and away from this one. 😂

 

[Volvobrick]

1 hour ago, Winson84 said:

hi gurus, i was texting with a dealer to view a used car. 

To test drive outside and bring the car for inspection requires a deposit of $2,000.

Refundable if the car has major accident issue, gearbox or engine issue. if wear and tear then do not count.

is this reasonable, or I should jus skip?

 

Ask the dealer to

[Winson84]

haha ok thanks guys!  i read some suggested those reputable dealer like Sime Darby and republic, do you suggest still do AA evaluation?