Buying Car from Co-Worker, best procedure to inspect it?

[D22]

I'm about to buy a 1995 Accord from a co-worker. He is giving me a really good deal, about $1000 under blue book. On the outside, it would appear this guy has no real "reason" to want to rip me off. We work together, but he is very well off and is buying a new car. Basically, he doesn't *need* to rip me off.

But after watching my parents waste about $30,000 in lemons, I refuse to do the same. We are both a bit strapped for time and don't live nearby. I was thinking I could give him the money to do an inspection and he could give me the report. I would really prefer to pick out someone of my choosing that lives near him so there is no way to skew the results. Or, if I did complete the transaction, are there any sort of "anti-lemon" laws that would apply so I could get the inspection done myself after the purchase, and return it if something was actually wrong with it?

Then again, it is tempting to just trust him and buy the car. He drives in a long distance to work everyday, just got new tires put on it, and has committed to sell it to me for about 3 weeks now. Not like he would have a hard time finding other buyers either....I just don't want to be difficult, but don't want to take any chances either.

 

[VirginiaDonkey]

if you are not spending a lot of money for the car, you can do the inspection yourself, listen for engine noises, leaks, etc. Remember the car is 10 years old so there is going to be stuff wrong with it. Asking him to do the inspection is the same as saying "I don't trust you". If he has been driving the car every day to work, then you would know it is mechanically sound.

if you insist on having an inspection done, ask to borrow the car for a couple of daysto test it out and get it done then.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

RULE NUMBER ONE
Do not buy vehicles from co-workers or friends. If the car breaks in the short term, things get ackward.

having said that, it's a ten year old car. Expect things to fail. Don't expect a dream vehicle. True for any used car though....whether it's ten years old or two years old.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Have a mechanic that you trust check it out.

Or you can go to a dealer and pay $100 for then to give you the rundown on it.

Also, try to get a CarFax report

 

[GasX]

Paying a mechanic $50-$100 to give your car aither a clean bill of health or to warn you about the things that are about to go BEFORE laying out the cash is the smartest investment a used car buyer can make.

 

[Budmantom]

Originally posted by: D22
I'm about to buy a 1995 Accord from a co-worker. He is giving me a really good deal, about $1000 under blue book. On the outside, it would appear this guy has no real "reason" to want to rip me off. We work together, but he is very well off and is buying a new car. Basically, he doesn't *need* to rip me off.

But after watching my parents waste about $30,000 in lemons, I refuse to do the same. We are both a bit strapped for time and don't live nearby. I was thinking I could give him the money to do an inspection and he could give me the report. I would really prefer to pick out someone of my choosing that lives near him so there is no way to skew the results. Or, if I did complete the transaction, are there any sort of "anti-lemon" laws that would apply so I could get the inspection done myself after the purchase, and return it if something was actually wrong with it?

Then again, it is tempting to just trust him and buy the car. He drives in a long distance to work everyday, just got new tires put on it, and has committed to sell it to me for about 3 weeks now. Not like he would have a hard time finding other buyers either....I just don't want to be difficult, but don't want to take any chances either.

"About a $1000 under blue book" I hate when people say that, is it retail, wholesale or private party?


Take the car to your mechanic and see what he has to say.

Tom

 

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004
RULE NUMBER ONE
Do not buy vehicles from co-workers or friends. If the car breaks in the short term, things get ackward.
.

I didnt follow this rule and boy did i regret it. The car didnt end up being a lemon, but...... It turned out that it failed a few parts of the inspection in a different state. He had to end up putting almost a grand in fixing window tint, something with the safety belts, etc....
Look in the paper or online instead. Just my .02$

 

[desy]

I'd have no problem buying from co-workers and have.
Remember its a 10 yr old car well out of warranty so all bets are off.
If your confident he's not trying to hide something, and he prolly isn't and is prolly giving you a price break in case something f-ups and he has to run into you regularily. . . .
When I sell a car and did just sell my truck, a 90, I told him everything that was wrong, told him all the recent repairs and what I suspected was coming.
Anything else that happened would be a surprise and c'est la vie

 

[Reel]

You might want to ask him what regular maintenance has been done. Certain things should be replaced after a certain number of miles. If you know the last time the tires were replace, for example, then you can estimate when you will need new ones.