Buying a vehicle (non motorcycle) as is from private vs dealer

black_CG2

black_CG2

Well-known member
Forum Sponsor
I have always bought my vehicles privately and got safety done without any hassle. However, these days I understand Ontario safety standards have gone up since they have gone digital. I want to buy a truck again as my older one (Honda Ridgeline) had been accumulating too many kms and I sold it before it was too late.

Every truck I go to see has so many issues that I am sure the vehicle won't pass safety without extensive repairs. That makes me think, is buying from a dealer better now? Some of them do provide warranty (although I don't know if this is legit).

I loved Ridgeline but I want to try something else. Looking into any of these trucks:

2011-2014 F-150 3.7L v6 rwd or 4wd
2008+ Ford Ranger or Mazda B4000 4x4 or rwd but has to be manual
2013-2015 Toyota Tacoma, preferably manual
2008+ Toyota Tundra, 6 seater version
2010+ Nissan Frontier, preferably manual

How has been the buying experience for you guys recently?
 
I have a 3rd Gen Tacoma bought brand new, very reliable, but I've heard the 2nd Gen (05-15) are pretty dependable as well, especially post-2010 refresh. There is a substantial fit and finish upgrade on the 3rd Gens, but some owners prefer the 2nd Gen 4.0L engine over the 3.5L 3rd Gen.

Never bought a used vehicle from a dealer, but from what I've seen, most offer some kind of warranty (typically 30 days), but this differs from dealer to dealer. They are not mandated by law to provide any warranty.

More details here:

Buying a new or used vehicle: your rights

Learn how Ontario’s laws protect you when you buy a new or used vehicle from an Ontario registered dealer.
www.ontario.ca www.ontario.ca
 
With the new safety inspection system I would be more and more reluctant to buy anything more than a few years old uncertified, honestly. We just bought our 2022 from Quebec where getting it safetied there wasn't even an option (a QC safety doesn't translate to ON), but I could tell just looking at it that it didn't need anything, and sure enough it went through safety with no problems at all.

With the ages of what you're looking at, I'd absolutely be asking the seller to get it certified beforehand if you're buying private sale. Even if you offered to cover the entire cost and all they had to do was drive it to the shop, at least you know what it may or may not need before jumping in. It would suck to buy something only to find out that the frame is rusted to the point where it's not certifiable, or that it needs thousands and thousands of dollars of work. If a private seller refused to accommodate this now given the new realities, I'd probably walk.

Any dealers that are selling cars of that age is probably going to be a small place. Warranties and such from those sorts of places are dodgy at best, and extended warranties they sell often have so many holes you could drive a truck through them, so tread carefully. But at least you'd be able to buy it certified in most cases, so that's a positive.
 
I literally bought a ‘truck’ today. There’s a small chip in the windshield and I hope it doesn’t pass safety so they are forced to fix it.

Sure buying private may save you some cash…but it could end up costing you way more that a similar one sold from a dealer…

I would always start with a dealer.

FYI….they’re gonna negotiate…I dropped about 3k off their price.
 
PrivatePilot said:
With the new safety inspection system I would be more and more reluctant to buy anything more than a few years old uncertified, honestly. We just bought our 2022 from Quebec where getting it safetied there wasn't even an option (a QC safety doesn't translate to ON), but I could tell just looking at it that it didn't need anything, and sure enough it went through safety with no problems at all.

With the ages of what you're looking at, I'd absolutely be asking the seller to get it certified beforehand if you're buying private sale. Even if you offered to cover the entire cost and all they had to do was drive it to the shop, at least you know what it may or may not need before jumping in. It would suck to buy something only to find out that the frame is rusted to the point where it's not certifiable, or that it needs thousands and thousands of dollars of work. If a private seller refused to accommodate this now given the new realities, I'd probably walk.

Any dealers that are selling cars of that age is probably going to be a small place. Warranties and such from those sorts of places are dodgy at best, and extended warranties they sell often have so many holes you could drive a truck through them, so tread carefully. But at least you'd be able to buy it certified in most cases, so that's a positive.
Click to expand...

Which car you ended up getting from QC? Did you get good savings compared to buying from ON? A good friend of mine recommends buying newer cars from Quebec because of tax savings etc. Is that true?

Regarding private sales, I did offer sellers an option with money to get their vehicle certified. They refused. I walked away.
 
mimico_polak said:
I literally bought a ‘truck’ today. There’s a small chip in the windshield and I hope it doesn’t pass safety so they are forced to fix it.

Sure buying private may save you some cash…but it could end up costing you way more that a similar one sold from a dealer…

I would always start with a dealer.

FYI….they’re gonna negotiate…I dropped about 3k off their price.
Click to expand...
Which truck? Keep us posted with the transaction. Is it private or dealer buy?
 
black_CG2 said:
Is it also true that Insurance Companies have access to CarFax now? Apparently, if they find out that your vehicle has an accident on the record, they increase the premium?
Click to expand...

Insurance companies can see all sorts of stuff, so this wouldn't surprise me at all that they're running VIN's through all sorts of systems from CPIC to Carfax before binding a policy. Carfax of all things is dead easy honestly once you have an account that allows unlimited searches or whatever I'm sure.

I've found that more and more dealers on places like Auto Trader are including free access to Carfax reports now with just a single click. It was a big selling point for me seeing it ahead of time. It was also one of the reasons my daughter ended up buying her Subaru from a dealer in St Catherines - the price was right, but the car also had a very, very detailed history of all the routine maintenance the car had received over it's life from the previous owner, showing every oil change, minor repair, etc - that was very reassuring, especially on something like a Subaru where neglected maintenance can lead to very expensive issues.
 
black_CG2 said:
Which car you ended up getting from QC? Did you get good savings compared to buying from ON? A good friend of mine recommends buying newer cars from Quebec because of tax savings etc. Is that true?
Click to expand...

2022 Ioniq5. Saved around $10K vs buying here in Ontario - the EV market is vastly different in Quebec hence the difference in used pricing. Lots of details in the EV thread here.

You definately need to go in eyes wide open and do your due diligence before buying in Quebec. They have a history of problematic things happening with used cars out there, so you want to tread carefully. My policy has always been to buy from a mainstream dealer (never a corner lot special) and look for an ownership history that shows a single owner FROM Quebec, not a mystery ownership history that showed nothing at all, suggesting maybe it came in from out of province/country and was a wreck rebuild or whatever. Anyhow, we've bought 2 EV's there now and had great success with both.
 
PrivatePilot said:
2022 Ioniq5. Saved around $10K vs buying here in Ontario - the EV market is vastly different in Quebec hence the difference in used pricing. Lots of details in the EV thread here.

You definately need to go in eyes wide open and do your due diligence before buying in Quebec. They have a history of problematic things happening with used cars out there, so you want to tread carefully. My policy has always been to buy from a mainstream dealer (never a corner lot special) and look for an ownership history that shows a single owner FROM Quebec, not a mystery ownership history that showed nothing at all, suggesting maybe it came in from out of province/country and was a wreck rebuild or whatever. Anyhow, we've bought 2 EV's there now and had great success with both.
Click to expand...

Is that $10k savings after the tax savings? Would you be able to give me a breakdown? Maybe I should pick up a one owner Tacoma from QC.
 
black_CG2 said:
Is that $10k savings after the tax savings? Would you be able to give me a breakdown? Maybe I should pick up a one owner Tacoma from QC.
Click to expand...

The savings on ICE vehicles is not the same as it is for EV’s. There’s some big rebates and such in Quebec specific to EV’s that distort the used market - ie nobody is going to buy a 2 year old used EV for the same price as they could buy a brand new one.

We paid $26K for a car that 1:1 comparables were selling for $36-$40K here in Ontario.
 
black_CG2 said:
Is that $10k savings after the tax savings? Would you be able to give me a breakdown? Maybe I should pick up a one owner Tacoma from QC.
Click to expand...
It will all depend on car. QC has great EV rebates so their EVs are much cheaper.

I don’t think their ICE cars are worth the effort.

For me…I spent 3hrs at the dealer and ended up 3k lower than I thought they’d go. But I was patient, respectful, and 95% honest on my budget.

Dealers are willing to negotiate, they just need to know you’re serious.
 
Lightcycle said:
Nice. Enjoy the trade-in process!
Click to expand...
AllistonGT said:
Big congrats!
Click to expand...
thanks!

Now the customization process starts! Looking for a rack that I can mount the YAKIMA rack on.

Had a rack lined up but the thing sold last night. 3k combo for 1k of folding cover and elevate rack.

The search starts so def looking for recommendations.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom