Private vs Dealer Purchase - B7 RS4

[gmarks1]

Simple question really - how much cheaper shoud a private purchase be in comparison to an independent or main dealer for a given car. In other words, if a hypothetical Audi RS4 B7 was at a main dealer for say £30k, what should the equivalent price be from an independent specialist and from a private individual.

The reason I ask is that I'm in the market to purchase at the moment (infact I've found a car that I'm very interested in), and am not restricted to a dealer like usual as I do not require finance and have no part exchange so am seriously considering buying privately. It's a lot of money to spend, so no matter how confident I am in the history of the vehicle, it's not the same as buying from a main dealer. From looking on pistonheads and autotrader, it seems that many private sellers advertise their car for at least as much as independent traders - difference is they don't seem to sell very quickly and I suspect many end up being part exchanged. Does it make sense to buy privately when considering a car >£25k.

I would add that car values can be a sensitive subject, so I very much do not want to start an arguement (let's face it, we all lose money on cars, but collectively consider it a price worth paying, otherwise we'd all be in two hundred quid runabouts.) but I would value some balanced feedback from both buyers and sellers as there is certainly a good deal of piece of mind when buying an AUC, which is what I'm used to doing.

For what it's worth, having spent a good deal of time considering this, my opinion is:

main dealer : £30k
indi : £28.5k
private £25k
trade : £23k

[BillTheButcher]

I used to feel the same way as you about buying from main dealers but, from personal experience (with several VW and Honda dealers), I would much rather buy from a trusted member of a forum like this one, with evidence of any work (either routine maintenance or mods) having been done by a reputable tuner, than from a main dealer. I wouldn't trust the car dealers that I've encountered to look after my girlfriend's TDI, never mind something like an RS4.

[DuncS3]

I just bought mine from a main dealer - wasn't left too happy with the experience after to be honest - I did it just to get the warranty and some form of perceived 'comeback'. Warranty is (iirc) approx 1600 but only about 700 to a dealer (again iirc). I figured 1.5k more from a dealer as there is definitely room for movement there - when i was looking at cars you could negotiate at least 1k with a main dealer over the phone even before viewing - most likely more.

Dunc

[scaghead]

not sure on as much as 5k between dealer/private...like bill said i would much prefer to buy something like this from a respected forum member than off some salesman telling you some yarn of one lady owner etc... the only advantage of main dealer is warranty but reading some of the stories on here recently it seems a lot of issues are not covered....maybe worth bearing in mind..good luck fella... p s i am having my alloys re-furbed by lepsons because they do them properly, would a main dealer do the same...

[MB2]

I think it is hard to put an exact price on as there is the warrnaty at 1600 & then the HPI check, but more importnatly IF there was something very wrong (eg cloned car) then you have some comeback. Also you get part-ex & finance so I really think they are rather separate packages...

If you don't need part-ex/finance, are good with cars & either are sure there is not a horror story in the wings then private makes a lot of sense, but if the money is all you have then maybe a dealer makes a lot more sense.

I bought from a dealer for a) convenience on the part-ex & b) I wasn't familiar with the cars so wanted some sort of protection if I made a bad mistake.

I think the cars sold on here are really worth mored than a "regular" classified ad as they are "known" so it always surprises me when people compare with what is for sale on piston-heads, just like comparing dealer to private prices.

Warranty & finance are easy enough to arrange separately so the big advantge to me of a dealer is the insured test drive & the insurance that there is comeback if car is a ringer/crashed etc. I know HPI will protect you against this but I am assuming they will have done a sufficiently good job you can't tell by checking the VIN numbers yourself.

[Steve_C]

main dealer : £30k
indi : £28.5k
private £25k
trade : £23k

Based on those figures I would say private would be £27k and trade £25k but a poor spec car would have a larger spread.

[karl]

I am a seller and have had my car on Pistonheads for a while now, currently up for £29,995 for a '56 plate (reg Jan 07), 30,000 mls. Looking at your figures, you may think this is priced too high, however, you must bear in mind that a lot of owners of the RS will modify the car at some point, favourites being the exhaust system for starters, maybe improving the brake set up and at clutch replacement time, maybe going for an uprated clutch. My car has had these changes done, not to mention more on top.

The cost of the mods wasn't cheap and I know I will never see all of that money back, but what it has produced is a stunning example of the RS4 and for that, I think it's worth paying that little bit more for. It's also been taken care of by APS & MRC as well as previously, Audi.

I guess it depends what you are looking for. Pay £25K for a private car but don't expect not to be paying out again to sort it to your liking; exactly the same can be said for a dealer car too. And be very wary of what exactly a warranty will cover you for; are they worth it for the price? The RS4 seems to be pretty bullet proof once the above mentioned items are sorted.

[HYFR]

if you are worried, simply buy a private car with the Audi extended warranty ... then you have peace of mind and money in your pocket

just do the basic checks before buying ... HPI check with indemnity, checks on the owner / registered keeper, check out the service history (call Audi CS) etc etc

[HYFR]

main dealer : £30k
indi : £28.5k
private £25k
trade : £23k

My view would be

main dealer : £30k
indi : £29k
private £27k **assuming Audi warranty**
trade : £25k

[Dubel]

Interesting topic,

I too am in the same boat qmarks1, I have been looking around for about two months at both private, dealer and main dealer cars. I have the money to buy the car and am open to the choices that you face.

Basically I came to the conclusion, there is no perfect car out there, privately I can see that in the short term I could save money, long term I could lose out massively, potentially flipping that coin. Sorry to the people selling their cars but even the best looked after vehicle could go wrong once it is sold right?, see where your £3 - £4K saving gets you then. I would rather have warranty to have an argument about than not. To Let’s face it it’s not pocket change.
So my choice now is to go with a main dealer, why? Well no matter how many stories you read, if you shout loud enough Audi will fix your car under warranty, there is no private seller or dealer that you would get that guarantee and that’s the peace of mind it gives you. (Unless you do get one with extended main dealer warranty, that’s exactly what most of the private sellers should do it will help them massively, I did exactly that when I sold my Porsche)

My long term friends own a Audi and VW specialist garage and work on several RS’s, and even though they could fix my car for the cheapest of prices, they too are telling me to go to the main dealer, for the comeback factor. They first hand have seen what can go wrong.

Also you will be surprised what you can get from Audi if to try and even wait till the end of a month, trust me…. You can get all sorts thrown in if you approach it right. Which again bridges that gap.

[karl]

Dubel quoted: "They first hand have seen what can go wrong."

Like what?!

[neckarsulm]

Considering performance, there really isn't a lot to go wrong with these cars, I'm out of warranty and not worried.
Yes there are some very infrequent stories of big problems but a lowish mileage (<40k) shouldn't put a foot wrong and any minor niggles need not be fixed by a main dealer.
Would I buy from a main dealer?
Probably not, I know what their mark up is like and how poor their prep can be so I'd rather buy the same quality car from someone who was going to px but has tried to get a bit more by placing an ad. Offer them a no risk no hassle sale and everyone's happy.
If you don't know what to look for, a relatively basic AA/RAC inspection will be well worth the outlay on a £30k car.

[lengster1]

+1
Whats the need to pay up to 3k over the odds? That buys a whole lot of work and parts,not that there are any real issues with rs4,my local dealer has a black car for sale decent allround condition apart from the drivers seat is absolutely shot,i would rather buy a private example in better condition myself.they will not do a full retrim of the seat for 1k i doubt,you buy the car not the dealer,for what the warranty really covers is it worth the premium?

[drcarrera]

In the last twelve months I've had over 3K of work done on my car (2K under warranty, 1k not). So things can and do go wrong and can and do wear out! Buying a car like this always carries an element of risk, and I'd have thought a professional inspection would ne a must when buying privately.

[Dave_M]

I bought my 07 avant privately 6 months ago - but I bought it from a work colleague and knew its whole history. If it wasn't for that, I would have thought twice about buying privately as if it turned out to be complete lemon at least you have some legal redress against a dealer. However, my car's currently in the dealer as it developed a water leak into the cabin. The total labour charge is 8 hours plus one of the electronic control units has been wrecked - total cost £1,100. My understanding is the Audi extended warranty doesn't cover water leaks (I don't have a warranty anyway) - but if I'd bought from a main dealer I'd be having a strong word about them picking up this bill. That's a fair chunk of the saving I made by buying privately that's just disappeared!

A lot of the choice is down to peace of mind.

Dave