In recent weeks I've been getting a serious itch. Let me just be completely transparent.
I have money burning a hole in my pocket and when an M Coupe passed me last weekend during an early a.m. drive I said to myself "I need to have that." So, I did what any other gearhead with an itchy trigger finger and serious car attention deficit disorder (ADD) would do. Troll the forums and start looking at what the market is commanding for an M car. Though I saw an M Coupe, I don't think I can actually fit — I am 6'8.
Having never bought used, this was a new experience for me. It quickly became obvious that the vehicles out there really fall into three categories:
1) Wrecked
2) Used and on the market via private seller and priced aggresively
3) Used and on the market via dealers and priced at a premium — especially if it's been CPO'd
I noted during my search of online classifieds that the vehicles for sale by private sellers tended to seem a bit "shady." Most were not nicely looked after or would require a bit of work to get them up to snuff. Of course without buying used before, my worst nightmare would be to take a chance, get a clean pre-purchase inspection (PPI) and then all hell breaks loose. These are German cars, after all.
Then this week I came across this story pointed out by Carscoop. It shows a 2002 BMW M5 with less than 4,000 miles on the odometer on the market for nearly $68,000 smackers.
When I brought up the dealer's name to one BMW used car hunter, he noted they are way overpriced across the board for the vehicles they have in their inventory. And another friend of a friend who had actually purchased from them said NOTHING BUT GREAT THINGS; however, noted you do pay a premium. The good news is that the vehicle's are well sorted, which should put any soon-to-be-owner of a high-performance auto at ease.
So, I figured I'd pose the question to my fellow Spies:
Would YOU rather work with a private seller and take a chance OR would you rather do business with a dealer and get a well-sorted car?
What say you?
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