Hello all need some help with buying a car here in France found 1 on leboncoin from a garage/concession I have contacted the seller and he speaks quite good English he says the ct is OK he has fractures etc for all services and maintainance ie cambelt etc it’s quite reasonably priced but it needs a clutch which the guy has said will be done once a sale is agreed my problem is I won’t be able to test drive it without the clutch being done and I don’t really want to commit to buy if its a shonk box I will post the link to the ad
Mark… most of us are in the situation of watching our pennies … but, IMO you might be best advised to discuss with your local garage. Buy something secondhand… from your local garage… it will come with CT, Service, Carte Grise and you will have the happy knowledge that they will have their reputation at stake…
The locals know where the good garages are… have a word…
1 Like
That’s not stated in the advertisement, in the advertisement it says “aucun frais à prévoir”.
Other than looking at what the advertisements says I don’t know what help any of us can really be to you.
Sounds a bit odd, it’s practically unsellable if it can’t be driven. Why would a garage not just get it done in advance of trying to sell it? I would tell him you’re not interested in its current condition, if he get it fixed then to give you a call.
1 Like
It doesn’t say in the advertisement that it can’t be driven and it wouldn’t have a CT if it can’t be driven. It says it has already got the new clutch, or else the person writing the advertisement is being deliberately ambiguous…
It says
"2990€ = sans garantie , révisé avec contrôle technique
3490€ = garantie 3 mois
Vendu révisé:
Embrayage neuf."
ie it will be sold with a new clutch (as the OP says - it hasn’t got one yet but will once a buyer comes forward), and depending how much you want to pay it either will or won’t come with a guarantee.
From that, and from the very professional description, it sounds to me as if it’s being sold by a motor trade pro or semi-pro.
I wonder… perhaps the Seller is using the garage as Agent…
which would explain why the work will NOT be done until a buyer is found.
A Garage would surely do the work and offer the car… with a guarantee of their workmanship…
IMO a garage which offers the choice of Guarantee or NO Guarantee is a bit odd… but I may biased as my local garages are very fair.
1 Like
It is being sold by a garage not far from my old place of work I just know absolutely nothing about buying of cars here
Or professional
I have bought vehicles on LBC and it’s a risk so any possible anomaly with the vehicle or CT would have me walk away very quickly.
I’m going to have a look at it Saturday check all the paperwork etc give it the obvious check over too
Ok, so they’ve put a condition on the sale. You have two options - 1. Buy it on their condition IF the price is exceptional. 2. Agree to buy, but place you own condition that after clutch is fixed purchase is conditional on whatever testing you would be happy with if the clutch was ok now.
It is odd that they won’t sell it with the clutch done. Although it’s a sizeable job, it does make for a normal sale process which most sellers would want. The actual cost to them is mostly time - the part is not that much.
What is meant by place my own condition?
IMO he means… Your “condition” to the Seller is that… when the work is done … you can take the car for a Test Drive and if you are not happy with it… you will NOT have to buy it…
In other words, when you are at the Garage you tell them that you are interested, but not promising to buy…
which could put you back into the Catch 22 situation…
One question… is the Garage a Concession for a Brand of car… … or just a general repair shop…???
It is just a second hand car dealer
with what has gone before, in your conversations… “just a second hand car dealer” says it all, IMO 
been there, done that… and wept… so in my case… once bitten, twice… very, very shy…
but this is a new day and the decision is yours
+1
Clutch kit for these is about 110€ so seems very odd to not just get the job done (given that they want 3k€ for the sale) rather than mess prospective purchasers around.
I know that the used car market in France is nothing like that in the UK but does this sort of thing happen a lot?
Yes, I meant what Stella said. So back to option 1. Only buy it if an exceptional price and you’re willing to take a risk.
I didn’t mean it was just a 2nd hand car dealer I meant that it is a car lot not assigned to one specific brand my problem is this I have 4k to spend on a 7 seater I know that car prices here are crazy and main dealers do not have any cars that are that price also that its like a jungle out there to me I know that car dealers are regulated etc but unsure if its as bad as UK
I’ve done some research it is an automobile dealer which is part of a bodyshop have been in business for 9 years does that stand for much?