So I just unloaded my Range Rover Sport S/C last week and am getting closer to my AMV8V purchase.

During the selling process, the buyer, who was in Florida, wanted a friend who owns a local 3rd party dealer to inspect the car. To be honest, the dealership is a little run-down and had I not been there to drop the car off, I would have never even thought twice about stepping foot into this place (Elite Motors in Daly City, CA). Anyways, the dealer is actually a really nice, friendly guy and I casually asked if he ever had any Aston's come through; he chuckled and said that they rarely get cars that cost more than $30K - $40K. But he said that if I was committed to purchase a specific car, he would have no problem buying it off of Manheim (which is what he uses to purchase all the cars in his lot) and charging me a small finder's fee ($1,000+/-).

We even looked up the available 2007 AMV8V's in his office, none really met my specifications but they were priced between $55K and $63K, most with less than 20K miles. These prices were substantially less than any AMV8V's I've seen of similar specifications on cars.com, autotrader, etc.

He said that most of the cars are lease returns being sold by banks and dealerships, which I assume a significant amount of used cars are. So in essence, buying directly through Manheim cuts out the middle-man, the dealer, and the used cars on the lots at the dealerships are the same as the cars being sold on Manheim, with a dealer markup?

My concern is that this seems a little too good to be true as most 2007's I have been interested in are priced in the low $70K's, which would be a $10K to $15K, or 15% to 21% in savings. There is something in the back of my mind saying that there has to be a catch, but I can't think of what it may be. I am almost positive that the car I purchase will be too far for me to inspect on my own so I will most likely hire AiM Mobile Inspections to inspect the car for me. If I purchase through Manheim can I still send them to inspect the car? Is there any more risk associated with purchasing through Manheim than an actual dealership? Is there something I am overlooking?

If the risk is the same I will give him the specs I want and have him start searching for the car ASAP

 

As I read your description one thing that comes to mind is that banks often sell repo vehicles--so you want to be a little careful of that. Lease returns would be OK, but a repo would add another layer of concern.

 

If you have the car inspected, then have it certified by an Aston Martin dealer, you should/will be OK. The problem will be finding the right car that meets your specifications. You should be flexible as the savings are huge. I would not hesitate to buy the car that way. Good luck.

 

I have access to manheim. He was most likely showing you past sales. It is difficult if not impossible to tell what the condition of the cars were at the sale. If you buy a car at the auction, you should be there to inspect it. I would never buy an Aston at the auction. To me, that throws up some red flags.

In addition, it was nearly impossible to find and Aston at an auction. When I was looking in 2009, only about 6 had sold through the auction, Nationwide.

 

Thanks for the response's, I appreciate the input.

What he was showing me on-screen in his office were the current 2007 AMV8V's that were for sale at the time, I think 5 or 6, and yes they were scattered around the country, but I have no qualms with that.

He was telling me that he used to go to dealer auctions in LA and Vegas all the time but now he just logs onto Manheim and purchases them online. I'm sure he wouldn't purchase his entire inventory on Manheim if there was no inspection or some sort of evaluation by Manheim (I'm just guessing, I have no idea)?

Also, if the cars on Manheim are so dicey, where do all the reputable 3rd party exotic dealers get all of their inventory?

 

I think they get most of their exotics from Trade ins, private owners, they also get them from other exotic dealers. There is a whole network.