Buying a Car

Last April Snowbird friends of ours left us with their car to look after till they return this January.

You guessed it….we’ve become accustomed to the convenience of two cars and now we’d like to purchase a second car for ourselves.
I know there have been a number of threads on this forum about buying a used car here at Lakeside but as we zero in on a January purchase I’d like to get the latest info.
Besides S&S Auto are there other dealers here?
I’ve seen posts about independent brokers who for a fee will find a car for you, negotiate price and even arrange licensing and insurance. Are there any currently recommended individuals?

Any other advice one could offer – models, makes, used versus new????

Thanks

SunFan

I've bought 2 cars in Guadalajara in the last 7 years. I found the process very easy and hassle free. If you want to deal with someone locally the use S&S whose reputation is stellar. The other good alternative is go to a dealer in Guad for the brand you wish to buy. PM me for more.

I recently had a positive buying experience while searching for a used Jalisco plated vehicle. I narrowed my search down by using the web site www.soloautos.com.mx. This is a site that connects a large number of smaller used car dealers with potential buyers all over Latin America. There are no private sellers on this site so it reduces the chance of wasting your time chasing a "chocolate" or some form of problem vehicle (stolen, etc.). The web site has an "easy-to-use" search engine where you select the make/model and range of age, price, etc. and then click on Jalisco if you want to buy locally.

In my search I found what I was looking for at Seminuevos CarFast which is located in Zapopan at Av. Naciones Unidas 5528. This small dealership is owned and operated by a brother/sister duo who took over the business when their father passed away last Deciembre. The brother (Juan Pablo) speaks excellent English and took great personal care of us and our transaction. He clearly explained the paper trail of the vehicle we were interested in all the way back to the original invoice (factura) including all of the annual Jalisco license fees and taxes that had been paid. He was not pushy and allowed us to have the vehicle taken to an independent 3rd party mechanic for an inspection, test drive, etc. Once we agreed on a fair price, he took care of all of the transfer paperwork and made sure everything was done correctly. On the day we picked up the vehicle, his sister came with us to the bank to help us with the payment transaction which I was very grateful of. This was a challenge in itself if you have ever dealt with the Mexican banking system!!! They even presented us with a nice bottle of wine as an appreciation of our business.

Juan Pablo can be reached at 3070-1010 and specializes in re-selling quality vehicles that the large dealers don't want to put on their lots (due to age or more niche models) as well as "end-of-lease" vehicles. He has another business specializing in small ticket leasing. He also said if he doesn't have what a customer is looking for on his lot, he can try and find it within the dealer network around the city.

David wrote:I've bought 2 cars in Guadalajara in the last 7 years.  I found the process very easy and hassle free.  If you want to deal with someone locally the use S&S whose reputation is stellar.  The other good alternative is go to a dealer in Guad for the brand you wish to buy.  PM me for more.

S&S only deals with used cars at the S&S  lot lakeside. They go to Guad for new cars at the dealers.  Change from the past.

I have not found S&S reputation to be stellar. PM me for more info if interested.

I have. Maybe you had some difficulties, however their reputation IS stellar.

I can only go by my situation and by the experience of several people I know.

Gamina wrote:I can only go by my situation and by the experience of several people I know.

And I can only go by my situation and the experience of several people I know. Any business no matter how good has bad transactions especially the used car business. I wouldn't touch his job looking at used cars with a ten foot pole. I am not
doubting you at all just pointing out I can say the same thing.

Z