Can anyone recommend a good secondhand car sales dealer on the island please ? My husband and I are looking to buy a small car but have a limited budget. We would consider an ex-rental/fleet car but not sure where to go to find one....?
Second-hand cars are expensive on The island compared with the UK, we bought ours from About Cars, have had it 4 years with no issues other than a battery and the odd bulb Wieberen who runs the show is a nice guy, there is also a place in Antigua, that comes highly recommended, and a couple of dealers in Puerto, I have also been very reliably informed that you will get a better deal in Gran Canaria, it very much depends on where on The Island you are, and what your budget is.
I second that re About Cars. They also offer a 2 year warranty although I think you pay for this in the price. Orvecame sell ex rental cars if you want to take that chance. With the amount of rental cars regularly being driven off road on the island there is an element of risk involved buying an ex rental.
I bought my small car from the Orvecame garage in Puerto del Rosario. They sorted all the paperwork, which is a great help. It was an ex-hire car with high mileage, but that was reflected in the price. There was a one year warranty. I've had no problems.
We recommended them to a Spanish friend, and he's been happy with his purchase.
I probably should have added a warning about buying privately, besides the obvious risks of buying privately my understanding is that the paperwork involved can be quite tricky, perhaps CS can enlighten us?
The best place for ex rental cars is Orvecame iN Rosario - they are the parent company for Cicar and Payless.
They take the best of the rental fleet, refurbish them completely and sell them on.
Carlos in the sales team speaks good English and is very helpful....just don`t try and buy a diesel from him unless you are doing a very high mileage. He refused to sell me one! You will get a 1 year warranty.
You will find that the smaller cars have a higher mileage than the bigger ones because they are rented more often.
Also second hand cars are much more expensive than the equivalent in the UK.
AboutCars are also very good but their cars tend to be newer and more expensive because of this.
The best value if your budget can stretch that far is to buy new because the tax rates are so low...but you have to be prepared that your new pride and joy will be susceptible to dings and scrapes.
Thank you everyone, your replies have been really helpful. I think our first point of call will be to visit Orvecame in Rosario. We actually live down in Costa Calma but there are no second hand car dealers down this end of the island to speak of.
I had a look a link for a dealer in Gran Canaria, wow !! It is surprising the difference in costs. I think when we get around to it that will be my first stop 🙂🙂