Should I buy a cheaper Aston Martin from a non-franchised dealer?

I am about to buy an Aston Martin V8 Vantage. I have a choice of two almost identical cars with full service history and with 16,000 and 18,000 miles on them. One is with an Aston Martin dealer and is offered at £45,000, and one is with a non-franchised dealer, has all the same specification but is only £37,000? The comfort of an Aston Martin dealer is reassuring, yet the £8000 premium is hard to swallow. Which car would you go for, assuming they are almost the same?

Asked on 24 March 2012 by NA, via email

Answered by Honest John
Use the fact that one car is £37,000 to negotiate the car at the Aston dealer down as much as possible. If he is keen to make a sale, he will first of all investigate the history of the cheaper car from central Aston Martin records and might find out it has been crashed or something. If not, he should be prepared to deal. If he won't deal, at least you should have some more information about the cheaper car that you would not otherwise have got. On the other hand, if he has the funds, the dealer might snatch the £37,000 car from the vendor, then re-offer it at £45,000. The best guys to tell you what it is really worth are father and son dealers Tom Hartley.
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