CMTA Says Buy Only From Authorised Dealers — Or Is That Just Self-Interest Talking?

The Ceylon Motor Traders' Association warned on Oct 31 that fraud is surging in the used-vehicle market — odometer tampering, forged documents and shady non-authorised sellers — and told buyers to stick to authorised agents or well-known companies. Fair enough, but CMTA members are exactly the authorised dealers who'd benefit if everyone stopped buying private. The case for dealers: proper paperwork, service history you can actually check, and someone to go back to if the car turns out to be a lemon. The case for private sellers: no dealer margin stacked on top, and plenty of people have bought clean, honestly-described cars straight from an owner for years with zero drama — while plenty of "authorised" lots have also sold accident-repaired or mileage-adjusted stock with a clean story attached. Have you been burned buying private, or did a dealer turn out to be the one hiding something? What do you personally never skip — CR book NIC match, independent mechanic check, service book stamps — before handing over money? ඔබ වාහනයක් ගන්නේ ඩීලර්ගෙන්ද, පුද්ගලික විකුණුම්කරුවෙකුගෙන්ද? ඇයි?