Car Warranty.

Dale.

Dale.

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Dale.
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Currently having a rush of blood about a car I've seen for sale. It's a dealer, though not a main dealer, more your backstreet kind but very well known and established in the area. It will be a second and not main car for us and I'll be using our current second car as a trade in.

On the face of it, I love the car but only seen pictures of it and yet to view it, maybe tomorrow or Saturday. It's got reasonable mileage for the year, MOTed, all that stuff.

The wording of the ad though worries me, 'trade in to clear' which I'm fine with but the ad goes on to say, 'no warranty as the car is too old'. It's an 11 plate, so late 2011 by my reckoning.

It's also a very good price, on the low side of average for this model but some dealers have them upto £2k more than this one is advertised at.

The old saying 'too good to be true' springs to mind and alarm bells have almost gone off but I am a cautious fellow as I'm too old and too wise nowadays.

Just interested to hear other takes on this.

thanks.:)
 
Dale. said:
Currently having a rush of blood about a car I've seen for sale. It's a dealer, though not a main dealer, more your backstreet kind but very well known and established in the area. It will be a second and not main car for us and I'll be using our current second car as a trade in.

On the face of it, I love the car but only seen pictures of it and yet to view it, maybe tomorrow or Saturday. It's got reasonable mileage for the year, MOTed, all that stuff.

The wording of the ad though worries me, 'trade in to clear' which I'm fine with but the ad goes on to say, 'no warranty as the car is too old'. It's an 11 plate, so late 2011 by my reckoning.

It's also a very good price, on the low side of average for this model but some dealers have them upto £2k more than this one is advertised at.

The old saying 'too good to be true' springs to mind and alarm bells have almost gone off but I am a cautious fellow as I'm too old and too wise nowadays.

Just interested to hear other takes on this.

thanks.:)
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Go see the car, test drive it, check its MOT history on the DVLA site and look for reviews on the company thats selling it.

Whilst it may come without warranty you will still have some protection if the engine falls out on the way home :)
 
Worth an AA/RAC inspection? Would put your mind at rest if it comes back "OK"?
It still needs to be of "merchantable" quality, especially if it's from a dealer. Pay for some of it on credit card for a bit more protection under Sctn 75 I think it is, don't have to pay for all of it through CC either.
 
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Your legal rights can't be denied. If you are buying as a consumer they all apply. Any trader which tries to avoid them is a shark and should be avoided. After market warranties do tend to have age and mileage limits. If they mean that specifically rather than a total denial of your consumer rights then that's a different thing.

Buy from elsewhere if there is any sign they are trying to avoid their obligations under consumer law.
 
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Dale. said:
It's an 11 plate, so late 2011 by my reckoning.
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Plate would have changed to 61 in september 2011
More important then MOT to me has always been a good service history
Worth a look and see what you think
 
Gremlin said:
Plate would have changed to 61 in september 2011
More important then MOT to me has always been a good service history
Worth a look and see what you think
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My bad. :whistle::LOL:

I should add, the company has over 4 out of 5 in 5 reviews that I've just checked. The reviews are mostly positive too.
 
If a dealer has been around for years they are usually doing something right , have a chat to the owner if they have had the place for 10 years or more then buy with a fair degree of confidence .. also check out local Facebook groups dodgy sellers don’t last long these days
 
Check out the MOT history https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/ and you will get an idea of how it has been cared for, any discrepancies in mileage etc.

Service history is more important though so see if you can get that.

Other things like cambelt changes if necessary, issues with dpf if it's a diesel and so forth are also worth checking out with the seller.
 
Make sure all the electrics work, windows, central locking, lights, radio & make sure the the warning lights of the dashboard illuminate when you turn the ignition on and go out when you start the engine, it's not unknown for indicator lamps to be removed to hide defects. Check the engine oil, see how clean it is and look in the filler cap for sludge. Look at the coolant (make sure it is cold before removing the filler cap) and look for oil floating on the surface.

Check the tyres for tread, look at the age codes on the tyres and make sure they are no older than 7-5 years & the sidewalls are not cracked. Don.t forget the spare if it has one, or the expiry date on the tyre goo if it doesn't have a spare.Look for jacks, locking wheel nut sockets if it has alloys & locking wheel nuts

Make sure the seatbelts fasten and retract properly.
 
Also take OBDII reader with you to check if any odd diagnostics are shown. Check before you start it, and after plus again after a test drive. Cheap and it's an extra little bit of a check you can easily do.
 
I snoozed and loosed.

Car was sold on the weekend, so not meant to be.
 
Dale. said:
I snoozed and loosed.

Car was sold on the weekend, so not meant to be.
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That's the way I look at it. Hopefully something else will come up.
 
MatBin said:
That's the way I look at it. Hopefully something else will come up.
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Just the wording of the ad, something didn't sit right, so I'll sleep well tonight.
 
morfis said:
Also take OBDII reader with you to check if any odd diagnostics are shown. Check before you start it, and after plus again after a test drive. Cheap and it's an extra little bit of a check you can easily do.
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Show me a car dealer that will let you do that, you can kill a car through the ODB port very easily. And unless you know your onions you will have no idea what its telling you, mine has errors and its new, they are not errors it is because mods/options are missing but you would need in depth knowledge to know that.
 
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Gremlin said:
Plate would have changed to 61 in september 2011
More important then MOT to me has always been a good service history
Worth a look and see what you think
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Agreed. A full/good service history, particularly if it comes with the supporting documentation, is valuable.
 
Studio488commercial said:
Show me a car dealer that will let you do that, you can kill a car through the ODB port very easily. And unless you know your onions you will have no idea what its telling you, mine has errors and its new, they are not errors it is because mods/options are missing but you would need in depth knowledge to know that.
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That's bull. A good scanner, not generic OBD2 rubbish will show errors even if you have little idea. There shouldnt be any in the engine section. There are a few further easy tests where you need to know what to look for but still absolutely trivial. For example injection offsets and dpf value...
If they have something to hide and won't allow just walk away. I never buy before test unless it's near give away failure
 
LongLensPhotography said:
That's bull. A good scanner, not generic OBD2 rubbish will show errors even if you have little idea. There shouldnt be any in the engine section. There are a few further easy tests where you need to know what to look for but still absolutely trivial. For example injection offsets and dpf value...
If they have something to hide and won't allow just walk away. I never buy before test unless it's near give away failure
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Very few tools do all cars what are you going to do carry there or four around with you, and you really think the average joe or even more savvy joe is looking at injection offset codes and the like, seriously.....
 
Studio488commercial said:
Very few tools do all cars what are you going to do carry there or four around with you, and you really think the average joe or even more savvy joe is looking at injection offset codes and the like, seriously.....
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I can do it just fine. Took me 1 hour to figure it all out on VCDS. Documentation is perfect. I happen to be mainly interested in VAGs but there are generic ones available, just more expensive.... but well worth it. Dealers will take >> £100 for a single scan so you'll "make it back" in less than year just on your own car(s)
 
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