Buying wisely

[Bren]

What do you look for when buying used? I think even if you are spending £500 you can afford to be slightly discerning.

 

I use MOT checker on line - good at spotting if car has structural issues or driving style of owners ( fail/ advise on tyres, brakes etc)

 

For me, good quality rubber is a good sign - an owner not frightened to spend extra on a better product. Mismatched chinese death rings point to an owner who is financially challenged or nor arsed.

 

Dip the oil - is there any? What colour is it? OE or cheapo filter? Are brake fluid coolant old? History of a timing belt/ clutch change? Personally if car is lacking history/ handbooks/spare key then I won't bother viewing it. One day YOU may have to sell it - with no history it will be as popular as Tony Blair at a labour party conference and you will have more chance of getting rid of ebola unless you give it away. A spare key for my A6 costs over £200 - guess how I found out?

 

Aircon not working - don't take vendor word it needs regassing. If it has been like that for any period of time the seals perish and no longer do their job. I have rejected cars because of non working aircon - at best it will cost you £40, at worst a lot more.

 

Ditto all electrics and optional extras - I viewed a vectra elite that had a soft close tailgate - it had cost the vendor £350 to get fixed. Bear this in mind when looking at top of the range cars - even something minor will be expensive on a merc/ jag/BMW. Ditto broken trim - I bought a damaged repairable vauxhall senator - the thieving scrotes had snapped the glovebox lid off. VX wanted £75 for a new one - and this was 1995. It was repaired with a strip of plastic and self tappers.

 

Shoddy body repairs stand out a mile - usually plastic bumpers that have shed their paint because they have not been primed properly are the biggest giveaway. I would'nt buy anything rusty as their are lots of cars for sale with no rust. Rust is expensive to repair properly.

 

Main dealer number plates are a good sign of something that has not been stuffed ( you would'nt bother going there for new plates), I like to see hinges and locks oiled / greased, I viewed a mondeo with a bonnet that wouldn't close - in the light the front of the bonnet appeared creased from the continuous hand pressure. Would have been cheaper to get the lock repaired - now it needs a bonnet.

 

Bills for repairs / parts more important than a stamped book - I would sooner buy from a guy that has done his own maintainence but kept receipts than somebody who has had the book stamped at a Dealer on a saturday morning when the foreman is in the bogs playing with himself. Lots of owners in a short time are also a bad sign.

 

Do your homework - some cars have engines / gearboxes that are trouble. The 2.2 engine in certain front wheel drive vauxhalls has issues with the timing chain/fuel pump/ main bearings - you would only bother if it was really cheap.

 

This list is not exhaustive and I am not Mike Brewer - just somebody who has been caught out a few times. As cars get more complicated it is more important than ever to buy wisely.

[Mally]

Firstly, just spent a lot more than £500.

MOT checker, yes it's got one, 5 weeks left.

Tyres, 2 Kwik fit, never seen that on a tyre before, 2 Chinese with good tread but cracking due to age.

Oil and filter, OK with that, looks clean and shiny filter.

Spare key, can get one made for a fiver, but having trouble locating a blank.

Aircon? Well window winders work.

Electrics, mainly scotch locs.

Rust, its fibreglass. Chassis is 3mm steel so fine there.

 

Lots of very good tips there. I seem to have not heeded them much though.

I've obviously got more money than sense.

[captain_70s]

What do you look for when buying used?

Sometimes I examine my fleet and wonder if I ever actually looked at them at all before handing over the cash...

 

I think I did in theory but was blinded by "Dolomite Fever" which is a condition which makes you see British Leyland saloon cars of the 1970s as being far, far better than they actually are.

[dollywobbler]

Buying wisely? Where's the fun in that?

[spike60]

I agree with Bren pretty much and this is why I'm pretty gun shy about blind Ebay bids, every car I've won has been a let down. As said, tyres are a good pointer, if the owner isn't interested in those they won't care for any thing else either.

[Bren]

Buying wisely? Where's the fun in that?

One thing buying a project, another matter buying something that you need to get to work at 6am every morning or you need to sell in an emergency.

[Fabergé Greggs]

All of that, plus I always want to chat on the phone or meet the seller to measure their general vibes.

[Cavcraft]

For £500 I just check for any major faults, make sure it drives ok then just buy it and drive it home.

[scdan4]

tbh I spend more time trying to judge the seller rather than the car.

 

I don't go to 'just have a look' so by the time i'm standing there looking at it I'll probably have it.

 

If the seller is genuine chances are the car is.

 

oh - and all those little non working things (like aircon) only cost money if you fix them.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

I keep on looking at a nine year old Japanese floppytop which is cosmetically challenged, has no history, but is only* £1750. Cheapest one I've seen yet.

I am having to work extremely hard to not buy it. I know it's ultimately a bag of shit and there are many that are a million times better out there. I know I SHOULD buy wisely. It's the fact it's cheap and has potential (but potential money pit as well) that keeps on drawing me in. I change my motors every five minutes, and recently have lost a fair chunk of £££ when I've struggled to sell them when I've become bored.

I definitely have a problem. Buying wisely is but a pipe dream to me.

[Hendry]

Main dealer number plates are a good sign of something that has not been stuffed ( you would'nt bother going there for new plates), I like to see hinges and locks oiled / greased, I viewed a mondeo with a bonnet that wouldn't close - in the light the front of the bonnet appeared creased from the continuous hand pressure. Would have been cheaper to get the lock repaired - now it needs a bonnet.

Depends, it could've been stuffed and repaired early on in it's life by a main dealer body shop this will have main dealer plates. I also DO go to a dealer for replacement plates, just as cheap as the factors usually and looks better, plus i like my plates to match, have a bit of number plate OCD and will replace any slightly worn plates because I think new fresh plates really tidy a car up. Lots of reasons why plates have been replaced as well for non main dealer ones, some people hate dealer advertising, or the plate could've become water damaged or be an mot fail. I'd rather see factor plates than plates from a body shop, these are obviously a give away. Pays to google the name on a plate because a lot of body shops use abbreviations so it's not immediately obvious, like UKARC. Others just look like dealers plates, body shops we used at work like "McLarens" or "Mitchell Inglis" a lot of people would just assume were dealer plates.

 

Dirty cars (I have a car cleanliness OCD) or ones where the seller hasn't even given it a wash and Hoover to sell, makes you wonder what else they couldn't be bothered doing. Cars missing wheel trims is another, if they don't care about visible things that are easy to sort being obvious what else that isn't obvious is missing/broken?

 

Piles of bills I do like, I keep every receipt for my car, I'd never but a car with a missing service book but wouldn't buy an older car with one but no bills. It's quite common on newer stuff, usually 3 year old stuff at main dealers where the book pack, spare keys and service history book are there and stamped up to date but no receipts because either the original owner has taken them out the car before trading in and forgot to put them back in, sales staff have taken them out or valeters have binned them while cleaning it.

 

I'll usually contact the garages who's stamps are in the book to confirm they are genuine and what was done, and possibly contact previous owners to see if they can shed any light on if it was reliable, what went wrong in their ownership and so on.

 

Mirror glass replacements stuck over broken originals is lazy.

 

Damaged interior trim is a bad sign, it's usually pretty hard to damage trim unless you are very hamfisted and careless.

[drum]

All the things in Bren's post are great, but they're all relative to the price.

If they're missing or broken, the car isn't unbuyable, it just means the price has to be adjusted accordingly.

 

If all that is in place on a £500 car you're laughing (and very lucky).

[richardmorris]

I have yet to buy a car from someone I don't know - I find it reduces the anxiety a bit.

[The Moog]

For £500 I just check for any major faults, make sure it drives ok then just buy it and drive it home.

Then give them £400 change. Jump in the corsa and cruise off into the sunset.

[Eddie Honda]

Thread title 0/10

 

Because no Wolseley content...

[New POD]

Well, I like to take the sellers word for it, travel 130 miles and rather than get the train home, just give it a cursory glace over, have a test drive, down play any problems that the seller has been honest about, and the buy it and hope. This works fine if the seller is a shitter.

(Thanks John K!!!),

 

4 days later realise the reason he didn't probably didn't replace the damaged door, is that the colour is so rare, it will turn out to be impossible to find a breaker in that colour.

[sierraman]

For £500 I just check for any major faults, make sure it drives ok then just buy it and drive it home.

WHS. I think you are looking for perfection tbh. When you find this Mondeo with full history, dealer plates, working air con, a set of four new Michelins and concours bodywork for £500 let us know.

[pshome]

The Interweb is your friend, before even having a look at a car i always do a "background" check using google.

Googling the phone number (in variants) quickly reveals a "private" seller in fact being a dealer.  You also come across other cars the guy sold previously which may give some interesting results. Ebay has check boxes to find sold,unsold etc. articles of a seller, adds yet another clue to the picture.

Dealer personal and company name finds fact's about the company.

Just today there was a new member on the 504 forum interested in a 504 coupé for sale in France asking for advice.

 

Using leparking.fr, we figured that it has been for sale since May 2015 and the asking price dropped from 9900 to 7900 since.

 

That was just the start, a search for the company found an article in a local paper reporting the dealers garage being flooded 1,2m deep last October. http://archives.varmatin.com/frejus/des-degats-et-pas-mal-de-frayeurs-dans-l%E2%80%99est-var.2287183.html

No surpise the car has a lot of rust.. and is by far not worth the asking price.

[castros_bro]

I don't have a plan or a script or a check list, I do acquire vehicles on a whim or out of necessity which may or not break down at random but would not suggest anyone does as I do as they need to make up their own mind.

[fordperv]

Firstly, just spent a lot more than £500.

 

this place isnt what it used to be

[Rocket88]

One thing that never bothers me is mileage...........................in fact , I try to avoid low mileage stuff, as it's probably never got up to working temperature more than a dozen times in it's life.

[Mally]

this place isnt what it used to be

Sorry for raising the tone, please feel free to quote my last line as well.

[dollywobbler]

One thing buying a project, another matter buying something that you need to get to work at 6am every morning or you need to sell in an emergency.

 

Every car I've bought this year has had to get me over 200 miles back home. Two of them took me straight to important business meetings. The £280 Colt took me to three important meetings in the first weekend and covered 500 miles. Dangerous is fun.

[Captain Furious]

Ah yes, the old 'air con needs a regas' line

 

In my experience the whole "they discharge if not used" concept is a total fallacy, I've had my daily work hack for coming up 7 years, rarely use the air con and it's still as good as the day I bought it (and it was 6 years old then)

 

If the air con has discharged to the point where it won't work at all then there is a leak, end of story

 

Not that it's a major point when buying a 500 quid car, but I would walk away for them even trying the "maybe just needs a regas' tale

[Laseraligningfoofooflanges]

I just try to weigh up the seller , ask to use his bog as a gorilla shit welded pan is a surefire sign of a careless fucker.. Also prod around the car check all the levels/fluids try crawl underneath for a look if possible.

 

Also on closing the deal a limp wristed handshake would set alarm bells ringing...

 

Seriously though at £500 im a fan of trusting your instincts and avoiding the trade (At £500)

[Bobthebeard]

I rarely buy wisely, just on instinct. As mentioned the seller is a good guide. Looks and seems ok? Check.

If the car is cheap enough and you want it then worth a punt. If it needs to be pressed into service immediately as a daily driver then £500 is a risky budget. Possible, but risky IMHO.

[sierraman]

Don't know, £2k a more risky budget I think. From experience £7-800 finds the best cars usually. A lot of stuff up at £1200 that was £350 at the Auctions a week before, that would be OK, I understand the wheels of business, but a lot is just tat put up with some of those paper mats you get.

 

I read into the buyer a bit, if he/she is a bit of a twat, chances are the cars the same. Bought most recent car, partly on the guy who owned it, he clearly cared...

 

At £500-£1000 you aren't buying into a life partner, so don't go expecting Palm Beach with egg on it. As Cavcraft said, if it's free from major faults then go for it. If it's entirely trouble free motoring you are after then Kia do a lovely line in Cee'ds at £200 a month if you chuck down £2000 to deposit. The lovely men at the garage even give you the option to buy it at top book in 3 years time... The choice is yours...

[Justin Case]

I have been searching for 'buying wisely' in the Autoshite Lexicon. It does not appear there.

[New POD]

Every car I've bought this year has had to get me over 200 miles back home. Two of them took me straight to important business meetings. The £280 Colt took me to three important meetings in the first weekend and covered 500 miles. Dangerous is fun.

 

 

Bought 162K MV6 omega off John K on Thursday, Drove it to Derby that night, 130 miles.

Then on Friday drove to Home 110 miles

Then Saturday to Cardiff, 225 miles

Then Monday Home 225 miles

Then Today to work 110 miles.

 

I have Checked Oil and coolant levels after each leg.

[bramz7]

I bought a £295 ZX blind from Norwich, got the to the sellers massive house and was told that:

A) it used to have a cherished plate (YVR1)

it was owned by the wife of a man with numerous garages for 18 years and was always looked after

 

And touch wood, it's covered 800 miles in a month faultlessly.

 

Buying an old car blind is such a thrill though. I probably got a tad lucky but there we go. Nice train ride from Reading to Norwich too.