Dodgy dealer? Or clueless

Bartonprince

I went to view a Skoda Fabia on Saturday in Dublin (from waterfors so long way)

The fella said on the phone that the car was lovely but the previous owner was dirty and just didn't look after it so thre was stains on the seats. But he was going to Valet the car.

So i got up and the car looked lovely, there was a big stain (removable) on the seat, and it was a little grubby (all dirt, not physical), but other then that it weas lovely.

The car was a 00' and it only had 28k miles on the clock. It drove like a dream. Upon inspection though, the front drivers side tire was completely worn bald on the very inside track of the tire, the opposite side was fine. The person i had with me at the time noticed that there was overspray on the fulecap lining rubber. Which we followed and noticed that the whole side of the car had been resprayed. We then checked the other side which was fine. The bonnet had been resplrayed but the back hadn't.

Only when we said it to the dealer did he say yes it had been resprayed by his friend (badly, drips under door frames and handles) and then he bought it from him.

The doors were perfectly alligned, the inside of the car wasn't damaged and the underside of the car appeared to be all original so no visible physical damage had been done.

I didn't buy iy because of the respray. Did i make a mistake?

spockety

No. Avoid avoid avoid.

kluivert

You where right to walk away.

respray could mean crash and repair.

I dont mind crash and repair cars so long as I crashed it and Repaired it so I know what has happened to the car.

bazz26

Bartonprince wrote:

I went to view a Skoda Fabia on Saturday in Dublin (from waterfors so long way)

The fella said on the phone that the car was lovely but the previous owner was dirty and just didn't look after it so thre was stains on the seats. But he was going to Valet the car.

So i got up and the car looked lovely, there was a big stain (removable) on the seat, and it was a little grubby (all dirt, not physical), but other then that it weas lovely.

The car was a 00' and it only had 28k miles on the clock. It drove like a dream. Upon inspection though, the front drivers side tire was completely worn bald on the very inside track of the tire, the opposite side was fine. The person i had with me at the time noticed that there was overspray on the fulecap lining rubber. Which we followed and noticed that the whole side of the car had been resprayed. We then checked the other side which was fine. The bonnet had been resplrayed but the back hadn't.

Only when we said it to the dealer did he say yes it had been resprayed by his friend (badly, drips under door frames and handles) and then he bought it from him.

The doors were perfectly alligned, the inside of the car wasn't damaged and the underside of the car appeared to be all original so no visible physical damage had been done.

I didn't buy iy because of the respray. Did i make a mistake?

No, you made the right decision imo.

It is very easy to get caught up in the euphoria of buying a new car. It is best to trust your gut feelings on this. If you have any doubts it is best to walk away. There are plenty of other Fabias out there that will be in better condition going for similar money.

Regarding the dealer, this goes on all the time. Unfortunately even when buying from a dealer "buyer beware" still applies. I think legally they are supposed to tell if a car has been crashed afaik. Not sure if this is the case in real life though.

junkyard

Sounds like a bit of a yoke alright. Some cars get really trashed in a short time and this is the end result. Some other guy buys them and gives them a quick clean up in the hopes of making a fast buck and overlooks some vital points like servicing and tyres. You were wise to walk away.

Bartonprince

junkyard wrote:

Sounds like a bit of a yoke alright. Some cars get really trashed in a short time and this is the end result. Some other guy buys them and gives them a quick clean up in the hopes of making a fast buck and overlooks some vital points like servicing and tyres. You were wise to walk away.

Some information i missed.

A) He didn't volunteer the fact that it was a respray.

The service history was very strange. It had never been services in all of it's 28k miles and 6 years on the road. Until a week ago, it was serviced by this fella in the garage, but since the service it had done 100 miles. Maybe from people test driving and not buying?

C) He kepy hassling me saying he had to go home as his wife was ringing him, given though that he closes at 2 and it was 3 o'clock when i arrived. ;-D

Seth Brundle

Given the SSIAs are coming to maturity there will be no shortage of 2nd hand cars and prices will probably fall so i wouldn't lose sleep over walking away from that dodgy car!

Also - go by the rule that if you have to ask yourself "is it dodgy" then it probably is!

mike65

Well avoided! But along way to go to be dissapointed.

Mike.

colm_mcm

you were wise to walk away. I wouldn't like to go back to him if there was a problem.

try buying from a main dealer with a recognised warranty and used car standard system such as Toyota Dealer Cover, Opel Network Q, or Nissan Gold Standard