Private buying - how best to ensure nothing major wrong?

cargrouch

Hi folks, bit of advice needed please.

First time buying private without knowing the owner well.
Car is a fair distance from home so I doubt my usual mechanics would be interested in the day trip. They are always busy.
Seems straight, but as is common in this country - very little service history.
Previous previous owner was a mechanic, and sold the car as fully serviced, with the t-belt done at 65K (80K is usual interval).

Good things - it's a honda, so feel fairly confident. Engine is non - vtec , same as or similar to mid 90's honda civic 1.6 sohc. Irish car,70K on the clock, and no reason to doubt it.

Worries - it's a 4WD (HRV). I know nothing about 4wd, how to test it (without driving the car into a bog:D ) or how important a service history is for it. FYI - it's not permanent 4wd, switches in using a clutch when front wheels slip.
(No, I don't absolutely need 4wd. Would prefer a 2wd HRV maintenance/fuel wise but this car is a good car at a good price. I do a lot of mountain biking so it will get frequent, light offroad use)

The 2wd versions seem bomb proof. Have test driven them with up to 100K on the clock and they were like new. But 8k is still a lot of money for me if it turns out to be a lemon in 3 months time.

What options do I have for peace of mind if I can't get my local mech to come have a look?
My major concerns (please add if you have experience of these cars) would be:
Is T-belt definitely done?
Is 4wd (rear diff, dual pump clutch) OK?
Lines seem straight, car drives straight, but would like confirmation from someone more experienced that there was no major crash repair?
I doubt there's enough here to warrant an AA check (300yoyo plus), but any comments on the AA's service would be welcome for future reference.

Anan1

To be honest, I wouldn't generally look at a used car without a full, verifiable service history. You're going to have to replace the timing belt, as you have no way of being sure that it was done and the results of breakage would be catastrophic. Unless the car's cheap enough that you can spend a couple of grand and still be ok, I'd walk. There are lots of cars out there, why bother taking a chance on a potentially bad one?

Thomas_S_Hunterson

www.cartell.ie might be of assistance

cargrouch

sean_keevey wrote:

www.cartell.ie might be of assistance

The Vehicle is Imported: No
The Vehicle is Currently Taxed: Yes
The Vehicle is a Taxi: No
The Vehicle was a Taxi: No
The Vehicle is a Hackney: No
The Vehicle was a Hackney: No
The Vehicle is a Commercial Vehicle: No
The Vehicle was a Commercial Vehicle: No
The Vehicles Engine Number has NOT changed
The Vehicles Engine Capacity has NOT changed
The Vehicles Colour has NOT changed

Date of Sales: 2005-10-**
2004-03-**
Tax Expiry Dates: 2006-10-**
2005-09-**
NCT Due Dates: 2007-03-**
NCT Pass Dates: 2005-08-**

This Vehicle is recorded as CURRENT on our roads
This Vehicle is not recorded as Scrapped
This Vehicle is not recorded as Written Off


@Anan, it's the best of these that I've seen and tbh, a 99/00 with fsh in any car seems very rare.

jayok

I would really look for a Service Histroy but here goes:

Ok first thing with the HR-V is it used a rock solid D16 non-VTEC engine that is pretty much as relable as Honda gets (we're on our third since 99). However, I am concerned re the 80k changing interval, it's actually 60k, not 80k. I would ask for a receipt for the timing belt. My biggest concern is that it would not actually be replaced. The timing belt for these is quite specific so I would expect the part from Honda.

After this I wouldn't be too concerned re the other parts, filters, sparks, etc as this is not a VTEC jobbie. But check the oil, it should be clean within the engine and you can see the cam from the oil filler hole look for gunk, etc. Standard rules apply.

WRT the 4WD system this has a clutch mechanism like the bigger CR-V and it has an oil associated with it. Has this been changed and maintained? If not you will hear a "scraping" sound when engaged. This indicates wear and a possibly fecked mechanism - I would avoid. The only was to engage this withot wheel spins, etc is to turn full lock a few times the speed differences between the wheels will turn it on. He maintained it himself - did he know of the oil change requirements?

Anyhow my 2c

Anan1

cargrouch wrote:

@Anan, it's the best of these that I've seen and tbh, a 99/00 with fsh in any car seems very rare.

It's not as common as it should be, but look at it like this. If I buy a car and go to the trouble of maintaining it correctly then I will keep invoices and get the book stamped. The absence of a service history means that you cannot tell how or indeed whether the car was cared for. It also makes mileage an uncertainty, as there is no history to corroborate it. With this car, for example, you are going to have to do a full service and replace the timing belt immediately. Additionally, there may well be other work required. Plus, the mileage reading may be false. I'd hold on, a car is a big investment and a bad one can be a very expensive mistake.

cargrouch

Cheers, jayok.

My mistake on tbelt, looks like it was done at the right time if done.

Did a few tight loops in the car park on full lock - no noises, but wasn't 100% that 4wd had engaged. Will this definitely engage the 4wd? With my limited mechanical knowledge, I would guess that with a 3 diff system then it would test the back diff, but with the 2diffs and the clutch in between??

The current sellers bought it off the mechanic, I'd love to talk to him myself.
Maybe the current seller could help me out, hmmmm.

jayok

cargrouch wrote:

Did a few tight loops in the car park on full lock - no noises, but wasn't 100% that 4wd had engaged. Will this definitely engage the 4wd? With my limited mechanical knowledge, I would guess that with a 3 diff system then it would test the back diff, but with the 2diffs and the clutch in between??

It should definately turn on the 4WD. But you will of course need to being going fast enough - i.e. not crawling full lock but a moderate pace. You should actually feel it engage! You will feel this little push from behind (almost like someone rear-ended you slightly) when it engages, you will not notice it disengaging. If the full-lock trick doesn't work, we mostly see the 4WD engage when pulling out of a ditch after letting a tractor go by (the folks live down a country lane). We the passenger front a rear wheels in the ditch or grass verge, rev the engine and pop the clutch you'll feel it then!

cargrouch

Good stuff jayok, I think I was going too slow. Lidl's car park on a saturday is not a great place to test a rear diff! Will try to find some grass the next day, without driving up on the green in someones estate or doing do-nuts on a football pitch.:D You're not based in kerry are ya? There's money in it if you cast an experienced eye over it! (D'oh - read "location" in future)

Anan, I hear what you're saying, and I appreciate your comments - they balance out the devil side of my conscience that says "buy it buy it!". Pretty happy bout the car but wanted to know how to minimise my risk without walking away. I know the best thing to do would be wait til one with fsh, the right price, mileage, colour, extras appears but I'll have more than the cost of a service spent touring the country looking for one by then. This ticks most boxes and seems ok.

The HRVs are very reliable by all accounts. I reckon T belt and diff fluid would be the only vital stuff if I had to do a service (filters etc I would do myself), and they wouldn't put me off at the price. I suppose I was looking for any way to tell if the belt had been done with no receipts to go on or if the diff was in trouble. I'd be less worried if there was some tippex on the belt cover.

cargrouch

OK, some more questions for anyone who's found themselves not 100% confident in assessing a car without a mechanic -

Would a random garage, say a honda one for the sake of it, look at it and give a thumbs up or a thumbs down on it? Or would they be reluctant to say it was OK in case someone made them stand over it if there was trouble??
Main dealer v small garage?? Any thoughts on this?

Any other options to get it checked before I hand over my biggest investment in a car yet?