Opinions regarding Cartell

Basq

Any opinions on Cartell and which report I should run .. or should I use one of the alternatives - Autocheck etc.?

Thinking of buying a 2001 Seat Ibiza 1.0 tomorrow.. but really wanna make sure I'm not getting a "lemon" as it's from a dealer who accepted it as a trade-in.

It's in great nick but car history is definitely a worrier. Should I go for the recommended 3 star report - €35?

ji

hi, if your buying it off a dealer there should be no need for the check..the dealer would be liable if theres any probs with the car..

Basq

It's not specifically a dealer.. they run a car auction and AFAIK.. I could be wrong.. but they don't offer a warranty with the cars they sell.

quarryman

ji wrote: »

hi, if your buying it off a dealer there should be no need for the check..the dealer would be liable if theres any probs with the car..

woah woah, don't be cushioning yourself with that belief. Dealers will generally avoid having to repair a car after its bought unless they have to. 3 months gearbox and engine is most likely the best you will get.

Basq: Is there any service history on the car? NCT'd? Is there anyone you know that knows their cars that can check it out before you buy?

If you are not fully happy walk away, its a buyers market now and there will be TONS of other Ibizas out there to choose from.

Eoin

Cartell won't give you the service history. It will tell you if it was written off. If it was crashed and repaired (without being written off), then this wouldn't be in the report.

Check the service history in the manual and verify it with the garages who stamped it.

Basq

quarryman wrote: »

Basq: Is there any service history on the car? NCT'd? Is there anyone you know that knows their cars that can check it out before you buy?

Didn't ask for service history. Car is NCT'd until October. There might be someone that can check it out for me alright.

quarryman wrote: »

If you are not fully happy walk away, its a buyers market now and there will be TONS of other Ibizas out there to choose from.

Problem is I'm quite happy with the actual car.. great price, great nick (etc) but I just want to make sure the history of the car (before it even reached the dealer) was "cushty"

Gurgle

basquille wrote: »

It's not specifically a dealer.. they run a car auction and AFAIK.. I could be wrong.. but they don't offer a warranty with the cars they sell.

Pure lottery in the car auctions, and I doubt you'll get a meaningful warranty anywhere for an 8yo car. Cartell or Autocheck can only report the official history, worth €35 if you're otherwise satisfied but shouldn't be a decision maker.

Check previous NCT certs (if available) and confirm that the mileage hasn't gone down.

As quarryman says, get someone you trust to check it over.

quarryman

basquille wrote: »

There might be someone that can check it out for me alright.

Do your absolute best to get a smart pair of eyes to check the car before any money is handed over. Can't emphasise how important this is.

basquille wrote: »

Problem is I'm quite happy with the actual car.. great price, great nick (etc) but I just want to make sure the history of the car (before it even reached the dealer) was "cushty"

You're probably right but often a great price and good condition can hide other things.

As Eoin says, the service history is not provided by Cartell. If its not with the car you're out of luck. Most likely the car is fine but its good to have, at least for when you're trying to sell.

Eoin

Ring the place and ask them for the details of the last place that serviced it. Ringing them might give you a good idea one way or the other. Have you inspected the service documentation in the car at all?

Basq

Cheers lads. Will see what I can do and let ye know what happens.

Eoin

Cool - just remember that it's a brilliant time to be a cash buyer, so there is no shortage of bargains to be had. You don't have to settle at all.

Basq

Nah, not gonna bother with it. Decided to pay the €35 and got the report from Cartell.

There's a couple of things I learned that I didn't know a few hours ago.

(i) it was imported from the UK
(ii) it had 2 plate changes while in the UK
(iii) the V5 (Vehicle Registration Document) indicates 3 previous owners, and number of owners as 4.

Too many things to consider.. am I being naive to think the dealer I'm buying from had no clue it was in the UK? As he told me it only had 2 owners. Surely a service history would have indicated a garage in the UK at some point.

While Cartell wasn't essential, I think it did give me the information to make me stay clear.

lifer_sean

basquille wrote: »

(ii) it had 2 plate changes while in the UK
(iii) the V5 (Vehicle Registration Document) indicates 3 previous owners, and number of owners as 4.

he told me it only had 2 owners.

I wouldn't get overly upset about the plate changes. Probably someone put it on a personal plate, and then returned it to a standard plate so that they would not have to let the personal plate go with the car.

On the number of owners, the dealer should have been straight up with you. Four owners in UK plus at least one in Ireland ... doesn't add up to the two he told you it had.

quarryman

If its been imported and this is not up front info from the dealer i would be taking a close look at the mileage.

You seem to have doubts yourself now. Walk away.

Basq

Don't know whether to even follow up with the dealer, if I didn't get all the facts first time round.

Still, car was great nick, mileage and value (haven't found one within €500 of the price I was paying) so maybe I was just trying to find good points to justify buying it!

Ah well.. the hunt continues!

-Chris-

basquille wrote: »

Nah, not gonna bother with it. Decided to pay the €35 and got the report from Cartell.

There's a couple of things I learned that I didn't know a few hours ago.

(i) it was imported from the UK
(ii) it had 2 plate changes while in the UK
(iii) the V5 (Vehicle Registration Document) indicates 3 previous owners, and number of owners as 4.

Too many things to consider.. am I being naive to think the dealer I'm buying from had no clue it was in the UK? As he told me it only had 2 owners. Surely a service history would have indicated a garage in the UK at some point.

While Cartell wasn't essential, I think it did give me the information to make me stay clear.

Alot of this info would be available through the carhistorycheck.ie website that the SIMI run, so if your dealer is an SIMI dealer they should have access to this info and should be giving you verifiable information.

Basq

After a bit of a think overnight, I really like the car and I'd hate for some "questionable" information to put me off it completely.

Might get in contact with the dealer and try and get some of these oversights looked into.

danjo

AudiChris wrote: »

Alot of this info would be available through the carhistorycheck.ie website that the SIMI run, so if your dealer is an SIMI dealer they should have access to this info and should be giving you verifiable information.

Chris,
Would this apply to a UK import?

danjo

Eoin

(i) it was imported from the UK
(ii) it had 2 plate changes while in the UK
(iii) the V5 (Vehicle Registration Document) indicates 3 previous owners, and number of owners as 4.

1) maybe not the usual profile of car to be imported, but that doesn't mean anything on its own

2) I don't know if this would be a big deal

3) hmmm, that's not really an outrageous number of owners - how long is it in Ireland for? If it's been sold every 2 years or so, it wouldn't bother me - that's about as often as I hold on to a car before I get bored.

The longer it has been in Ireland means the more service history you can verify, but unless you can do so, I would be hesitant. Don't just look at the stamps in the book - ring the places that serviced it and ask what work it had done, and what mileage was on it when they looked at it.

As I said, there is no reason to compromise as a cash buyer at the moment. It's not going to get more valuable as time goes on.

Carzone indicates that the asking price for a 2001 Ibiza is from about 2K to 4K. Factor in some negotiation for a quick sale and see if you're really getting that good a deal.

Basq

eoin wrote: »

1) maybe not the usual profile of car to be imported, but that doesn't mean anything on its own

2) I don't know if this would be a big deal

3) hmmm, that's not really an outrageous number of owners - how long is it in Ireland for? If it's been sold every 2 years or so, it wouldn't bother me - that's about as often as I hold on to a car before I get bored.

Yeah, none of things on their own mean anything.

But I think I'm more concerned about either the dealer didn't know (which let's face it.. he must of) or he didn't tell me!

eoin wrote: »

The longer it has been in Ireland means the more service history you can verify, but unless you can do so, I would be hesitant. Don't just look at the stamps in the book - ring the places that serviced it and ask what work it had done, and what mileage was on it when they looked at it.

Will try and get a service history on it today.

eoin wrote: »

Carzone indicates that the asking price for a 2001 Ibiza is from about 2K to 4K. Factor in some negotiation for a quick sale and see if you're really getting that good a deal.

He won't budge on €2.5K... but the average price I was getting on CBG was €3.5K but they do take newer cars into consideration with that.

If not - there's 2 2002 Seat Ibiza's for sale in dealers in my area for €2,950 and €3,300 - so gonna now and see if either of those are still available.

And I'm probably gonna give the 01 a wide berth!

-Chris-

danjo wrote: »

Chris,
Would this apply to a UK import?

danjo

Yep, it'll tell me if the car was written off in the UK or if it still has finance outstanding. I have number of owners both here and there, licence plate history, dates of change of ownership, NCT & tax expiry dates, speedometer reading at import etc. etc.

It's really an excellent system!

Padraig Mor

Maybe it's just me - but €2500 for a eight year old, five owner, imported 1 litre Ibiza with no history and a less-than-truthful dealer? Bit much...

Basq

Padraig Mor wrote: »

Maybe it's just me - but €2500 for a eight year old, five owner, imported 1 litre Ibiza with no history and a less-than-truthful dealer? Bit much...

Exact-a-mundo!



I was happy with it with the 2 owners but the increased number of owners is worrying me as is the less than truthful dealer.

I rang the two dealers selling the 02 Ibiza's. Waiting on a call from the one selling the one for 2.5K but the one for sale at 3.3K is still available.. not gonna pay that price mind. Definitely gonna get him down to at least 3 before buying. And it's a SIMI registered dealer too.

Basq

So just an update - here's how things went today.

Didn't hear back from the "less than truthful owner" and giving the car a wide berth.. too much to consider and don't think it's worth the money.

So, father went out to see a 7 year old Seat Ibiza (44,000 miles on the clock) in one of the local dealers - it's selling for 2,8K. Was at work so didn't get to drive it.. but he took it out and said it drove very well, very clean etc. But there was a slight hum off the engine when idling (could be a belt needing replaced) and also there was a small crack in the bumper. But the dealer would take care of all this for us.. and we could probably offer 2,6K I reckon.

Anyways.. that dealer was closed after work so went out to another one selling an identical Ibiza but €350 more with 5000 less miles on the clock. Drove than car and wasn't comfortable - see here as to why! I think this one is definitely out.. the dealer said he wouldn't budge on the price.. and to be honest, it wasn't the cleanest on the inside and there was more than a handful of scrapes (although most were small) on the paintwork.

So rang a guy about a 00 VW Polo (no idea of engine, NCT etc) being sold for €3,000. Was out to look at that earlier... 1 lady owner (was bought new) - his mother. Very clean, 49000 miles on the clock, timing belt was changed at 46000. 13" VW alloys, Semperit tires, full service history. 1 litre and NCT'd until next May. Lovely car to be honest. Was more comfortable in that than I was in the Ibiza previously.. well, about as comfortable as is to be expected from going from a 1.2 litre to a 1 litre. Asked about the price and said it was advertised incorrectly by his mother - he'll sell it for €2,350. To be honest.. it's a damn fine car and a good price for it methinks (though will try and get a bit more off it obviously).

Anyways, gonna try the Seat Ibiza the father drove today in the morning and see how that feels.. but with all the work that needs to be done to that, I think the Polo might be a safer bet.

Phew..... story over!

Par72

Does the previous number of owners include dealerships, e.g if a 4 year old car has been traded in to a dealership does that dealership then get listed as a previous owner?

Eoin

I don't think so, but I don't think many garages ever transfer it from the previous owner's name until it's sold anway.

-Chris-

Nope, you transfer the ownership to the dealership name using a form called an RF105. It doesn't add an owner.

Basq

Oh.. forgot about this!

Bought the 2000 Polo BTW.

Par72

Thanks guys, also, if buying from a dealer and cartell indicates there is a finance agreement in place regarding the car what is the position there?

-Chris-

Fair play. Wear well basquille!

-Chris-

Par72 wrote: »

Thanks guys, also, if buying from a dealer and cartell indicates there is a finance agreement in place regarding the car what is the position there?

I wouldn't have thought any dealer should be selling a car that still has o/s finance. That should be paid off by the customer before trade-in or rolled into the next finance agreement.

I'd certainly want it in writing from the dealer that the car will be free of finance at the timer of purchase.

Hogzy

Motors Section TBH

Eoin

Hogzy wrote: »

Motors Section TBH

This is the motors forum

Basq

Mustard section tbh?!

Hogzy

eoin wrote: »

This is the motors forum

:eek::eek::eek:
Whoops i though i was replying to a different thread, had two tabs open at the same time...

Carry on...