Buyer

ducie

Buying a second hand car and im afraid it might be clocked. any advice on obvious tell tale signs to look out for?
thanks

unkel

If you're afraid it might be clocked, why don't you just walk away? Plenty more (unclocked) fish in the sea...

Anan1

Without a FSH i'd pretty much assume a car's been clocked.

ducie

unkel wrote: »

If you're afraid it might be clocked, why don't you just walk away? Plenty more (unclocked) fish in the sea...

id be just wary of any cars which has low mileage for its age of being clocked.

djimi

ducie wrote: »

id be just wary of any cars which has low mileage for its age of being clocked.

Im the same. There are some genuine cases, but when you see a 10 year old car come in from Japan with 30000 miles on the clock alarm bells always start to ring, even taking into account their old tax system.

biko

Look at pedal rubber and other bits, like boot lining etc. If mileage is low and everything else seems in good order car might not be clocked.
If the rest is old and crappy but mileage is 25K, then best walk away.

Try googling dealers name http://www.google.ie/search?hl=en&q=dealer+clocked+cars to see if they been done for clocking.

Enigma IE

Anan1 wrote: »

Without a FSH i'd pretty much assume a car's been clocked.

My car came without a service history, I had an experienced mechanic check it out, his experience told me the miles were genuine.

OP, I don't think we should assume cars are automatically clocked if they can't produce a FSH, however we should take extra precautions, look for some of the tell-tale signs above, and where possible, get a trained eye to check it out on your behalf.

johnos1984

U would advice you to check any service history with the garages mentioned in it.

They are very cheap to buy from ebay and get stamped up

The book:
http://cgi.ebay.ie/FORD-KUGA-Owners-Service-History-Book-Handbook-Manual-/140414750667?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_CarParts_Vehicles_Manuals_Litterature_ET&hash=item20b15f0fcb

the stamp:

http://cgi.ebay.ie/RUBBER-STAMPS-GREAT-SERVICE-GOOD-F-BACK-HISTORY-/230479433428?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Crafts_RubberStamping_RL&hash=item35a9a50ed4#ht_661wt_930

ducie

johnos1984 wrote: »

U would advice you to check any service history with the garages mentioned in it.

They are very cheap to buy from ebay and get stamped up

The book:
http://cgi.ebay.ie/FORD-KUGA-Owners-Service-History-Book-Handbook-Manual-/140414750667?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_CarParts_Vehicles_Manuals_Litterature_ET&hash=item20b15f0fcb

the stamp:

http://cgi.ebay.ie/RUBBER-STAMPS-GREAT-SERVICE-GOOD-F-BACK-HISTORY-/230479433428?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Crafts_RubberStamping_RL&hash=item35a9a50ed4#ht_661wt_930

stuff like that is why i am wary of cars. and buying private is even worse

Anan1

ducie wrote: »

stuff like that is why i am wary of cars. and buying private is even worse

I think buying privately is safer, you get to meet the owner. No matter where I was buying, i'd take the time to verify the SH.

johnos1984

Your best bet is firstly to look around the car, if it low miles with many stone chips or high miles without them I'd look more into the cars history.

Check the steering wheel, gear knob and pedals for wear. Also look at the switches for wear from people using them (window switches, radio buttons, wiper stalks)

Then check the seats and condition of upholstery.

Check the paint in different lights to see if panels have been resprayed. Don't buy a car in the wet or that is wet as you won't be able to check if the paint is faded.

If in any doubt do three things:

1) Ask to speak to the previous owner, ask for their name and number, some garages will call them some will give you the number.

2) Check the cars history

3) Get someone who knows their cars to look it over and ask questions on your behalf

Without a history you are going on the condition of the car and high mileage cars can be better maintained then low mileage ones. Each kind has pitfalls.

If you are not happy after the 3 above checks or for any reason walk away as you will never be happy with the car! At the very least I would do two of the above checks MINIMUM

ducie

johnos1984 wrote: »

Your best bet is firstly to look around the car, if it low miles with many stone chips or high miles without them I'd look more into the cars history.

Check the steering wheel, gear knob and pedals for wear. Also look at the switches for wear from people using them (window switches, radio buttons, wiper stalks)

Then check the seats and condition of upholstery.

Check the paint in different lights to see if panels have been resprayed. Don't buy a car in the wet or that is wet as you won't be able to check if the paint is faded.

If in any doubt do three things:

1) Ask to speak to the previous owner, ask for their name and number, some garages will call them some will give you the number.

2) Check the cars history

3) Get someone who knows their cars to look it over and ask questions on your behalf

Without a history you are going on the condition of the car and high mileage cars can be better maintained then low mileage ones. Each kind has pitfalls.

If you are not happy after the 3 above checks or for any reason walk away as you will never be happy with the car! At the very least I would do two of the above checks MINIMUM

cheers, good advice

ducie

one of the cars im going to look at, 06 Golf 46,000 miles

johnos1984

ducie wrote: »

one of the cars im going to look at, 06 Golf 46,000 miles

Link?

TDI or petrol?

ducie

johnos1984 wrote: »

Link?

TDI or petrol?

sorry no link.

TDI

Anan1

Has it a service history? Is it private or from a dealer? How many owners?

ducie

its private. not sure of the details, will be looking in to them tho

Anan1

ducie wrote: »

its private. not sure of the details, will be looking in to them tho

When buying privately you can tell a lot from the owner, particularly if they've had the car from new.

johnos1984

That seems very low miles for a TDI of that vintage although I do know of a number of people who bought them and have covered low mileage.

As said do the usual checks and make sure you get a second set of experienced eyes to view it.

ducie

ill be bringinng a mechanic. would be a great buy if genuine i reckon.

Gumbo

johnos1984 wrote: »

That seems very low miles for a TDI of that vintage although I do know of a number of people who bought them and have covered low mileage.

As said do the usual checks and make sure you get a second set of experienced eyes to view it.

there are alot of low mileage diesels out there, people that just said one day that diesel is the way forward im buying for more MPG etc etc etc

my other half included, has an 07 318d M-Sport and it just turned over 40,000KM the other day. its 3 years old on the 28th of this month.

johnos1984

kceire wrote: »

there are alot of low mileage diesels out there, people that just said one day that diesel is the way forward im buying for more MPG etc etc etc

my other half included, has an 07 318d M-Sport and it just turned over 40,000KM the other day. its 3 years old on the 28th of this month.

Sorry I just meant it as an observation. Your quiet correct there are many low mileage diesels out there but this can create problems in itself.

Many were sold on the 'great mpg' idea but didn't factor in high purchase price, higher tax, higher servicing costs etc. and ended up loosing money in the long run.............have said that it has created some great value for the second hand buyer now!

Check it over properly and if its a good one it should be a great purchase

Gumbo

johnos1984 wrote: »

Sorry I just meant it as an observation. Your quiet correct there are many low mileage diesels out there but this can create problems in itself.

Many were sold on the 'great mpg' idea but didn't factor in high purchase price, higher tax, higher servicing costs etc. and ended up loosing money in the long run.............have said that it has created some great value for the second hand buyer now!

Check it over properly and if its a good one it should be a great purchase

yeah as you say once it checks out properly your laughung, my GF bought the 3 series from another guy i know who bought it brand new in Joe Duffys in 2007 so yeah the second hand vale is great for buyers currently.