If a car for sale appears too good to be true, is it likely to be?

lukester

Am looking at a car (Octavia VRS) that is 3.5k cheaper than the cheapest one I've seen for sale with a dealer, and 2500k cheaper than the cheapest I've seen privately. The seller says it has a full history, and 'welcomes any inspection'. He also says it's priced 2k below dealer book value. My worry is that it's very high miles and has been clocked, or is damaged and repaired.

I spoke to the seller, and he didn't sound dodgy per se, but his answers were not entirely convincing. He also has another car for sale under his number, which he claims is his daughter's car, just using his number. The wording in that ad is nearly identical.

Any tips in general? Is it easy to fake a service history?

Like all seemingly good deals, it's tempting, but I can't understand why anyone would price quite so low at the outset. It just seems to good to be true.

Many thanks

Henry Ford III

Go see/drive it. Verify the service history - call the garage and check the invoices.

lukester

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Go see/drive it. Verify the service history - call the garage and check the invoices.

Thanks, great idea on phoning the garage. I guess my main worry is that it's been in a bad crash and has been fixed up to sell. This isn't helped by the fact that the seller has a few cars for sale at below average prices. Would a motorcheck report show up that it's been subject to an insurance claim?

blackbird98

as above, check with the garage, also find out how long he owns it, and if not long, ask for the previous owners contact details. if the car is straight, he shouldn't have a problem disclosing the details to you. contact the previous owner and see what he / she has to say.

be aware that the mileage could have been clocked with the previous owners agreement

snowman707

Dublin seller, selling DL and SO reg cars, a bit again the grain, but he could be totally genuine

off topic I know, also selling a watch on gumtree,

both cars appear very well valeted and the driver's seat of the skoda not showing undue wear,

as suggested check out invoice etc, and enquire about previous owners etc.,

Wicklowrider

If you stand to save so much wouldn't it be still a bargain if you brought along a mechanic to check it? And run one of the online car history checks - surely you'd save a packet either way? If genuine you have real bargain and if fake you'll save a fortune for about €150 for mechanic and online check?

I bought a car from a dealer just over a year ago. He had it advertised about 3K cheaper than others similar on carzone. I was able to contact the garage that serviced it and previous owner to verify details.Turned out to be a genuine bargain. In my case the dealer was a businessman keen on quick cash turnover and it would appear he works on very tight margins.
A red flag would be if he's snotty about any checks you want to do like contacting the servicer.

-Corkie-

If you are intrested in the car. get a report from www.motorcheck.ie . That will tell you if the car was crashed or clocked op.

I googled his number and nothing else came up only a ad for a watch.

djimi

Its possible that he is just looking for a quick sale (the only way to shift a car these days is to make it cheaper than the cheapest one available), but of course any signs of anything dodgy or the first time your head tells you something isnt right then walk away. As above, do all possible checks on the car first.

snowman707

-Corkie- wrote: »

I googled his number and nothing else came up only a ad for a watch.

& the honda

http://cars.donedeal.co.uk/for-sale/cars/1735037

EPM

Get a mehanic you trust to check it out along with a history check. Leave no stone unturned. It's highish mileage, a Donegal reg which can be a turn off to some and the powdercoated wheels are a questionable mod IMO so could be part of the reason for the price.

lukester

Thanks all, I'll dig further into this, ask lots of questions, and make some enquiries about the history of the car.

What put me off was when I asked why he was selling, he said a friend had a car at a really good price that he wanted to buy, hence was selling this car at a low price. But he's also selling another car, the CRV, at a low price (which he says isn't his, just his son or daugher used his number- but the wording in both ads is almost identical). Lots of his answers seemed just a bit vague. I got the feeling that he was not being entirely straight with me. For example when I asked him where he bought the car, he hummed and hawed and then said 'oh yeah, X garage in donegal'. Having just sold my own car recently, I know that I knew answers to such questions right away.

If he buys and sells cars for a living on the side, that's fine, but then it makes me wonder where he picked up 2 cars for such a cheap price.

mondeo

lukester wrote: »

Thanks all, I'll dig further into this, ask lots of questions, and make some enquiries about the history of the car.

What put me off was when I asked why he was selling, he said a friend had a car at a really good price that he wanted to buy, hence was selling this car at a low price. But he's also selling another car, the CRV, at a low price (which he says isn't his, just his son or daugher used his number- but the wording in both ads is almost identical). Lots of his answers seemed just a bit vague. I got the feeling that he was not being entirely straight with me. For example when I asked him where he bought the car, he hummed and hawed and then said 'oh yeah, X garage in donegal'. Having just sold my own car recently, I know that I knew answers to such questions right away.

If he buys and sells cars for a living on the side, that's fine, but then it makes me wonder where he picked up 2 cars for such a cheap price.

Why don't you stop asking yourself questions that you probably know the answer to.... If in doubt don't do it..... . The feeling I get from the seller has alot to do with whether I buy their car or not. I personaly would not buy a Donegal reg car as they rag the sh!te out of them up there, dont care what anyone says! Good luck anyways if you decide to view it

vectra

lukester wrote: »

Thanks all, I'll dig further into this, ask lots of questions, and make some enquiries about the history of the car.

Best bet is to ask over on vagdrivers.net
Those guys know almost every vRS in the country so maybe get a bit of backround history?

Eoin

-Corkie- wrote: »

If you are intrested in the car. get a report from www.motorcheck.ie . That will tell you if the car was crashed or clocked op.

It's not a guarantee. A repair might not have been paid for by the insurance company, or if it was, the car might not have been written off. Also, you could probably clock a car without being caught.

eoin

eoin wrote: »

Also, you could probably clock a car without being caught.

Without a shadow of a doubt, MotorCheck isn't quite the safety net many folks reckon it to be.

vectra

eoin wrote: »

you could probably clock a car without being caught.

I may be wrong here but if you or a friend has VAGcom and can hook it to the car it shows up the service intervals which would give an idea of mileage correct or not?

EPM

When I get the Leon serviced (identical car underneath) I get a print out of fault codes. Mostly contains bulbs blowing. The mileage is stated when the fault code is logged. Whether or not this changes if the odometer is tampered with I don't know.

deadlast

That car has been on donedeal for a while now i think. Nearly sure the last time i seen it it was up for 10-11k, about 6 weeks ago! Those alloys arent to everyones taste...might be an issue trying to sell it.

But as said already, check it out and ring the garages on the service history, and have a mechanic check it over.

Eoin

vectra wrote: »

I may be wrong here but if you or a friend has VAGcom and can hook it to the car it shows up the service intervals which would give an idea of mileage correct or not?

Perhaps, but a motorcheck report won't show that.