Buying a used car in Ireland guide

colm_mcm

DOSLUFC 92 wrote: »

Thanks for the swift reply. I've been lookin at 07 vw polo 1.2 with 161,000 kms with a dealer for 3,000 but when I first enquired it was 3500. When I first had a look it I noticed a few scratches and W&T which is the norm however I did notice a little condensation in the left rear indicator light and when I further inspected there was a little crack. I said this to the salesman and kinda fobbed me sayin that he'll knock 200 off the asking price. Do you think this is a good car for the price or should I look else where. Thanks again for the reply it's much appreciated

Polos are overrated junk in my opinion. I would look elsewhere to be honest. The dealers at this end of the market are usually a bit chancey, which is why I'd buy private. You might find something nice in a dealers, but remember they're better at selling than you are at buying.

bazz26

I'd look at a Ford Fiesta 1.25 litre in that price range, much better than a similar Polo.

Toyotafanboi

Lads I'm taking a bit of a leap of faith here and going to look at a car at Merlins.

What is the story you can just rock up and view it any time, then you pay your deposit to get into the auction on the day?

I understand you can't drive it but can you start it or is it purely a visual inspection and take your chances after that. It's (hopefully) a relatively cheap car but I'd hate to be badly stung.

Do you have to take the car at the end of the auction or do you have a timeframe to take it away?

Toyotafanboi

Might do a bit of a thread on it if I get the chance.

Went up this morning, the whole experience was a breeze and the people in Merlins were excellent. I had the winning bid on the car but unfortunately it didn't meet it's reserve. The auctioneers even after the auction were keen to help to strike a deal between me and the owner but there was too much middle ground for me so I had to walk away.

Disappointed not getting the car but the day out was good.

Biggest lickspittle on boardz

Mr Moon wrote: »

Anyone know a good car inspection crowd to use before buying?

Did you find someone in the end who was able to help you with this? I would also like to know if there is a website or list of car inspection mechanics that are prepared to undertake an inspection.

I did find this website but they don't seem to answer the phone!

http://www.assessireland.com

ELM327

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

Lads I'm taking a bit of a leap of faith here and going to look at a car at Merlins.

What is the story you can just rock up and view it any time, then you pay your deposit to get into the auction on the day?

You arrive any time within the opening hours. The viewing times are listed online. If you arrive within 1 hour or so of start time for the auction, you'll see the car being driven into the queue.

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

I understand you can't drive it but can you start it or is it purely a visual inspection and take your chances after that. It's (hopefully) a relatively cheap car but I'd hate to be badly stung.

If you're there before the auction starts and you ask the attendants you can either start it and give it a rev etc or they will do it. Generally. Not sure if thats policy or just how it is, but I've been to quite a few merlins auctions and bought stuff there in my time.

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

Do you have to take the car at the end of the auction or do you have a timeframe to take it away?

AFAIR it's 48 hours to remove the car.
I've always removed mine directly after the auction, so i am not sure how strict they are on the timeframes.

99 Bortles of Beer

Hi,

Looking at buying a used 151 Hyundai i20 from a Main Dealer.

Is it worth doing an online check on such a (relatively) new car? I imagine the answer is yes for peace of mind - but what's better to use, CarTell or MyWheels or MotorCheck?

Is there anything to be wary of with this particular make/model? And any tips in general?

Thanks!

colm_mcm

Yes, worth doing if spending a nice bit of money.


Link to the ad?

wilser

Am going to ring up about both of these vans early next week, but before I do is there any thing I should be wary of with either of these vans?
Which one would be the better buy? Not really clued in where cars are concerned so any advice greatly appreciated.

https://www.donedeal.ie/commercials-for-sale/renault-master-iii-fwd-mm33-100-comfort-inc-vat/16529587


https://www.donedeal.ie/commercials-for-sale/ford-transit-2013/17130969

sashab

What car would you recommend of this:

BMW Series 5 (2010-2011)
Mercedes E Class (2011)
Audi A5 (2009-2011)
Mercedes C Class (2008-2010)

Thanks

colm_mcm

I’d have the E class, then A5 (provided it was a good spec) then C Class, then 5 series. I’d go as far to avoid the 5 series.

sashab

colm_mcm wrote: »

I’d have the E class, then A5 (provided it was a good spec) then C Class, then 5 series. I’d go as far to avoid the 5 series.

Thanks, could you provide more details? Why E class and why not 5 series? When you have time. Thanks

colm_mcm

I don’t find the 5 that comfortable, there’s the worry about timing chains, they go through brake discs which are horrendous money quite quickly, and they’ve just got very common. The E class won’t be as engaging to drive but it seems more classy and it’s definately more comfortable.

sashab

colm_mcm wrote: »

I don’t find the 5 that comfortable, there’s the worry about timing chains, they go through brake discs which are horrendous money quite quickly, and they’ve just got very common. The E class won’t be as engaging to drive but it seems more classy and it’s definately more comfortable.

Thank you and from your experience what are lowest point for Mercedes E and Audi A5? Thanks a lot.

99 Bortles of Beer

Is it worth doing a paid reg check when buying a used car from a prominent main dealer?

Also, should there be an scepticism on buying a 142 with just under 10k km (petrol) again from a prominent main dealer?

colm_mcm

Yeah do one anyway. I’d check that it got its annual service as it mightn’t have had an oil change in 4 years.

colm_mcm

Have you a link to the ad?

99 Bortles of Beer

colm_mcm wrote: »

Have you a link to the ad?

We put a holding deposit on it today and the ad has been taken down. Still have to see the service history and make sure it's as described, but deposit is refundable if not up to scratch so not too worried.

It's a 142 Golf 1.2 TSI 105BHP M5F, Highline.

We're not big drivers at all and rarely venture outside of Dublin, so would be surprised if we added more than 5k km per annum to it. Still, we wanted something with low milage and good interior + exterior spec so that it retains some resale or trade in value in a few years.

Happy to take on board any advice/feedback/suggestions.

colm_mcm

Deffo make sure it’s been serviced aside from the he one it’ll have got for the sale. These 1.2 turbos can give timing chain issues so I’d imagine a service history will help.

99 Bortles of Beer

Actually something I've picked up on the Car Tell report.

Since 2014, it was taxed 3 years in a row for 12 months at a time:

June 2014 - June 2015
June 2015 - June 2016
June 2016 - June 2017

Then it was taxed for 3 months:

June 2017 - End of September 2017.

Then it wasn't taxed again until the end of November, for 4 months covering the back tax, last up to the end of January:

So, legally the car was off the road from the end of September to the end of November, is that correct?

Are either of these a cause for concern -
(1) The fact that the car was not taxed / off the road for 2 months
(2) The taxing cycle changed from regular year long tax discs to short term tax discs? (Car has only had 1 owner)

There was also 2 CarTell requests done on the car - one in July, one in December - both down as "Trade" customer types.

Thanks for any advice!

grogi

99 Bortles of Beer wrote: »

Thanks for any advice!

In July 2017 the owner went to the dealer to see what they could upgrade for. The dealer did a cartel and promised to deliver a new car by the end of September. When the delivery was delayed and delayed, the owner got fed up and decided they are going to wait to get 181 reg, hence taxed the car again.

99 Bortles of Beer

grogi wrote: »

In July 2017 the owner went to the dealer to see what they could upgrade for. The dealer did a cartel and promised to deliver a new car by the end of September. When the delivery was delayed and delayed, the owner got fed up and decided they are going to wait to get 181 reg, hence taxed the car again.

Sounds feasible. Why would someone upgrade after 4 years after only putting less than 10k miles on the 142 though? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to dot all I's and cross all T's

colm_mcm

People are strange.

99 Bortles of Beer

99 Bortles of Beer wrote: »

Sounds feasible. Why would someone upgrade after 4 years after only putting less than 10k miles on the 142 though? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to dot all I's and cross all T's

You're new here. :pac:

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057824853

There's a guy who trades up his focus every year for the new reg. People are very strange.

99 Bortles of Beer

Stupid question. "Dijon" alloys for a Hold - is this referring to a colour or model/style?

grogi

99 Bortles of Beer wrote: »

Stupid question. "Dijon" alloys for a Hold - is this referring to a colour or model/style?

Those are Dijon alloys

99 Bortles of Beer

Thanks Gorgi - that's what I thought, and that's what I expected when we were told the car had dijon alloys - just wanted to make sure I was correct in that assumption! Instead, it had these:



Which I just don't like at all.

Looks like the sale has fallen through, as when I put it to them that we put the deposit down having been told it had dijon alloys and that's what we wanted - they won't budge. Told us that they "had miscalculated the price anyway, and were actually selling at a loss and if we pull out, it'll be relisted at a higher price tomorrow".

Which I'm sure gets trotted out all the time, but ultimately I don't care what condition the car is in or what great milage it has - if it doesn't have the spec we want, then the condition is irrelevant.

Thanks for your advice too Colm. I'll be back to annoy ye when we find another car!

99 Bortles of Beer

Sounds like we dodged a bullet on that one. My partner went to look at the car today, with the intent of either getting them down on price due to the alloys not being as advertised (not only were they not the style that was advertised, but they were also only 16" instead of 17" like we were told) or having our deposit refunded.

She was tempted to go ahead with the purchase anyway, until she asked to see the full service history. He said he didn't have it, that MSL serviced the car and he'd have to get it off them and they usually wouldn't release that info. When she asked did he not have a service book to show the details, he said he didn't have it to hand - this was at the showroom with the car parked outside. He kept asking her if the service history was a dealbreaker (!!!) and countered by saying their pre-sale service would be fully detailed.

He kept glossing over the fact he didn't have the service history, and then had the gall to tell her that as it was only less than 10,000km that it wouldn't even have needed a service. And that sure we had a 12 month warranty on it if we bough it anyway! She reminded him that it was a 4 year old car, and a regular service was an absolute must and a certain dealbreaker.

All this after he had assured us when we put the deposit down that it had a full service history :rolleyes:

Add all that to the fact that he turned on the radio when she sat in to test drive it, and that it made some funny sounds while the salesman drove it too (which he attributed to him "not being used to driving a manual")...... yeah, I think we dodged a lemon there.

Very disappointing from a main dealer. When she told me all the above, I phoned them and asked for a refund of our deposit immediately. Will be taking our business elsewhere.

RobFowl

Been looking at some SUV's and wondering what difference getting a jeep with commercial tax would mean, am just a regular Joe Soap and would I have to change it or what??

gandalfio

Hi. I'm considering buying a 1.7 petrol Hyundai i40. Any advice or experience of this car? Reliability, Mpg etc.
It's hard to find details online as the petrol version was discontinued a few years ago and there aren't many around.