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TRS30

Anyone any experience with N4cars?

Also need mechanic to look at a car. Any suggestions? The AA? Have asked them for a quote. Also are they car checks worth the €25??

haminka

I was looking at a car from N4 last week and that's my impression :
they obviously buy most of their cars in auctions and also take trade-ins from garages so the cars could be hit and miss. A mechanics should definitely have a look at the car before you buy it even if it just went through the NCT.
Now, I was looking at and test driving a car that on the paper looked really good but someone has obviously drove it to death because the engine sounded like a tractor, very noisy, the brakes were not working properly and pushing the gas pedal met with little response - this was one of the more expensive cars they had in stock so not sure about the cheaper cars.
I also ran the cartell check on the car and it said the colour is beige but the car in front of me definitely wasn't, it was light blue so another discrepancy. Again, that might not have anything to do with the dealer but it should set the alarm bells ringing.
I didn't buy the car and wouldn't have bought it even if it were in good condition because I didn't want the hassle of having to go back to them and argue should anything go wrong. If you are or know a good car mechanic, this shouldn't be a problem though, there's a chance you can buy a half decent car and make the necessary repairs yourself. If you're not, I'd stay away from them, only 3 months guarantee and anything could happen after that.

Anan1

I'm blue in the face saying this, but it's much safer (and cheaper) to buy privately from someone who's had the car a good while, can show a service history, and whom you trust.

TRS30

Anan1 wrote: »

I'm blue in the face saying this, but it's much safer (and cheaper) to buy privately from someone who's had the car a good while, can show a service history, and whom you trust.

Thanks for the replies.

The 'whom you trust' is the difficult part. None of my friends or anyone I know is selling the kind of car I am looking for........

Anyone any thoughts on the AA car check? How much, any good etc?

haminka

TRS30 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.

The 'whom you trust' is the difficult part. None of my friends or anyone I know is selling the kind of car I am looking for........

Anyone any thoughts on the AA car check? How much, any good etc?

think the biggest problem is actually getting hold of them, neigh on impossible

Anan1

TRS30 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.

The 'whom you trust' is the difficult part. None of my friends or anyone I know is selling the kind of car I am looking for........

I don't mean someone you know - you should always steer clear of that. The idea is to find the kind of person with both the finances and the inclination to take good care of their car.

TRS30 wrote: »

Anyone any thoughts on the AA car check? How much, any good etc?

It's thorough, but very expensive. I'd advise arranging with the owner for one/both of you to bring the car to a mechanic you trust for a once over, shouldn't cost more than €50.

TRS30

Anan1 wrote: »

I don't mean someone you know - you should always steer clear of that. The idea is to find the kind of person with both the finances and the inclination to take good care of their car.

It's thorough, but very expensive. I'd advise arranging with the owner for one/both of you to bring the car to a mechanic you trust for a once over, shouldn't cost more than €50.

I'm only looking at cars in the €2-2.5K range so not expecting anything amazing. Just need something that will be reliable for about 9/12 months and wouldn't need anything major done with it.

I have a mechanic who does all my work who said he would look at it for about that much. Most garages don't seem keen on letting cars go to other garages to be looked at so think i will go private. It's just the hassle of having to sell my own car......

antonb

Went to n4cars last week, the first car I tried wouldn't even start, on the second the passenger's window wouldn't open. Of course, the dealer swears that this is completely out of the ordinary ...

Hellrazer

I know the lads in N4 cars personally and theyre actually really sound blokes to deal with.Ive never had any problems with them before and people that I know that have bought cars off them have never had any issues with the cars either.

Sorry mods-didnt realise this thread was a few months old.I was more responding to the previous post.