Viewed 4 passats - ALL discrepancies on Motorcheck !

dodzy

This is turning into an expensive hunt. Viewed 4 Passats over the last fortnight and all have thrown up significant discrepancies on MC.ie vs actual stated mileage. Getting to be a real pain at this stage !

In relation to INMR, does anybody know where this data comes from, in particular, Odometer readings ? Are the site results accurate ?

colm_mcm

Are you looking at the cheapest examples for the year or something, or how old a car are you looking at?

There can be discrepancies where miles are entered instead of km and vice versa.

Readings come from the motor industry through the cars life.

Sobanek

colm_mcm wrote: »

There can be discrepancies where miles are entered instead of km and vice versa.

Saved me from a heart attack alright.

dodzy

colm_mcm wrote: »

Are you looking at the cheapest examples for the year or something, or how old a car are you looking at?

There can be discrepancies where miles are entered instead of km and vice versa.

Readings come from the motor industry through the cars life.

Hi Colm, looking at 2006 2.0TDI. Budget circa 5K. All the discrepancies show as kms and miles alongside for ref. All data shows INMR. Any input from NCT here or is the data only collated from Main dealers ? Cant imagine an Indy having input in this situation ?

FYI, the differences are huge. Obviously, broken service histories on the ones I viewed or completely absent, which always raises a brow. One was an Eng Import which threw up a CAT C 4 yrs ago and twice the actual displayed mileage.

Supergurrier

Like Colm said kms are often entered as miles by people entering data halfarsed.

_Kaiser_

I feel your pain OP.. when I decided to change my Passat last year I looked at several A6's and even bought one, before finally getting my current one.

One that was described as immaculate and had flattering photos on DoneDeal was in reality badly scratched, had a dent the size of my fist above the fuel tank, misaligned front bumper and the dash was lit like a christmas tree of faults.
It also struck me as strange that they were willing to trade for mine without as much as starting the engine.

The first A6 I bought was back to the indy garage I got it from more than I owned it but to their credit, in the end they agreed to refund me in full and reverse the trade-in. They were willing to put it right, but my patience had run out.

After that, I decided there was no point buying a car like that (with so much electronics and potentially expensive faults) without a proper warranty so the next one I looked at - and bought - came from a main BMW dealer will a full warranty.

Cost me a bit more, but when one of the rear parking sensors failed it was replaced without any argument, and when it developed the "infamous" timing chain rattle, they ended up sending it to Audi to get it fixed. In the end I'd say it cost them a lot more than they made on the deal, but they stood behind it and when I next go looking they'll be my first point of call.

My own Passat was sold on within a fortnight, but then it was in perfect nick, full dealer history and looked after like it was my baby I checked there for you OP but it's not online so whoever has it must be happy

But the above is why I wouldn't bother with the likes of private sales or DoneDeal unless the car was basic and only worth about €2k (or whatever I could afford to "write off" if it came to it). Anything else is just asking for trouble IMO given the way (most) Irish people (don't) look after their cars. I'm not a mechanic, don't know any I could call on to come look at cars, and the idea of buying something for the best part of €10k with no comeback if it goes wrong?? :eek:

It's worth paying the extra at a reputable dealer IMO.

mgbgt1978

The problem with the Irish car check companies is that they don't have access to any reliable mileage database.
They won't even tell you what mileage should be on the car, usually because they don't know.....
They will ask you what the current mileage is and this is usually their only indication of what mileage is on a particular car (in other words you are doing the job for them).
They normally have an annual mileage average and if the figure you input during the check is not within a certain percentage of their estimated figure they will flag the car as a 'mileage discrepancy'.

HandsomeDan

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

The problem with the Irish car check companies is that they don't have access to any reliable mileage database.
They won't even tell you what mileage should be on the car, usually because they don't know.....
They will ask you what the current mileage is and this is usually their only indication of what mileage is on a particular car (in other words you are doing the job for them).
They normally have an annual mileage average and if the figure you input during the check is not within a certain percentage of their estimated figure they will flag the car as a 'mileage discrepancy'.

In fairness good data base or not, of course the current mileage will be an estimate. It's not like they follow the car around.

mgbgt1978

HandsomeDan wrote: »

In fairness good data base or not, of course the current mileage will be an estimate. It's not like they follow the car around.

If the NCT (for example) were to allow access to their database, for a fee, then a lot of guesswork would be avoided.

Other countries can do it.

What you seem to be missing is the point that the Irish Car check companies will simply flag a car as having a mileage discrepancy just because the current mileage is outside the 'average' figure for that particular model....regardless of whether the actual mileage is correct or not.
This can often result in a lost sale for sellers even though there is absolutely nothing underhand going on.

darragh o meara

Vag cars are incredibly easy to clock, I've had one done a few years back after I changed the cluster. Took yer man 2 mins at most to do. Btw I clocked the car up to its actual mileage,not the lower value on the replacement cluster.

Best thing to do if buying a Vag, is to invest in a vagcom cable and plug into any potential purchase. The true mileage is easy enough to check and clockers don't tend to change the value stored deeper in the ecu.

HandsomeDan

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

If the NCT (for example) were to allow access to their database, for a fee, then a lot of guesswork would be avoided.

Other countries can do it.

What you seem to be missing is the point that the Irish Car check companies will simply flag a car as having a mileage discrepancy just because the current mileage is outside the 'average' figure for that particular model....regardless of whether the actual mileage is correct or not.
This can often result in a lost sale for sellers even though there is absolutely nothing underhand going on.

Surely there's more to it than that. Are garage data bases not involved?

Xpro

Supergurrier wrote: »

Like Colm said kms are often entered as miles by people entering data halfarsed.

Yes, it appears to be a big issue with dealers. Because of KM/M selection, figures are often entered wrong. All tough easy to spot, but for any potential buyer seeing a big red highlight doesn't give a good first impression.

L-M

darragh o meara wrote: »

Vag cars are incredibly easy to clock, I've had one done a few years back after I changed the cluster. Took yer man 2 mins at most to do. Btw I clocked the car up to its actual mileage,not the lower value on the replacement cluster.

Best thing to do if buying a Vag, is to invest in a vagcom cable and plug into any potential purchase. The true mileage is easy enough to check and clockers don't tend to change the value stored deeper in the ecu.

Same on my Mk4 Golf when I upgraded the clocks, took less than 2 mins to change the mileage.