Service History - Used car

Poulgorm

A relative of mine is close to purchasing a 2008 (January) petrol 1.8 Avensis, with 30,500 miles on the clock. One owner, genuine mileage.

Seems in excellent condition. But it was only serviced twice in its life - at 10k and 20k miles. This means its oil and filter were changed every 4 years.

If she buys this car, will there be trouble down the line?

Skatedude

Modern cars often have 15000 service intervals, so not completely unusual , Get a AA inspection done to check, i wouldn't buy a car without one been done.

Mycroft H

Car should have been serviced annually regardless of mileage (15k or 1yr whichever comes first eg.)? Or is that no more?

I'm always cautious of these low milage cars.

CiniO

In my eyes, above car, wouldn't be worth any more than any other average petrol avensis from 2008 with average mileage and no service history.

Still worth buying IMO, but not worth paying anything extra for low mileage, considering there is a service history proving car wasn't serviced.

Poulgorm

I think what all manufacturers advise is to service the car at the specified mileage intervals or every 12 months, whichever comes first.

I am not a mechanic, but I read somewhere that it is due to the oil losing some of its lubrication properties over time, regardless of low mileage.

So, to come back to my question: do the mechanics here think it is a big gamble to buy the car?

I appreciate that there is no definitive yes or no answer. But if you have views based on your experience / knowledge, I would like to hear them. Thanks

Atlantic Dawn

You really would need to know more about the history of the car, like was it laid up for months/years at a time or was the reasoning of the low miles because perhaps they went to the local shop once a day and that was it.

Ask about the mileage, as said above (Was it lying up or just doing tiny journeys to school and back, or such).

I'd get a mechanic to give it a quick once-over before buying, but if it was me, I'd be happy enough with it, personally. First thing I'd do after buying it though is get it booked in for a full service with a good mechanic. Change everything that can be changed, from the filters to the spark plugs, etc. and at least you know that you're taking care of it from the first day of ownership. Mechanic will likely put a sticker on it with the mileage/date it was done, and then just stick to it rigidly. Every 10k or 12 months.


That'd be my approach anyway.

pablo128

Is it a UK import?

Poulgorm

No, it's not a UK import. Neither was it idle for any period. Just owned by a person who did very little mileage - about 4,000 miles per annum.

It is a 1.6 Avensis - I had thought it was 1.8

9935452

Poulgorm wrote: »

A relative of mine is close to purchasing a 2008 (January) petrol 1.8 Avensis, with 30,500 miles on the clock. One owner, genuine mileage.

Seems in excellent condition. But it was only serviced twice in its life - at 10k and 20k miles. This means its oil and filter were changed every 4 years.

If she buys this car, will there be trouble down the line?

That wouldnt bother me too much as long as the service hiistory shows the services were done at 4 years ,
There are an aweful lot of cars that come into the country with the first few services done main dealer and then the owner/indie does the rest of them and not stamp/fill in the service manual.
It makes it very easy to clock a car back to the last service

drunkmonkey

Look for body damage, dust under the paint, overspill of paint, paint under door handles etc. I'd expect an 8yr old car to have some but alarm bells should go off if it's more than 2 panels as it could have been sitting up after a crash.
I doubt it though if you think it's genuine, get it a good lube service and some new shoes. Interior should reflect the mileage, pedals/steering wheel not worn, seats not torn etc.

pablo128

Poulgorm wrote: »

No, it's not a UK import. Neither was it idle for any period. Just owned by a person who did very little mileage - about 4,000 miles per annum.

It is a 1.6 Avensis - I had thought it was 1.8

Is the clock in mph or kph? You are quoting miles but the car should have a kmh display if it's Irish. It may have even less 'mileage' than you think.;)

Poulgorm

pablo128 wrote: »

Is the clock in mph or kph? You are quoting miles but the car should have a kmh display if it's Irish. It may have even less 'mileage' than you think.;)

The clock is km - about 49k kilometres. I have to convert - I still think in miles!

pablo128

Poulgorm wrote: »

The clock is km - about 49k kilometres. I have to convert - I still think in miles!

Ah grand. So do I!

Poulgorm

I think I will advise my relative to buy it. It looks in perfect nick. The garage say they will service it - it already has an NCT to Jan 2018.

And, as advised, I will get my own mechanic to service it too - just to make sure that the service was done and check if anything was missed.

Thanks for all the advice - ye are a helpful bunch

ofcork

That car should give no bother,i had an 04 for over 7 years and never gave hassle actually think it was better quality than my 12 avensis.

bazz26

There was no 1.6 MkII Avensis sold in the UK so you can rule it out being an import.

Personally I'd be very reluctant to buy a car that only got an oil change every 4 years. An Avensis might be more forgiving in this matter over other makes but then again it cannot have been good for the car all the same By right that car should have had an oil and filter change at the minimum every 12 months. Hard one to call in this case.

JohnBoy26

bazz26 wrote: »

There was no 1.6 MkII Avensis sold in the UK so you can rule it out being an import.

Personally I'd be very reluctant to buy a car that only got an oil change every 4 years. An Avensis might be more forgiving in this matter over other makes but then again it cannot have been good for the car all the same By right that car should have had an oil and filter change at the minimum every 12 months. Hard one to call in this case.

I'll bet it won't make one iota of a difference in this case.

9935452

Poulgorm wrote: »

A relative of mine is close to purchasing a 2008 (January) petrol 1.8 Avensis, with 30,500 miles on the clock. One owner, genuine mileage.

Seems in excellent condition. But it was only serviced twice in its life - at 10k and 20k miles. This means its oil and filter were changed every 4 years.

If she buys this car, will there be trouble down the line?

Slight miscalculation here methinks .
The car is 8 years old and is due its 3rd service, so its has been serviced every 2.6/2.7 years so isnt as bad as we are thinking.
2.5 years still probably isnt serviced as much as it should be but isnt as bad as every 4 years

JohnBoy26

9935452 wrote: »

Slight miscalculation here methinks .
The car is 8 years old and is due its 3rd service, so its has been serviced every 2.6/2.7 years so isnt as bad as we are thinking.
2.5 years still probably isnt serviced as much as it should be but isnt as bad as every 4 years

Even if it was every 4 years I don't think it would make any difference with these small miles. I'd be more concerned about how it was driven over the last eight years tbh.

wandererz

I purchased a single owner 06 BMW with 25,000 miles on the clock @ 8 years old.

Don't be afraid. Just get it properly checked out and then get it fully serviced.
- Oil
- all filters: fuel filter, oil filter, air filter
- transmission/gearbox fluids,
- spark plugs/glow plugs
- Brake fluid

Take care of all of those basic service items and that should help you.

Poulgorm

9935452 wrote: »

Slight miscalculation here methinks .
The car is 8 years old and is due its 3rd service, so its has been serviced every 2.6/2.7 years so isnt as bad as we are thinking.
2.5 years still probably isnt serviced as much as it should be but isnt as bad as every 4 years

You're absolutely right. 2.5 years is much better than 4 years.

Del2005

Poulgorm wrote: »

I think I will advise my relative to buy it. It looks in perfect nick. The garage say they will service it - it already has an NCT to Jan 2018.

And, as advised, I will get my own mechanic to service it too - just to make sure that the service was done and check if anything was missed.

Thanks for all the advice - ye are a helpful bunch

No point in getting it serviced twice in the space of a few days to make up for years of neglect. But do get your mechanic to look over the car before she commits to buy.

have2flushtwice

Are you looking for a reason not to buy it? If you know it has been one owner, and know it hasn't been blagarded then buy it and don't mind the likes of jazz who wouldn't but it. I doubt bazz leaves the same service interval as the avenues has been through.

CJhaughey

Oil gets acidic during use, cars parked up with old oil in them for long periods can have acid erosion of bearings.
If the car clocked up that small mileage from doing small runs and never getting up to temp its like having all cold starts with minimal lubrication.
I'd rather a well used and serviced car than a low mileage low serviced car that has been hardly used except for short runs.

have2flushtwice

CJhaughey wrote: »

Oil gets acidic during use, cars parked up with old oil in them for long periods can have acid erosion of bearings.
If the car clocked up that small mileage from doing small runs and never getting up to temp its like having all cold starts with minimal lubrication.
I'd rather a well used and serviced car than a low mileage low serviced car that has been hardly used except for short runs.

Aren't short runs what petrol cars are better at?

CJhaughey

have2flushtwice wrote: »

Aren't short runs what petrol cars are better at?

There is short runs and short runs, yes petrol engines don't suffer like diesels from blocked DPF/FAP filters or EGR valves blocking up but no internal combustion engine benefits from multiple cold starts and short runs.

JohnBoy26

CJhaughey wrote: »

Oil gets acidic during use, cars parked up with old oil in them for long periods can have acid erosion of bearings.
If the car clocked up that small mileage from doing small runs and never getting up to temp its like having all cold starts with minimal lubrication.
I'd rather a well used and serviced car than a low mileage low serviced car that has been hardly used except for short runs.

Have you ever seen a case where 2.5 year old oil has caused acidic erosion of bearings on a low mileage car or where cold starts in cases like this have caused any damage? Personally I've never seen anything like that. I wouldn't buy the cold start thing either. Definitely not on a car like the op is looking at anyway.

ShaunieVW

I'd say it would still be a good buy, I would however flush all the fluids and give it a proper service.

My OH's mini does tiny mileage 7k km in 2 years. But we double up on its yearly services( every 6 months) as it only does small trips, we just replaced the cat too due to this. It's probably a bit overkill but better safe than sorry. I do it with my own as I do 13k miles a year so 2 services annually for me aswell.

walus

I'd say it will be fine. Give it a good service with all new fluids and filters, spark plugs etc. In 5k kilometres replace the oil and oil filter again. New oil should do a lot of cleaning of any deposits that might be present in the engine.

9935452

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Have you ever seen a case where 2.5 year old oil has caused acidic erosion of bearings on a low mileage car or where cold starts in cases like this have caused any damage? Personally I've never seen anything like that. I wouldn't buy the cold start thing either. Definitely not on a car like the op is looking at anyway.

What i find interesting is most manufacturers on long life servicing recommended a service at around 20k miles or 2 years.
So at what point does the oil get too old and cause problems.
Also If a dealer recommended yearly oil changes, its in their best interests as they get more work out of it

CJhaughey

9935452 wrote: »

What i find interesting is most manufacturers on long life servicing recommended a service at around 20k miles or 2 years.
So at what point does the oil get too old and cause problems.
Also If a dealer recommended yearly oil changes, its in their best interests as they get more work out of it

I have a belief that manufacturers have specced intervals that make it attractive for buyers due to low servicing costs during the warrantied period.
After the warranty is out then they need not worry too much.
At that point the engine could be mostly worn out but they don't see that as a problem.

Prisoner6409

Poulgorm wrote: »

A relative of mine is close to purchasing a 2008 (January) petrol 1.8 Avensis, with 30,500 miles on the clock. One owner, genuine mileage.

Seems in excellent condition. But it was only serviced twice in its life - at 10k and 20k miles. This means its oil and filter were changed every 4 years.

If she buys this car, will there be trouble down the line?

In my experience you can never be certain there will or will not be trouble down the line. Sure if the car was looked after and not raced around an estate doing hand brake turns every other night the likelihood is that it has a better than average chance not to give too much trouble but there is no way of knowing for sure. A car raced around an estate might have very low millage. What I am getting at is you will just have to make up your mind and bite the bullet, guarantees of the kind most people would like with second hand cars just aren't done. Get the car checked out by the AA, if they give the all clear and if the price is right, buy it.

savagethegoat

I expect it's sold by now....