Opinions on a car im going to look at

keyboard_cat

Hi all just wondering about opinions on a car i am going to look at its a 06 Octavia with 217,000 km (134,000 miles) on the clock
but after doing a car report with my wheels check the mileage was logged in March 2011 at 157,000 miles by a private contributor but assuming this was a mistake and it was meant to be put in at 157,000 km (as that is what the readout would be by default)
that would still mean there was still only 60,000km put on it in 5 years which seems very low. I called the owner and asked him about it and he said that the whoever put in the mileage must have made a mistake and that the service history would reflect that it has only had 60,000km put on it in the last 5 years.

also the first owner had the car from October 2006 - April 2015
owner 2 had it from April 2015- December 2015
owner 3 had it from December 2015 - February 2016
and it was sold to a garage in February
although it says no where on the done deal page that the guy is a garage however he has sold another car in December on done deal

it all seems a tad off to me and im just looking for some advice from some more seasoned buyers on how to proceed/ what i should check, or should i just run away

ShadowHearth

1. The milage issue will be your issue on resell as you will have to go through all dance yourself by explaining next buyer it's a mistake. On the other hand, how long are you planing on keeping it? In few years there octavias will be very cheap and not many people will bother with check.
2. There are plenty of octavias for sale right now, I know as I was looking at them myself. Maybe just go find one with no strings attached?
3. Owner number can mean anything. It could mean that every new owner after main one found something in a car thats too expensive to sort out so they sold it on. That would be even more true, because it went to garage and garage won't check properly traded in car like someone in private sale. So someone just took a hit and got wrid of it?

ironclaw

I'd be wary of any seller who is a garage or trader, but it is not open about it. I'd ask straight up who legally owns the car, its a fair question as its either a garage or an individual, there is no middle ground.

Also, with that mileage and the type of car in question, is there any possibility it was used as a taxi? Service history isn't worth much unless its backed up with receipts or is otherwise verifiable.

colm_mcm

Octavias are quite common second hand, if you're in doubt move on to the next one.
Is the service history verifiable? Is it main dealer history, or Fred in the shed with a bottle of tippex?

keyboard_cat

Yeah im not sure as of yet on the phone im told the service history is all there in the book but will know later today when i actually see it. is there anything that i should check out for in the service history book? would it be common for people to fake the stamps or anything like that?

I looked at another octavia at the weekend that appeared to be missing 5th gear altogether (to which i was told it worked before got in the car). and i was also assured the timing belt was done but when i asked to see the receipt i was shown tip-ex on the engine cover he didnt take appreciate me telling him that a bottle of tip-ex is about 498.50 euro cheaper then a timing belt :P

colm_mcm

Yes, service histories that have been transplanted from crashed cars happen. The only way to know is by contacting the garages that did the servicing.