Buying 10 year old car?

Weyhey

Looking to buy new used car but know feck all about buying one. Any help greatly appreciated.

Saw a 10 year old MPV. 3 owners. Under 5k euro asking price. 150k km. Need for school and work run, rarely long distances. Need for few years then get smaller car.

Cartel owner history says -
1st owner sale 16 days,
Trade 22 mths,
2nd Owner Private 65 mths,
3rd Owner Private 34 mths.
Trade/Current owner since end of May.

According to SIMI dealer they sold it 3 years ago and family who bought it were moving abroad and sold it back to them now. On website just a few days but cartel says current trade owner owns it since end of May.

Anyone got any idea about first two owners? Is it normal for 1st owner to own it for such a short time? Is second owner a demo car or rental or what? Does it matter?

Cartel say there is a mileage discrepancy but don't say by how much. We couldn't test drive car as battery was dead and if we give them an hour notice they can sort that out. As such we could not see mileage on display etc. How do we find out real mileage?

Full service history says car was serviced only 4 times, last one recently by current dealer.

Dealer has same spec model, 1 year younger at 2008, 20k less miles but 1.5k more expensive. 3 owners. Not sure which to go for.

Will test drive it, ask about accidents, get a mechanic to get inspect it, once I find one but apart from mileage discrepancy is there anything else I should be concerned about?

Any other advice any one could give me I would be very grateful.

Mooooo

Get insurance quote first,companies tend to put up price for10 yr old cars

TheShow

From what you've described there seems to be a few issues, I'd be very weary about it if I were you. You don't want to be buying someone else's problem.
Who are the car dealers? Make/model of car?

JohnBoy26

What make/model?

beauf

Our MPV had very little miles from the first owner. Apparently the people who bought it had teenage kids, who basically never went anywhere with there parents. Basically they didn't need a MPV when they bought it. It stood out because every other used MPV we looked at had a hard life interior wise. This one was like new inside.

It may be a odd spec that people don't want.

beauf

Mooooo wrote: »

Get insurance quote first,companies tend to put up price for10 yr old cars

Insurance is really a issue though.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Weyhey wrote: »

Looking to buy new used car but know feck all about buying one. Any help greatly appreciated.

Saw a 10 year old MPV. 3 owners. Under 5k euro asking price. 150k km. Need for school and work run, rarely long distances. Need for few years then get smaller car.

Cartel owner history says -
1st owner sale 16 days,
Trade 22 mths,
2nd Owner Private 65 mths,
3rd Owner Private 34 mths.
Trade/Current owner since end of May.

According to SIMI dealer they sold it 3 years ago and family who bought it were moving abroad and sold it back to them now. On website just a few days but cartel says current trade owner owns it since end of May.

Anyone got any idea about first two owners? Is it normal for 1st owner to own it for such a short time? Is second owner a demo car or rental or what? Does it matter?

Cartel say there is a mileage discrepancy but don't say by how much. We couldn't test drive car as battery was dead and if we give them an hour notice they can sort that out. As such we could not see mileage on display etc. How do we find out real mileage?

Full service history says car was serviced only 4 times, last one recently by current dealer.

Dealer has same spec model, 1 year younger at 2008, 20k less miles but 1.5k more expensive. 3 owners. Not sure which to go for.

Will test drive it, ask about accidents, get a mechanic to get inspect it, once I find one but apart from mileage discrepancy is there anything else I should be concerned about?

Any other advice any one could give me I would be very grateful.

I'd say the car was a pre-reg by the dealer, they register the car in order to up their sales numbers and then sell the car at a slightly cheaper price.

What MPV is it as €5k for a 10yr old car sounds quite expensive to me (maybe I'm wrong though)

Weyhey

Thanks Folks, I really appreciate it. It is a citroen c4 grand picasso by the way. Was also looking at some zafira's.

Our current car may be on its last legs and was tempted to try out a 7 seater for a few years. Doubt we will get loan for more than a few grand for the next few years.

At the age and price and from reading a few threads here it seems that dealer or private seller doesn't make much difference and to take any warranty being offered with a pinch of salt but of course to always get a mechanic to look at it.

I did notice that behind the hubcaps the wheels of the car were very rusty looking. Not sure if this a problem.

There are a few small scratches on the plastic bumper and on the side which the dealer said they were debating if to get them fixed and up the price or sell as it. Personally we don't really care about them as they are only cosmetic and chances are any car will get a few scratches coming in and out of our driveway!

grogi

Weyhey wrote: »

Thanks Folks, I really appreciate it. It is a citroen c4 grand picasso by the way. Was also looking at some zafira's.

If the Picasso is diesel, the 1.6 HDI from that era will break your heart, I cannot express how much better the units from 2012 are. Zafiras are not better.

Toyota Verso 1.8 petrol or Honda FRV 1.8 petrol, even an older one, would be a safer bet.

Weyhey

grogi wrote: »

If the Picasso is diesel, the 1.6 HDI from that era will break your heart, I cannot express how much better the units from 2012 are. Zafiras are not better.

Toyota Verso 1.8 petrol or Honda FRV 1.8 petrol, even an older one, would be a safer bet.

Only looking at petrol options.

bludcrazetiger

Weyhey wrote: »

Thanks Folks, I really appreciate it. It is a citroen c4 grand picasso by the way. Was also looking at some zafira's.

Our current car may be on its last legs and was tempted to try out a 7 seater for a few years. Doubt we will get loan for more than a few grand for the next few years.

At the age and price and from reading a few threads here it seems that dealer or private seller doesn't make much difference and to take any warranty being offered with a pinch of salt but of course to always get a mechanic to look at it.

I did notice that behind the hubcaps the wheels of the car were very rusty looking. Not sure if this a problem.

There are a few small scratches on the plastic bumper and on the side which the dealer said they were debating if to get them fixed and up the price or sell as it. Personally we don't really care about them as they are only cosmetic and chances are any car will get a few scratches coming in and out of our driveway!

I use to be a car salesman for various brands and as your man said its a pre-reg by the dealer, we use to register a car a month to get our numbers up - its very common! so don't let that put you off, and make sure you haggle to fook! I love haggling, I say i'd get this for 4200/4400 max!

Cee-Jay-Cee

Weyhey wrote: »

Thanks Folks, I really appreciate it. It is a citroen c4 grand picasso by the way. Was also looking at some zafira's.

Our current car may be on its last legs and was tempted to try out a 7 seater for a few years. Doubt we will get loan for more than a few grand for the next few years.

At the age and price and from reading a few threads here it seems that dealer or private seller doesn't make much difference and to take any warranty being offered with a pinch of salt but of course to always get a mechanic to look at it.

I did notice that behind the hubcaps the wheels of the car were very rusty looking. Not sure if this a problem.

There are a few small scratches on the plastic bumper and on the side which the dealer said they were debating if to get them fixed and up the price or sell as it. Personally we don't really care about them as they are only cosmetic and chances are any car will get a few scratches coming in and out of our driveway!

That's just a typical cheap line from a dealer, they have no intention of fixing the bumper. I'd have told him to shove it up his hole as its overpriced by a grand for an 07 car or that if he wants a sale to paint the bumpers and stop with the BS sales tactics as no one believes them.

If you look online then you can get an 09/10 Picasso for around the €5k mark so I wouldn't be in any rush to buy that one as its clearly overpriced and sounds tatty by all accounts.

kyeev

Check the car tax as well.
Some of the cars from 2008 onwards have horrendous CO2 values of 200g+ which is 1200 a year. Nope...
And pre 2008 engine cc car tax can be as bad on MPVs

JohnBoy26

kyeev wrote: »

Check the car tax as well.
Some of the cars from 2008 onwards have horrendous CO2 values of 200g+ which is 1200 a year. Nope...
And pre 2008 engine cc car tax can be as bad on MPVs

Anything registered from july 2008 will be on co2 and from jan to jun 2008 cars were put on whichever system was cheaper.