UK car imports. Dani Motors Luton.

DarrenR

Anybody ever import a used car from Dani Motors in Luton? Their cars look very well but I know about the rust problem under a lot of UK cars.

User1998

Get a pre purchase inspection if your considered about rust

DarrenR

User1998 wrote: »

Get a pre purchase inspection if your considered about rust

I think they're a bit of a racket really. They're too expensive for what they do. Anybody can check to see if all the equipment in a car is working correctly. Checking for rust is easy to do yourself. AUTOGURUS 99 euro inspection is a joke. "We will drive the car up to second gear in a driveway or carpark" What would that reveal?
You need to get the opportunity to drive at higher speeds like 100kph to reveal certain issues like vibrations in steering etc.

I think a lot of these mechanics view a car inspection as an easy job compared to the labour involved in servicing your car or changing a clutch etc.

I was more interested in hearing from anyone who might have bought a car in the UK from Dani Motors in Luton. They're just 2 miles from Luton airport and seem to have nice looking cars.

Ta ceist agam

What exact car you interested in?

DarrenR

Ta ceist agam wrote: »

What exact car you interested in?

Dani Motors in Luton have a nice 2017 red Mazda 6 there. I did a video viewing of it. Looks in great condition all round. I had them show me underneath which was free of rust and the brake discs looked virtually new with no wear.

This quarantine crap on arrival back in Ireland is the problem though. They seem reputable enough but those google reviews can be just made up by mates of the dealer too.

I guess there's always a step into the unknown with a used car no matter where you get it from.

colm_mcm

If it’s a diesel Mazda6, you have a lot more than rust to worry about.

DarrenR

colm_mcm wrote: »

If it’s a diesel Mazda6, you have a lot more than rust to worry about.

I asked a mechanic about them. He said they can have engine problems but all cars can have issues. They're a lot of car for the money and the Sport Nav 2015 facelift models are really nice inside and drive great. I've test driven a few.

I had a golf before that was very troublesome. I think a lot depends on how the previous owner treated the car. I see a lot of other drivers tearing off fast only to brake hard soon after.

Ta ceist agam

The Mazda 6 is a beautiful car aesthetically and to drive.....however not as a private car as I'll always have it at the back of my head that the dreaded oil light will come on costing me 1,000s!!

Look at the owner reviews (most are dpf/oil related) It's got quite a low rating of 3.1 compared to other owner reviews reliability.

https://www.carbuyer.co.uk/reviews/mazda/mazda6/saloon/owner-reviews?problem=3#owner-reviews

User1998

DarrenR wrote: »

I think they're a bit of a racket really. They're too expensive for what they do. Anybody can check to see if all the equipment in a car is working correctly. Checking for rust is easy to do yourself. AUTOGURUS 99 euro inspection is a joke. "We will drive the car up to second gear in a driveway or carpark" What would that reveal?
You need to get the opportunity to drive at higher speeds like 100kph to reveal certain issues like vibrations in steering etc.

I think a lot of these mechanics view a car inspection as an easy job compared to the labour involved in servicing your car or changing a clutch etc.

I was more interested in hearing from anyone who might have bought a car in the UK from Dani Motors in Luton. They're just 2 miles from Luton airport and seem to have nice looking cars.

So why don’t you fly to the UK and check if the car has rust then?

You’d be much better looking at online reviews of the company than on here, the chances of someone on here buying from them are slim.

Ta ceist agam

User1998 wrote: »

So why don’t you fly to the UK and check if the car has rust then?

You’d be much better looking at online reviews of the company than on here, the chances of someone on here buying from them are slim.

Well I guess....if the guy didn't ask , how would he know?

Is that not what Boards.ie is for?


Is is this Mazda 6 OP?

https://www.danimotors.co.uk/used-mazda-6-luton-bedfordshire-2960559

Their promotional video is quite good

User1998

Ta ceist agam wrote: »

Well I guess....if the guy didn't ask , how would he know?

Is that not what Boards.ie is for?


Is is this Mazda 6 OP?

https://www.danimotors.co.uk/used-mazda-6-luton-bedfordshire-2960559

Their promotional video is quite good

Boards is for giving advice and answering questions isn’t it?. I suggested he look online for reviews because the chances are he isn’t going to get too many here on Boards lets be honest

Ta ceist agam

User1998 wrote: »

Boards is for giving advice and answering questions isn’t it?. I suggested he look online for reviews because the chances are he isn’t going to get too many here on Boards lets be honest

Is that not what the guy did?...........the guy seems genuine and doesn't want some 'go somewhere else' attittude!

He already explained about Google reviews.


Considering a lot of cars come from the UK and this forum is the Motor forum, his question is warranted!

If you don't have anything good to say or sound helpful advice to depart perhaps say nothing at all??

DarrenR

Ta ceist agam wrote: »

Well I guess....if the guy didn't ask , how would he know?

Is that not what Boards.ie is for?


Is is this Mazda 6 OP?

https://www.danimotors.co.uk/used-mazda-6-luton-bedfordshire-2960559

Their promotional video is quite good

That's the car. It's pretty nice I think. Not a spec of rust underneath as they were very obliging in showing me whatever I wanted to see in the live video viewing. They said they'd pick me up at Luton Airport 2 miles down the road. The damn 14 day quarantine is the problem though coming back. Couldn't be arranged at work. I'll keep an eye on their stock though and hope the UK gets added to the green list

User1998 comes across as a bit of a troll with sarcastic know it all type remarks. What's the problem with people like that. Does he think I need his permission to use this or what?

User1998

Didn’t mean to come across as unhelpful. You were concerned about rust on a car in the UK so I suggested a pre purchase inspection. Surely thats the only way you’ll find out if the car is rusty but you said no to that. Only other option is to go look yourself.

If I was buying from a dealer in the UK I’d look at online reviews or keep scrolling and try find some posts about them on UK forums because the chances are that your not going to find anyone who’s purchased from them on an Irish forum. For example if you look for the dealer on Autotrader you will find past reviews of previous customers, although as you say reviews can be made up.

Ta ceist agam

User1998 wrote: »

Didn’t mean to come across as unhelpful. You were concerned about rust on a car in the UK so I suggested a pre purchase inspection. Surely thats the only way you’ll find out if the car is rusty but you said no to that. Only other option is to go look yourself.

If I was buying from a dealer in the UK I’d look at online reviews or keep scrolling and try find some posts about them on UK forums because the chances are that your not going to find anyone who’s purchased from them on an Irish forum. For example if you look for the dealer on Autotrader you will find past reviews of previous customers, although as you say reviews can be made up.

This is a much more helpful post. Well done!


Still regardless of the dealer, the Mazda 6 diesel has questionable reliability!

DarrenR

User1998 wrote: »

Didn’t mean to come across as unhelpful. You were concerned about rust on a car in the UK so I suggested a pre purchase inspection. Surely thats the only way you’ll find out if the car is rusty but you said no to that. Only other option is to go look yourself.

If I was buying from a dealer in the UK I’d look at online reviews or keep scrolling and try find some posts about them on UK forums because the chances are that your not going to find anyone who’s purchased from them on an Irish forum. For example if you look for the dealer on Autotrader you will find past reviews of previous customers, although as you say reviews can be made up.

I think anybody could check for underbody rust pretty easily by simply looking themselves. As I said, these pre inspections are just an overpriced handy job( thank God I didn't miss the y there) and don't really give the peace of mind they often claim. The fuel pump or other parts could fail as soon as you drive off after buying the car.

It's always a risk buying a used car no matter where. My brother in law bought a 5 year old BMW 7 series from a main dealer here and was lucky he bought the premium warranty package as the auto gearbox needed replacing within a few months.

Aside from the increased chance of bad underbody rust, used UK cars almost always have far better interior and bodywork condition than an Irish used car of the same age and then there's usually at least a 1000 to 3000 euro saving over the price here.

mr_edge_to_you

DarrenR wrote: »

Aside from the increased chance of bad underbody rust, used UK cars almost always have far better interior and bodywork condition than an Irish used car of the same age and then there's usually at least a 1000 to 3000 euro saving over the price here.

That money will come in handy on the Mazda 6.

I wouldn't go near the diesel. All cars have issues but it seems to have loads. Mate had one as a company car that didn't even last the 3 years. Plenty of motorway driving, serviced on the dot in the dealership every time. Started acting up at the 2 year mark with DPF, later it was oil in the diesel despite apparently reconditioning the DPF and doing some other preventative work.

EDIT: Rather than a mechanic ask a recovery truck driver about them.

colm_mcm

DarrenR wrote: »

I asked a mechanic about them. He said they can have engine problems but all cars can have issues. They're a lot of car for the money and the Sport Nav 2015 facelift models are really nice inside and drive great. I've test driven a few.

I had a golf before that was very troublesome. I think a lot depends on how the previous owner treated the car. I see a lot of other drivers tearing off fast only to brake hard soon after.

All cars can have issues, but Mazda6 diesel is known for having common terminal engine issues.

I was tempted by a 2.2 Mazda3 last year and hoped Mazda had sorted out their 18 year long string of issues (such as pumping unused diesel into the oil sump) with their 2.0 and 2.2 engines, they are still having problems. On a different scale to their rivals.

DarrenR

Ta ceist agam wrote: »

This is a much more helpful post. Well done!


Still regardless of the dealer, the Mazda 6 diesel has questionable reliability!

I looked the reviews up. The negative reviews seemed to refer to the 08-13 model and the earlier 13- 15 models. The 15-20 models actually score quite high reliabilty reviews on the websites I found. They were top of my list and look way nicer than a bland Mondeo or Passat. I got into a Passat at a used car dealers immediately after the Mazda 6 and it was like "Old mans car" inside. I'd have to buy a much older Audi, BMW or Merc for the same price as a 16 or 17 Mazda. Diesel gives me the fuel economy I'd need and the Euro 6 diesels are very clean despite all the criticism of diesels out there now. They comply with the ULEZ zone in London.

Ta ceist agam

Oh there's no doubt the Mazda 6 is a beautiful car to sit in and drive, especially in higher spec with oyster leather.

But there's no point having your heart rule your head when you're on side of the road wondering why the oil light has come on......again!

DarrenR

Ta ceist agam wrote: »

Oh there's no doubt the Mazda 6 is a beautiful car to sit in and drive, especially in higher spec with oyster leather.

But there's no point having your heart rule your head when you're on side of the road wondering why the oil light has come on......again!

Do you drive one or know someone who does? I've never seen any broke down on the side of the road. I think these DPF filters have caused a lot of trouble with diesels and some people bought diesels whose driving requirements may have been better served by a petrol or petrol hybrid. I see diesels parked all day at train stations 4 miles from the house they came from. Diesels are more suited to long trips and I heard of similiar problems with many other diesels because they're not being driven in the manner more suited to a diesel.

I'm going to leave it for a while anyway and can't really complain about my 12 year old diesel laguna. Best car I ever had.

beggars_bush

DarrenR wrote: »

Do you drive one or know someone who does? I've never seen any broke down on the side of the road. I think these DPF filters have caused a lot of trouble with diesels and some people bought diesels whose driving requirements may have been better served by a petrol or petrol hybrid. I see diesels parked all day at train stations 4 miles from the house they came from. Diesels are more suited to long trips and I heard of similiar problems with many other diesels because they're not being driven in the manner more suited to a diesel.

I'm going to leave it for a while anyway and can't really complain about my 12 year old diesel laguna. Best car I ever had.

Talk to any mechanic in a large garage
They hate to see them coming in with issues

Ta ceist agam

DarrenR wrote: »

Do you drive one or know someone who does? I've never seen any broke down on the side of the road. I think these DPF filters have caused a lot of trouble with diesels and some people bought diesels whose driving requirements may have been better served by a petrol or petrol hybrid. I see diesels parked all day at train stations 4 miles from the house they came from. Diesels are more suited to long trips and I heard of similiar problems with many other diesels because they're not being driven in the manner more suited to a diesel.

I'm going to leave it for a while anyway and can't really complain about my 12 year old diesel laguna. Best car I ever had.

It was explained earlier on in the thread that it is simply not a case of a blocked dpf, the 2.2 designed by Mazda suffers from oil contamination as a result of the dpf...there's a big difference between these two issues!
One just needs a regen/dpf the other needs a new engine!!

I would feel more confident in your 12 year old Laguna reliability...they were actually a nice car and proved reliable.

big dar

Why does nobody consider a petrol Mazda 6 from Uk far more reliable surely

Munsterbhoy

big dar wrote: »

Why does nobody consider a petrol Mazda 6 from Uk far more reliable surely

OP seems to have his mind set on the mazda which is fair enough. Consider buying a third party warranty for that engine to give u a little piece of mínd.

cpoh1

Munsterbhoy wrote: »

OP seems to have his mind set on the mazda which is fair enough.

You can take the horse to water and all.

I think in 12 months down the line the OP will seriously regret not listening to the few on here who are giving some really good advice on the mazda 6 diesels.