# car check



## kiwijbob (18 Sep 2007)

does any know if Bernard Kelly is still on the go with 
Carcheck, I was on the site last year and now it puts 
me straight through to motorcheck who only provide 
information on cars.  I need a pre purchase inspection, 
anyone else provide the service where the inspector 
will visit the car i.e. not carsireland?

cheers


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## Caveat (18 Sep 2007)

Yes still on the go.

Some weird kind of domain hijacking (or something!?) going on. I think their new site should be up soon.

You can still reach Bernard at 1850 909090.


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## kiwijbob (18 Sep 2007)

thanks


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## Jeff_24 (18 Sep 2007)

Try this handy little site:  

It may not be what you're after gives the number of owners on the car and other intersting information.


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## foxylady (19 Sep 2007)

Jeff_24 said:


> Try this handy little site:
> 
> It may not be what you're after gives the number of owners on the car and other intersting information.


 
Thats a very interesting site. I just ran a check on a car I almost bought at the weekend and it says that it had 3 owners, garage is claiming only 2 owners.


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## Caveat (19 Sep 2007)

foxylady said:


> Thats a very interesting site. I just ran a check on a car I almost bought at the weekend and it says that it had 3 owners, garage is claiming only 2 owners.


 
Sometimes what happens here is that the car is registered to the garage for a few weeks/months as a demo car - or maybe it just doesn't sell for a while.  Officially, the garage is counted as another 'owner' - although they don't usually include this to you in their list of owners.


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## foxylady (19 Sep 2007)

I thought that as well but last car I bought was out of garage and I checked this out also and amount of owners added up and didnt include the garage.


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## Caveat (19 Sep 2007)

foxylady said:


> I thought that as well but last car I bought was out of garage and I checked this out also and amount of owners added up and didnt include the garage.


 
Not sure about that one - maybe if the car was only just traded in and was with the garage for only a day or something it never got officially registered to the garage? I'd guess to avoid unnecessary paperwork garages maybe hold off on doing anything for a week or so in case the car moves quickly - only a guess though. 

Anyway, for anything relating to your new car purchase, I'd strongly recommend Bernard Kelly (above) for a very thorough mechanical and history check (no connection BTW).

Have used him a number of times - excellent service.


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## foxylady (19 Sep 2007)

Caveat said:


> Not sure about that one - maybe if the car was only just traded in and was with the garage for only a day or something it never got officially registered to the garage? I'd guess to avoid unnecessary paperwork garages maybe hold off on doing anything for a week or so in case the car moves quickly - only a guess though.
> 
> Anyway, for anything relating to your new car purchase, I'd strongly recommend Bernard Kelly (above) for a very thorough mechanical and history check (no connection BTW).
> 
> ...


 


Cheers for that. Have v reliable mechanic though, its the dealers that are a prob, dont want to give proper warranties .


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## Caveat (19 Sep 2007)

foxylady said:


> Cheers for that. Have v reliable mechanic though, its the dealers that are a prob, dont want to give proper warranties .


 
Yeah, think you were saying this on another post (or maybe it was someone else).  Sounds a little strange to me.

I always buy 2nd hand and have never been offered anything less than 1 year warranty - in fact on a couple of occasions I've gone a week or two over the year and the garage still repaired minor things (e.g. horn not working) free of charge.

What are the dealers offering you? Are the cars you are looking at more than 7 years old maybe? (sometimes decent warranties are difficult to get on cars this age).


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## Mr2 (19 Sep 2007)

foxylady, I just typed a few reg's in to that site, maybe not 100%.
It does ask you to "choose" how many owners!

Checked a '98 car came up with 5 owners, It's my mothers and she is the second owner since '01. Says so on tax book.

'05 car that a was bought last November is comming up with 1 owner. He's the second owner.

Maybe it's guessing as to the age of the veh to how many owners it's had, so I wouldn't condem the dealer with out asking
to see the tax book of the car etc.

While a car is in a garage unless it's a demo, the garage will not go on the Tax book as an owner. The car is supposed to be off the road.
If the garage is down as an owner it may have taxed the car for a few months and driven it for a while but then it is down as an owner.


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## Goggin (19 Sep 2007)

yes - glad I read the other posts - averted a slight heart attack. Mrs Goggin just got a new (second hand) car with one owner. This site says there are 4 previous owners. Regular heartbeat has now resumed.


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## foxylady (19 Sep 2007)

Caveat said:


> Yeah, think you were saying this on another post (or maybe it was someone else). Sounds a little strange to me.
> 
> I always buy 2nd hand and have never been offered anything less than 1 year warranty - in fact on a couple of occasions I've gone a week or two over the year and the garage still repaired minor things (e.g. horn not working) free of charge.
> 
> What are the dealers offering you? Are the cars you are looking at more than 7 years old maybe? (sometimes decent warranties are difficult to get on cars this age).


 

Oldest Car I have been looking at is 02 which is hardly ancient to be fair, and most garages I have contacted are saying they only give gearbox and engine warranty and that I wont get a full warranty anywhere oh and they are only offering 3 months as well on car this age.


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## Caveat (19 Sep 2007)

foxylady said:


> wont get a full warranty anywhere


 
Absolute rubbish.  My advice would be to go outside Dublin - if you buy a car with a good reliability rep it will be very unlikely that you will have to go back to the dealer within the year anyway.  From outside of warranty onwards - just use your local mechanic.

Outside of Dublin you will probably pay less and will almost certainly get your 1 year warranty on any 02 car.


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## foxylady (19 Sep 2007)

Caveat said:


> Absolute rubbish. My advice would be to go outside Dublin - if you buy a car with a good reliability rep it will be very unlikely that you will have to go back to the dealer within the year anyway. From outside of warranty onwards - just use your local mechanic.
> 
> Outside of Dublin you will probably pay less and will almost certainly get your 1 year warranty on any 02 car.


 

I agree when u say that its rubbish but that is the line I am being fed from several dealers and I would be lucky to get a 6mth warranty never mind  a year, its amazing what they can get away with.


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## Jeff_24 (19 Sep 2007)

Mr2 said:


> foxylady, I just typed a few reg's in to that site, maybe not 100%.
> It does ask you to "choose" how many owners!



It is not solely a vehicle data information website. It is for entering cars onto the Merlin Car Auctions website, explaining why it gives you the option to fill in missing information. It does give good clues to a car's history though. It is most likely telling the truth about the number of owners the car has had and when the tax and NCT expire. When I typed in my car registration everything that came up was correct to my knowledge.


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## Mr2 (20 Sep 2007)

Jeff 24, I understand that, but foxylady was taking the site that it was bible and thought the garage was pulling the wool over her eyes as they said a car she looked at had fewer owners that the web site and hence was now not going to buy from the dealer.

On a car that 5 years old ('02) how much warranty do you expect?
If you got a warranty for 3 or 6 months that would cover anything that could go wrong with Engine/Gearbox. But when people come back with shocks/clutch/ bushings etc that have signs of wear as the car is 5 years old. Then they "go" and require replacing. How does a garage make a profit?

Does it get a 5 year old car, replace everything and then put a price way out of line with the market and never sell it but put a full years warranty on it and use this as it's sell point?

Or does it service the car, replace the parts the car requires now and offer a 3 month warranty and if it comes back in that time, fix it. At that we may or may not make a profit.


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## Caveat (20 Sep 2007)

Mr2 said:


> Jeff 24, I understand that, but foxylady was taking the site that it was bible and thought the garage was pulling the wool over her eyes as they said a car she looked at had fewer owners that the web site and hence was now not going to buy from the dealer.
> 
> On a car that 5 years old ('02) how much warranty do you expect?
> If you got a warranty for 3 or 6 months that would cover anything that could go wrong with Engine/Gearbox. But when people come back with shocks/clutch/ bushings etc that have signs of wear as the car is 5 years old. Then they "go" and require replacing. How does a garage make a profit?
> ...


 
I think you said before that you were in a garage Mr2 - are you saying that you don't generally give any more than 3 or 6 month warranty on a 5 year old car? 

Is this a Dublin thing or something? 
I've bought a number of 5 year old cars (all in 'the country') and have never been offered anything less than 1 year warranty.


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## foxylady (20 Sep 2007)

Mr2 said:


> Jeff 24, I understand that, but foxylady was taking the site that it was bible and thought the garage was pulling the wool over her eyes as they said a car she looked at had fewer owners that the web site and hence was now not going to buy from the dealer.
> 
> On a car that 5 years old ('02) how much warranty do you expect?
> If you got a warranty for 3 or 6 months that would cover anything that could go wrong with Engine/Gearbox. But when people come back with shocks/clutch/ bushings etc that have signs of wear as the car is 5 years old. Then they "go" and require replacing. How does a garage make a profit?
> ...


 

I was not taking this as bible but merely saying that it was very interesting. 

Are you trying to tell me that a garage would not try to pull the wool over my eyes???

As for what warranty would I expect, I would expect a full warranty inlcuding parts and labour and if a garage cant give this then they are saying that they are not prepared to stand over what they are selling. Are they then saying that the car is not roadworthy??


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## Mr2 (20 Sep 2007)

Caveat, generally speaking, we would not have a car on our forecourt (most main dealers at the moment) older that 4 years. As a result we do give a warranty of 1 year on our cars but they will not usually have more than 60,000 miles/100,000 kms on the clock. We are not a Dublin dealer.
If as you say you have bought a number of 5 year old cars with a warranty they are not SIMI approved franchise dealers as we are. I'd assume they are multi-dealers with out franchise.

foxylady, SIMI, franchise dealer would not intentionally "pull the wool over your eyes". Many other dealers would.
We would always sell a car that is roadworthy at the time of selling but after that, we would always do our best with a customer that is our own.


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## Caveat (20 Sep 2007)

Mr2 said:


> If as you say you have bought a number of 5 year old cars with a warranty they are not SIMI approved franchise dealers as we are. I'd assume they are multi-dealers with out franchise.


 
Nope. All franchised dealers.


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## Mr2 (20 Sep 2007)

If you go onto Carzone, check dealers in the 26 counties. Check SIMI approved main dealers used stock and in the general you will see most cars are from '03 on. Any older ones usually have small milage or are odd cars. Ring the dealer and ask what sort of warranty you get.

You won't get many 12 month bumper to bumper warranties on those cars.


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## foxylady (20 Sep 2007)

Mr2 said:


> If you go onto Carzone, check dealers in the 26 counties. Check SIMI approved main dealers used stock and in the general you will see most cars are from '03 on. Any older ones usually have small milage or are odd cars. Ring the dealer and ask what sort of warranty you get.
> 
> You won't get many 12 month bumper to bumper warranties on those cars.


 

Garage I was trying to buy 02 car from was SIMI member and would not give full warranty for 6mths never mind a year. Meanwhile I have found a couple of delaers who give proper warranties but they are very scarce.


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## foxylady (21 Sep 2007)

Mr2 said:


> If you go onto Carzone, check dealers in the 26 counties. Check SIMI approved main dealers used stock and in the general you will see most cars are from '03 on. Any older ones usually have small milage or are odd cars. Ring the dealer and ask what sort of warranty you get.
> 
> You won't get many 12 month bumper to bumper warranties on those cars.


 

Not sure about that. I found a garage in dunshaughlin which offers 12 months warranty on cars that are even as old as 01 and 24 hr roadside assistance.


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## Caveat (21 Sep 2007)

foxylady said:


> Not sure about that. I found a garage in dunshaughlin which offers 12 months warranty on cars that are even as old as 01 and 24 hr roadside assistance.


 
Well whaddya know? Go a few miles outside Dublin and look what happens...


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## foxylady (21 Sep 2007)

Caveat said:


> Well whaddya know? Go a few miles outside Dublin and look what happens...


 
Indeed thanks for the advice, now just have to wait and see what they have.


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## Mr2 (21 Sep 2007)

Dunshaughlin, as in Meath?! Depends on where you live in Dublin but it's hardly a few miles for most. Think how much money you could have saved by not ringing all the garages in Dublin and surrounding counties to find one. 

I never said you won't find a garage but I said you won't find many.

Is it a SIMI, franchise dealer? 
Also is it a full warranty covering shocks, bushings etc?
24h Roadside assistance is a great thing if you do breakdown, however if it's just a noise in the rear of the car/ radio not working/ bulb gone etc you know you have to drive back to that dealer you bought the car from, your not actually "a breakdown case" and not entitled to "Breakdown Ass".

Best of luck with your new car.


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## foxylady (21 Sep 2007)

Mr2 said:


> Dunshaughlin, as in Meath?! Depends on where you live in Dublin but it's hardly a few miles for most. Think how much money you could have saved by not ringing all the garages in Dublin and surrounding counties to find one.
> 
> I never said you won't find a garage but I said you won't find many.
> 
> ...


 

Yes it is a full warranty and from what I can SIMI dealers in Dublin wont evn give full warranty so what good is that? 

Ps Havent got the car yet


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## Caveat (21 Sep 2007)

Mr2 said:


> Dunshaughlin, as in Meath?! Depends on where you live in Dublin but it's hardly a few miles for most.


 
Poster lives in the Northside I believe.  Dunshaughlin is only 20 miles from the airport.  I would guess it's quicker, easier and less hassle to get there than it would be for some southside garages.


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## Mr2 (21 Sep 2007)

SIMI, franchise dealers are all over Ireland.

Please place the details and conditions of the warranty when you get them when you go see the car.

Caveat, I'd always buy close to home as would most people, where ever possible.


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## foxylady (21 Sep 2007)

Mr2 said:


> SIMI, franchise dealers are all over Ireland.
> 
> Please place the details and conditions of the warranty when you get them when you go see the car.
> 
> Caveat, I'd always buy close to home as would most people, where ever possible.


 
I would also like to buy close to home but cant find a reputable dealer to give me a *proper warranty.*


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## Mr2 (21 Sep 2007)

What in your eyes is a proper warranty? What do you want covered be specific?

A new car, comes with a full warranty, if any item is damaged by the customer/driver or the part is deemed wear and tear it's not covered. Some Manufactures differ slightly but most are the same. If you had a two year warranty, and a shock goes in the second year. It would not be covered on a new car (most times).

You wonder why? Because it's not a manufacturing fault that the shock went, it's the driving on the roads that does it, bumps, speed ramps, potholes etc. 

When you buy a second hand car, most palces will give up to a year as far back as '03, incl shocks etc.

On an older car '02 or more we usually can't give that so we don't retail them. If we were to, we would only give 3/6 months. We would cover everything but it does not make sence for us as a garage to do it any longer.

We could sell you a new car right now, give you a 10 year warranty, and argue for you to show us a clear manufacturing fault on any problem you may have that has no outside influences. There is nothing you wouldn't pay for.


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## foxylady (21 Sep 2007)

Mr2 said:


> What in your eyes is a proper warranty? What do you want covered be specific?
> 
> A new car, comes with a full warranty, if any item is damaged by the customer/driver or the part is deemed wear and tear it's not covered. Some Manufactures differ slightly but most are the same. If you had a two year warranty, and a shock goes in the second year. It would not be covered on a new car (most times).
> 
> ...


 

All I am looking for is at least a 6 month warranty that includes parts and labour and not these mickey mouse efforts of gearbox and engine only. i dont think its a lot to ask but the attitude of several dealers is that it is.


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