Is this a good deal?

S

slookie

Registered User
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I spotted this car on carzone last Friday night and went to see it on Sunday
[broken link removed]
It was a spotless car, and the guy seemed genuine. Was foreign but had good English. He had full HPI check printed out from internet, and went through it step by step with me. (Genuine maileage, never been crashed, no money owed etc). I thought it was too good an offer to leave behind so I paid him €200 deposit and he gave me a written receipt. He then said he could get second hand Volkswagen alloys for me for €400 (got him down to €350) if I wanted them. he e mailed me the picyures of them and they looked new in fairness. So have to collect it tomorrow...€10,800 in total. Think I got a good bargain if all works out, although is €350 a bit saucy for second hand alloys?
 
so you bought the car for the asking price?
no discount or anything?

are you trading in against it or paying with just cash?

the problem with 2nd hand alloys is you dont know what problems they have until the car is in your driveway and long out of the sellers name ie. slow puncture on tyres, slight buckling of wheels etc etc

what size are the alloys? what tyres are on them?
you can get brand new 15"-16" alloys with tyres for circa 500e nowadays.

other than that, seems a nice car, nice set of wheels and it will be lovely, just a shame you didnt get a discount on it, i though you would be walking away with that car for 9,800-10k max.
 
If this is an original Irish car why did he have a HPI check already printed out? HPI run checks on UK-registered cars based on their UK reg and registered keepers UK post-code - sounds dodgey to me. Did you run an AA check yourself based on the Irish registration number?

A 3 year old car with 18k miles and you don't seem to suspect its clocked - did you see a full service history or contact the previous owner to verify the mileage? The ad says one previous owner - is this the seller or someone else? If its not the seller then the car has two previous owners plus you in three years - that doesn't sound good at all, IMHO.

Did you have a mechanic check the car or are you mechanically competent enough to know what to look for?

What all this stuff about genuine VW alloys? What were the original wheels if not genuine VW wheels?

The car is on the expensive side, and just doesn't sound right to me - but then what do I know?
 
mathepac said:
If this is an original Irish car why did he have a HPI check already printed out? HPI run checks on UK-registered cars based on their UK reg and registered keepers UK post-code - sounds dodgey to me. Did you run an AA check yourself based on the Irish registration number?

A 3 year old car with 18k miles and you don't seem to suspect its clocked - did you see a full service history or contact the previous owner to verify the mileage? The ad says one previous owner - is this the seller or someone else? If its not the seller then the car has two previous owners plus you in three years - that doesn't sound good at all, IMHO.

Did you have a mechanic check the car or are you mechanically competent enough to know what to look for?

What all this stuff about genuine VW alloys? What were the original wheels if not genuine VW wheels?

The car is on the expensive side, and just doesn't sound right to me - but then what do I know?
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one previous owner would lead me to believe it had one owner before the current owner (seller)

3 year old car with 18k is not excessively low, my GF civic is a march 04 car bought brand new from EP mooney honda and it only has 22k on it.

the longest car i have ever owner in my life was for 2 years, it looks to me like the car was brought in from england last year and now the current owner wants to sell.

also the genuine wheels on offer are alloy wheels, not the standard steelies and hubcaps as per the pictures.
 
kceire said:
one previous owner would lead me to believe it had one owner before the current owner (seller)

3 year old car with 18k is not low, my GF civic is a march 04 car bought brand new from EP mooney honda and it only has 22k on it.

the longest car i have ever owner in my life was for 2 years, it looks to me like the car was brought in from england last year and now the current owner wants to sell.

also the genuine wheels on offer are alloy wheels, not the standard steelies and hubcaps as per the pictures.
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Who are you? How are you connected with the seller?

You seem to be answering questions on behalf of the seller which I believe the buyer needs answered.

My only interest is in protecting the interests of the buyer; you seem to have a different agenda so why not reveal what it is?
 
kceire said:
so you bought the car for the asking price?
no discount or anything? Yes because I.ve been shoppin around recently and it was by far the best deal to be got. Was quoted €16.500 for a standard model with 90k miles at local dealer...I Asked on the day was the price negotiable and he said no, because it was low enough as it was. He had another buyer who hadn't a deposit paid and I had to persuade him to forget about him and hold it for me.

are you trading in against it or paying with just cash? Paying with cash..doesn't do trade ins. Although I expect a luck penny before I leave tomorrow.

the problem with 2nd hand alloys is you dont know what problems they have until the car is in your driveway and long out of the sellers name ie. slow puncture on tyres, slight buckling of wheels etc etc

what size are the alloys? what tyres are on them? 16" alloys...dunno bout tyres.
you can get brand new 15"-16" alloys with tyres for circa 500e nowadays. Where?

other than that, seems a nice car, nice set of wheels and it will be lovely, just a shame you didnt get a discount on it, i though you would be walking away with that car for 9,800-10k max.
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Not a hope...have you checked the prices on these cars. If I were to bring in from the North I would be getting the same deal.
 
If I wanted to run an online check of the car myself to make sure everything is ok, whats the best website?
P.S. The alloys are from a 2007 passat he had. Sent me on photos to see if I wanted them and I told him to work away.
 
mathepac said:
Who are you? How are you connected with the seller?

You seem to be answering questions on behalf of the seller which I believe the buyer needs answered.

My only interest is in protecting the interests of the buyer; you seem to have a different agenda so why not reveal what it is?
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are you for real????

i was complaining he didnt get it for cheaper, then advised him against buying the second haand alloys, sounds to me like you really want him to buy this passat??

check my posts mate, im around these forums a long time (boards etc), and you think ive been lurking here on the off chance that somebody i know might sell their car and then by pure luck somebody else unconnected to me on an internet forum post up a link to a specific car that i have a hidden agenda on???
 
slookie said:
Not a hope...have you checked the prices on these cars. If I were to bring in from the North I would be getting the same deal.
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heres one, the same spec : [broken link removed]

more miles so i suppose its worth extra for that. i didnt really research it but i just thought with the current climate, some sort of discount would be available.

slookie said:
If I wanted to run an online check of the car myself to make sure everything is ok, whats the best website?
P.S. The alloys are from a 2007 passat he had. Sent me on photos to see if I wanted them and I told him to work away.
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www.cartell.ie
 
That car is only up since today I'd say...over past 2 months nothin has come within €1k of my price.
 
Decided to check it on motorcheck to make sure...hopfully €35 well spent. Results here
http://www.motorcheck.ie/car-check-report/06D22578/7AQJ

3 things to worry about.

1. I didnt have the chassis no. or those details to check but I will do tomorrow.
2. Any advice on the Odometer readings? I would be 90% sure it is genuine as the car is really spotless, and this is coming from someone who is a clean freak!
3. Then finally, should I be worried about the manufacturer's recalls?
 
slookie said:
...
2. Any advice on the Odometer readings? I would be 90% sure it is genuine as the car is really spotless, and this is coming from someone who is a clean freak!...
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Check drivers side carpets for wear, especially if the removable mats have been changed; lift them and look underneath at the carpets checking for heel-marks.

Check the rubbers on the foot-pedals for wear consistent with stated mileage

Check steering wheel and gear-level knob for wear / shininess

Check if all the tyres are originals, if they're not I would be disinclined to believe the mileage

This is a base-model, original Irish, diesel-powered 4-door saloon of an appropriate size for a taxi-driver - I would be cautious.

slookie said:
...

3. Then finally, should I be worried about the manufacturer's recalls?
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The main recall refers to the dual-mass flywheel on the 2.0 TDI; yours is the 1.9 TDI (which also has a dual-mass flywheel matched to the old 1.9 PD engine) so that recall does not refer to it.
 
[Check if all the tyres are originals, if they're not I would be disinclined to believe the mileage

This is a base-model, original Irish, diesel-powered 4-door saloon of an appropriate size for a taxi-driver - I would be cautious.]

How will I know if the tyres are originals?
Secondly, its not a base model, its comfortline.
 
slookie said:
... How will I know if the tyres are originals?...
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Ask the seller and check if they are all the same make, model and size.

Sorry I just noticed the ad says "alloy wheels" and if it is a Comfortline, they should have come as standard, not the steelies shown in the photos.

The ad also says "sunroof" but I can't see one in the photos
 
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I would do the UK HPI check my self. It's too easy to doctor a web page & print it out.
 
mathepac said:
Ask the seller and check if they are all the same make, model and size.

Sorry I just noticed the ad says "alloy wheels" and if it is a Comfortline, they should have come as standard, not the steelies shown in the photos.

The ad also says "sunroof" but I can't see one in the photos
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Just noticed the same as mathepac , if its comfortline where are alloys ?
 
I didnt know that alloys were standard? He advertised alloys but they weren't on it. Does anyone know how much I would pay for new VW alloys. Rang local dealer and priced me 200 plus vat per alloy. Might ring him tomorrow morning and tell him I don't want them.
As for the sunroof, I copped that myself and said it to him. He apologised and said no sunroof as there was a/c - mistake on his behalf.
 
slookie said:
I didnt know that alloys were standard? He advertised alloys but they weren't on it. Does anyone know how much I would pay for new VW alloys. Rang local dealer and priced me 200 plus vat per alloy. Might ring him tomorrow morning and tell him I don't want them.
As for the sunroof, I copped that myself and said it to him. He apologised and said no sunroof as there was a/c - mistake on his behalf.
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This is getting bogeyer by the minute.. A passat is generally a taxi / sales rep's car, 18k seems very little..

Make sure you get the chassis number and check it against the reg. Actually physically look at the chassis number yourself, theres usually a little flap and underneath this is the number.. Have to say, it's looking like you're about to get stitched here.

Did you look at it at his house? Does the address match the documents?

After looking at the additional info, he's repeated half the stuff. He said there were alloys TWICE, yet you're buying a set off him!!

If it was me i'd be getting my deposit back and moving on to another car..
 
When I meet him tomorrow and ask him for the chassis number, what do I do then? We met at a car park in Waterford but he asked me to drop him home from there tomorrow as he will have no lift. He says he bought the car himself from a supplier in Dublin, where he buys all his cars, got a motorcheck done like he always does and then sells them on.
The car itself came up ok though on motorcheck???? Ah dunno what to do now!!
 
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