What should be included in a 6 month guarantee on a second hand car?

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Muffinb

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What should be included in a 6 month guarantee on a second hand car??

Am hopefully buying tomorrow and would like to be able to get best out of them!

They have changed timing belt and kit, water pump and want this in writing just in case they only changed the belt itself...

Anything else?

Thanks for any help in advance!
 
Re: Guarantee

Alternator
Clutch
Brakes
Power Steering
Drive Shafts
Wheel Bearings

are a few things that spring to mind, but in general I would expect most major parts like that to be covered, but your right to get them to spell it out in writing.
 
Re: Guarantee

Hang on....drive shafts, wheel bearings ? I don't think so !! Power Steering belts and pumps are not generally covered. Neither will the alternator.
These are things that could go at any given moment after X amount of years/miles and so are impossible to predict and therefore cover in a guarantee. You may as well ask them to predict the lotto numbers. Likewise electric window regulators. THey 'may' replace them out of goodwill but are under no obligation whatsoever to do so IMO.

The only parts that a garage might guarantee are those that it can inspect.
Brakes, Clutch, Battery, Plugs, Coil, Filters, A/C, Engine (especially Head Gasket, which can cause an expensive repair at times). Any decent mechanic should be able to detect a gearbox whine too, indicative of a problem. Differential whine on a RWD car perhaps too (if it's been driven hard).

You don't sound like you really trust them if you think they didn't replace the water pump (which is kinda standard practice during a cambelt change) so what use will a written guarantee be on a second hand car in that case ? THey can reasonably say you thrashed the hell out of the car when you bought it and that was the cause of the failure.

What kinda car is it anyway ?
 
Re: Guarantee

Engine and gearbox are generally covered on 2nd-hand cars and that's it, unless there is some form of manufacturer's extended warranty in place.

You can request a warranty on anything you wish but the dealer may not cover it. They may, as an alternative, try to sell you an extended warranty insurance policy.

In general, the items a warranty won't cover on 2nd-hand cars are : Brakes, Clutch, Battery, Plugs, Coil, Filters, A/C, Power Steering, Drive Shafts, Wheel Bearings, Wheels, Tyres, Suspension, Glass, Electrics and Electronics.
 
Re: Guarantee

Some places do offer a "bumper to bumper" warranty, so dont be afraid to ask for that i.e. a warranty that covers everything....all they can say is so. Engine and gearbox is fairly poor IMHO, often it depends on the garage. From previous post though I would expect to get the following covered - A/C, Power Steering, Drive Shafts, Wheels, Suspension, Electrics and Electronics. e.g. if I bought a 2nd hand car tomorrow and one of the alloys buckled on the motorway the day after i'd expect to be able to come back get proper wheels fitted for free.....
 
Re: Guarantee

username123 said:
e.g. if I bought a 2nd hand car tomorrow and one of the alloys buckled on the motorway the day after i'd expect to be able to come back get proper wheels fitted for free.....
Click to expand...

Why ? Because you hit a pothole and did the damage yourself ? Wheels don't buckle themselves, y'know!
 
Re: Guarantee

I've hit many a pothole w/o my wheels buckling! If the electric windows stopped working 4 yards from the garage door? IMO if you are paying the garage price, part of which is the warranty, then you should get a decent bang for your buck.
 
Re: Guarantee

username123 said:
... if I bought a 2nd hand car tomorrow and one of the alloys buckled on the motorway the day after i'd expect to be able to come back get proper wheels fitted for free.....
Click to expand...
I suspect you'd be left expecting
 
LOL, touché! Anyway its a moot point, private buying is the only way to go
 
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