I'm very tempted to buy a car from a dealer who imports 'nearly new' cars (just a few months old) from the Channel Islands.
They are apparently used mainly as hire cars and have just a few thou miles on the clock, they come with the balance of the manufacturers warranty (so usually about 2 to 2.5 years) and the dealer registers and supplies UK plates.
Prices are considerably lower than the equivalent model from a main dealer, and speaking to my insurers there is no penalty as they are 'UK Spec' cars.
All the above indicates that they should really be a good deal.... unless I'm missing something ????
Comments and thoughts welcomed !
Edited by Fazer1000 on 24/07/2008 at 21:29
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Come October/November our local Ford dealer is full of Jersey registered Fiestas - all have come off hire and all are sold as UK spec and come with balance of the warranty.
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Major warning on these cars, I'm afraid.
I dunno about Jersey, but having just spent some time in Guernsey, I noticed a lot of high-spec hire cars, all looking very new. They are easily identified on the island by the large H stickers, so that locals can identify them as probably being driven by tourists who don't understand Guernsey roads.
And Guernsey roads are not like UK roads: max speed on the island is 35, and in many areas the limit is 20, but a lot of the time even 25 is unattainable, so these cars will rarely have got above 3rd gear, and will never have been properly exercised. That's not at all how I'd want a new car to be run in!
Secondly, one of the reasons for the low speeds is that roads are very narrow, narrower than you would have thought possible. Plenty of lanes only just fitted my Almera when driven with great care, and the edges of the road are often jagged granite walls, perfectly designed to wreck a car which scrapes them. Even the more major roads are often too narrow for two cars to pass safely, and the buses and trucks simply cannot fit on their own of the white line (meeting one coming round a corner is no time for poor concentration!).
So although locals become adept at placing their cars millimetres away from obstacles, it's a nightmare for visitors. Over the course of a month I kerbed my car several times (losing the wheel trim twice, having to go back to collect it), and many dozens of times I had do what the locals do: mount the kerb to let another vehicle pass. Of course, many roads have no sidewalk (it's road then wall), and those that do may have a sidewalk only on one side of the road ... so if it's not your side and you don't think you're gonna make it, the only solution is an emergency stop (I usually did several a day).
So, if a Guernsey hire car hasn't been scraped or crashed, it will absolutely definitely have been kerbed dozens of times, it will have hopped up onto footpaths hundreds of times, and its brakes will have been stood on more times than you'd think possible for the mileage. What with that and the engines not being properly run in, I would buy one of those cars only if it was offered at a massive discount.
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Stick to the ones from Jersey.
Edited by scribe on 25/07/2008 at 01:31
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Stick to the ones from Jersey.
I havena been there, but I think that driving conditions are similar to Guernsey, tho less severe. Jersey's highest speed limit is 40mph, and it has lottsa narrow lanes etc. See the guide to driving in Jersey at www.jersey.com/English/transport/withinjersey/driv...x and compare with the equivalent document for Guernsey at www.gov.gg/ccm/navigation/travel-transport/visitor.../
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A new modern engine needs good brisk use to get everything bedded-in properly - I reckon these Channel Island cars will turn into early oil-burners
I wouldn't touch one
MVP
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No prob with a CI car but if you can negotiate you will buy a brand new car for very similar money.
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Sat in my Garage is an XR3i that came from Jersey in 1989, yes 1989 and brought into my home after it was 6 months old 1500 Miles on clock. There have been no major problems whatsover, undersealed every four years, serviced one a year and is now SHMBO's run around at 2,000 miles pa. No oil used between services and still capable of over 100 mph.
Little bit or rust creeping in on read top wheel arch but apart from that still a looker when autoglymed (couple of time a year).
No complaints whatsover.
dvd
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I can see both sides of the debate here.
Firstly, they are claimed to be supplied in 'showroom condition' which to me means they should be absolutely flawless. I wouldn't expect to pick up a car described as 'showroom condition' with any scuffs on alloys or scratches on wing mirrors - would you agree ?
Therefore, the issue should mainly be with the 'oily bits' then I guess. I'm looking as diesels with less than 3,000 miles - never owned a diesel before, but from what I've heard they take a while to run-in nicely. Would the sort of driving you've described above be a problem for a diesel with those sort of miles ?
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Modern cars are so difficult to destroy, I really wouldn't worry about it. Scrapes you will see and know about - and they'll all have been touched up by chipsaway anyway.
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