I bought a nice Toyota Supra from my Sisters boy some years ago ...
He has a small lock-up & does repairs and *coachwork* ...
I sold it on (quite innocently) to a copper ...
The car was previously a write off ...
The main dealer FSH was false.
cavaeat emptor - Dog.
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We looked at a MB 320 diesel a few years ago, that was advertised as FSH and lowish mileage, luckily swmbo has eagle eyes and she worked for some years at a defleet centre, so knows what to look for.
She very soon sussed that the stamps didn't relate time wise.
Its getting to be a minefield for the average punter.
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Come on GB, let us into the secret, what sort of things is she looking for that can show the stamps to be forged?
BTW has the OP refered this to Ebay - I'd have thought that it was certainly against their code of conduct, if not illegal?
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If you check their feedback they have not sold anything since June,suddenly they have 183 hand/log books for sale,highly suspicious.
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Come on GB let us into the secret what sort of things is she looking for that can show the stamps to be forged
Do women have that more ruthless sixth sense of when they're being turned over, i wonder.
Its just a feeling she gets, the first thing with this car was the wear to the steering wheel, and then that prompted her to check for more wear around, she tells me its feeling the wear on the seats, the way the gears change, a general feeling of tiredness.
The fleet centre she worked at covered everything from metro's to Lexus 400's and MB's and BM's, so she knows how the different qualities of cars should wear.
Then of course she did the examination of the service book and any mot's comparing with the previous ownership, same owner for several years, but huge differences in annual mileages.
In a way the service book can be just the damning final reason to walk away.
Her words...do i like the look of it, inside is it tired do things feel right, does it feel good to drive and firm, then if its old enough do the mot's correspond to its use and mileage, last of all the service history only confirms her appraisal, its not to be considered proof, especially on a less than 3 year old car. Judgement being 90% of it.
(i've just realised she hasn't mentioned the bodywork, working at a defleet/refurb centre, she knows what the body lads can do, so maybe thats no longer a guide to mileage and use, seems like the interior is her guide, must say it works, she doesn't buy any pups)
Then as she's Greek i walk away shaking my head in sympathy as she negotiates the poor seller into submission..;)
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>As far as I am concerned if a car doesn't have the previous MoTs it doesn't have a FSH. <
F_F : I regard a full set of MoT certs. as a nice-to-have, but I certainly wouldn't rule a car out without one. You would walk away from lots of decent motors using that rule - I can imagine many very careful owners who simply throw away each expired certificate. After all, an MoT represents no 'servicing'. All it does is confirm the progress of mileage (which is very useful I agree) and clearly makes a car easier to sell to someome like yourself ...
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- I can imagine many very careful owners who simplythrow away each expired certificate. After all an MoT represents no 'servicing'.
I disagree, i'm a typical careful owner, and have every one of the mot's for my 12 year old MB except one which somehow i've misplaced and i'm absolutely devastated, but as thats within my owner ship (2nd) its not so bad i suppose.
The mot trail is the true record of the history of the car, very few people would for example remember to clock the car annually in order to create a low mileage history, and when one examines the car and then finally the service histrory, a half an hours perusal will soon show the discreps.
I'm another one who wants a full set of previous mot's and if they arn't available, i may still buy the car, but it will be assumed to be clocked and priced accordingly.
IMO a full set of mot's would probably put 50% on the value of the car, obviously it depends on the type of car, a very valuable item to not keep.
Interesting though, i wonder how many of us that keep mot's etc also are meticulous in servicing and care, i would have thought the two go hand in hand.
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I would want to see all previous MOTs plus receipts for all services that have been carried out. A telephone call to the servicing dealer wouldn't be out of the question, either!
Referring to the Ebay listing for that bloke selling stamped service books, it looks to me that he is obtaining them to order,i.e. when someone buys one he obtains it for them.
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Maybe someone should tell e-bay that its a mite dodgy.
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I suppose this does point up the value of main dealer servicing: their/the manufacturer's computer should have a complete record of everything done on the car, shouldn't it?
Edited by Pugugly on 06/09/2008 at 14:13
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The item has now been removed by ebay.
"This listing (330266041496) has been removed or is no longer available."
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> "This listing (330266041496) has been removed or is no longer available."
>
Interesting -it can be worth reporting items. Recently ebay have become sensitised to fraudulent auctions etc. so quick action often results..........
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>I suppose this does point up the value of main dealer servicing: their/the manufacturer's computer should have a complete record of everything done on the car, shouldn't it?<
That's just it. Nothing is done to a car at an MoT - it just shows the car was roadworthy (allegedly) and records the mileage and (if you are lucky) the result of the emissions test. Like GB and others I keep all such docs, but I don't add 50% to the value of a car just because it has a full set of MoTs. I kid myself I have a certain amount of judgment too. So far I have bought no lemons.
As an aside, as MoTs are now computerised, can one ask for a full MoT history on a vehicle?
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