Local hero
Our children having 'flown the nest', we would like to replace our trusty (350,000 mile) but thirsty Volvo 745 GLT estate with something smaller and more economical. A local garage is offering a 2000 'W' reg Golf SE 5-door, 85,000 miles with full VW service history, for £3,395. This includes an RAC 6 month warranty, 12 months MOT and a full service (with the cambelt being replaced if required). The garage has indicated a willingness to "move a little" on price. What would be a fair level? The BBC were talking yesterday of secondhand car prices having risen in recent weeks. I will be looking on your website to identify any particular troublesome areas with this VW model.
Asked on 28 November 2009 by
Answered by
Honest John
Actually prices dropped in October and bottomed out in November before starting to rise again. It’s sensible to buy from a local garage that will then continue to look after the car and is on your doorstep if problems develop. (Also helps keep a local business going.) Book retail for this car with 81,000 miles is £3,125, so a fairer price would be £3,000. The garage is responsible for any faults that could have been developing on date of sale for 6 months from date of sale anyway, and the RAC warranty would not cover these because they pre-existed it. Insist that the timing belt, tensioner and all pulleys are replaced, and also the waterpump if it is driven by the timing belt
Our honest used car pricing is a little bit different to all the others. You can get to our values through make or model - you don’t have to follow a prescribed route. Plus, it’s live, which means we can react to changes in the market quicker than any printed price guide.
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