My sister has bought a brand new Ford Ka from Motorpoint of Derby and is due to pick it up later this week. Now when she 'purchased' this car it wasn't actually 'in stock' but was on the list of cars due to arrive. So she had the choice of colours etc, and could therefore chose which one she wanted on the list. So thus when she goes later on this week with the cash in her hand it will be the first time she will actually see 'her' car. Now obviously before she hands over the money she needs to have a look round the car and check that it is how you would expect to find a new car, ie no dings, dents, scratches etc, but what else does she need to check before she parts with the cash?
Any advice or opinions are welcome.
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If you can see the car before buying it, of which I'm doubtful, then you'd best check that it has all the keys and an English handbook.
I doubt you'll have any trouble at all with it though, it is a new car after all, but when I bought my Fiesta from Trade Sales, we paid for it before seeing it. Their collection site is a very long walk from the sales site, and we literally didn't have time (or the inclination) to make it twice in the same day. The car was near perfect, as I expected, although the radio didn't work, so they just swapped it for one from another Fiesta.
Then drove it 270 miles home, and I'm happier with it now than ever, it seems to be loosening up nicely now after a year of enthusiastic driving. :)
Blue
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Check for
- Dents & scrapes - prentend you're hand washing the car and cover every panel.
- Car is to specification - ie any extras are there eg alloys, updated radio, trim etc.
- Radio is coded and works.
- Car jack and wheel wrench are there, incl alloy locking bolts if appropriate.
- All keys and manuals - as per Blue Oval.
- Petrol ...! You may need to find a guarage quickly !
Good Luck !!!
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press every button and check it does whatever it is supposed to.
check all the lights work including fogs, dip, beam, indicators, hazards, reversing, and anything else its got.
make sure you have the radio code.
"all keys" includes any applicable master key.
"Manuals" inlucdes the service book.
And check you know how to use everything.
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I hope your only talking about handing over the cash, hypethetically (big word for me!)
Please don't have £6000+, drawn out of the bank,carried around town, kept at home overnight, taken to the dealer....
You are paying by cheque, or some secure method, I hope.
Most dealers HATE the folding stuff, in reality, it causes more problems than you may think.
I do my best not to take it!
Mark
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I've just picked up a Mondeo from Trade Sales and know a neighbour who used Motorpoint. They seem to be very reputable and well organised. I'm very pleased with mine although I'd never have had time to work out whether every button and knob did what it says on the tin, as it were. I expect I'll still be finding new gadgets next year.
Enjoy the experience, give it a good check but don't be afraid to tell them if you have a problem with the car - there are always plenty of others - they deal in volume.
splodgeface
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few more...
*check under the bonnet - w\screen wash fluid, dipstick etc. Even take along a small sachet/bottle of screenwash.
*tyres (make sure they are new!)
*tyre pressures (including the spare)
*petrol
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Check the underside for surface rust! Seriously. A relative bought one six months ago and it was covered in it. The car went back to have a wheel bearing replaced and the relative asked for the surface rust to be checked. The report sheet stated that the rust had been checked and was "acceptable". The service engineer said that all Ka's are the same. True enough an inspection of the other ones in the showroom confirmed this to be the case. If you choose to accept the car, get it in writing that the rust has been checked and is acceptable and ask them to check it at each subsequent service in case you need to call on the warranty. Also see car by car breakdown entry on this site. (Ditch it before the first MOT!) And we thought the bad old days of tinworm was behind us, bizarre or what!!!
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Simon,
I'm also about to pick a new car [polo], although not from Motorpoint, and these are the things I have on my list....
Copy of dealer's pre-delivery inspection form
Car manual and service book
Road tax disc
Completed invoice
Spare wheel and tools
All lights, including interior, work
All indicators work
All electric windows work
All door locks work
Alarm works
Windscreen wipers work
Audio system works
Bodywork is free of dents and scratches
Wheels/wheel trims are undamaged
Interior trim, including seats, are undamaged
Windows and windscreen are undamaged.
Rev.
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CF: Re copy from BBC site - It is the polite thing to do to reference your source if you plagiarise. Or are you only folowing the example of 10 Downing Street who published a dossier on Saddam lifted from a PhD thesis without permission or acknowledgement?.
Seriously though, the one check list item that is must is the spare wheel. Make sure it is there and make sure it is identical spec the ones fitted to the car. I know of a few cases where the spare has been missing, or has been the wrong type!
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Along with the spare on my Focus is a towing eye attached to the jack.
If McGard locking wheel nuts are fitted then a "wheel nut reference number" document should be supplied.
I do not have such a document for mine ( but do have the special part to get the nuts off). For peace of mind ( or in case the Garage happens to "mislay it" I am about to investigate how to solve this omission.
Some "features" although nice to have may not even be in the manual. The reading /Internal light on my Focus switches itself off after about 15 minutes.
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Notice the list doesn't include windscreen washers or rear wash/wipe.
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I purchased a new car last year from Motorpoint.
Everything was O.K. except:
1.The service indicator had not been set on the PDI. Motorpoint told that it wasn't now their problem (when I rang them from home, as I hadn't noticed it until after I'd left), and I had to get it sorted at the local Peugeot garage, who made it quite obvious that they didn't approve of imported cars!
2.There was a service book, but no handbook. "When all the paperwork follows we will send it on to you, although it may be in Spanish." It never came, and I got one from the local dealer (in english!).
3.Make sure that you get the original or a photocopy of the receipt of sale from the original supplier/dealer. I had to get this sent on to me so that I could get the first service done F.O.C. and any subsequent warranty work. It was a photocopy and there was always much sucking of teeth as to whether it was acceptable or if it had to be the original.
I saved over £2000 so all in all apart from the above go and enjoy.
Reggie
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ooops - sorry, plagiarism not intended - honest, john.
I copied that list into a word doc quite a while ago and had quite forgotten from whence it came!
As a novice car buyer I was very keen to have a good list to use as it's on these sort of stressful occasions that ones mind goes blank.
Apologies again.
Canon Fodder.
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You'll be lucky if it has an alarm, mine is the top spec model but they don't seem to put standard fit alarms on the foreign models. I fitted one for a couple of hundred quid though.
Blue
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That was meant to be in reply to CF's post, but it doesn't seem to be working properly!
Blue
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If you view in threaded it has
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It may seem obvious but ensure the brakes are working before you leave the site. My father was delivered a volvo that didnt have the brakes connected.
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Thanks for all of the replies, you have given me a lot of useful information as to what needs to be checked before the car is paid for.
Vansboy - Yes when I mentioned handing over the cash it was just a phrase, I didn't literally mean she was paying in pound notes.
One other thing, on the subject of keys, do you still get two black and one red key on Ford Ka's or is that not correct?
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Nah, they've stopped the red key thing. Thankfully, they cost a fortune to replace.
Blue
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