I saw a 1996 Volvo T5 last week which looked fairly tidy and had 89,000 miles on it. The car salesman said that there was no service history with the car but the milage seemed genuine. He then said that the HPI check would have said if the mileage wasn't genuine. That was the point I started to back away gently....
The check stay on the driver's door that's supposed to hold it open was broken, the white printing on the column switches were a bit scratched and the alloys had been kerbed for at least 80,000 miles. Otherwise it seemed good.
Is there any way of verifying the mileage? There was a sticker on the speedo saying the mileage couldn't be stated as accurate.
|
|
Have they got any old MOTs? MOTs will definetly have this info on.
|
|
No MoTs either, the glovebox was empty and the salesman was evasive (even for a used car salesman!) about documentation. "The chap that took the car in is on holday at the moment...."
|
It's a toughie, if you feel in doubt about the mileage at all, don't buy it. Depending on how much you're paying, it may be worth getting an AA or RAC inspection to give you piece of mind. A lot of cars on forecourts have those mileage not verified stickers on them.
But it does sound a little fishy with what the salesman said. Are there any other alternatives locally that are of a similar age and mileage? Might be worth going to try on of those out and see if there's any percievable difference.
|
"The chap that took the car in is on holday at the moment...."
Run away and don't look back!
|
I have a simple attitude when buying cars. The seller should do ALL the work to help sell it.
No documentation? No service history? No mileage proof? No HPI check?
The salesman is NOT trying to sell it. Something is wrong.
It's a buyer's market . Find another..
madf
|
Yes, my spidey sense was tingling for me to walk away. Shame though.
Thanks, chaps
|
If you still like the car, make a silly offer for it. I mean below auction value for one twice that mileage, subject to inspection.
You can still get an HPI check on it and an inspection etc before you buy.
If they know they may have a tough time selling tha car they may accept.
I say this because I know of someone who went to look at a car. The seller seemed evasive and had trouble telling them about the history, services etc. Their hpi check and inspection etc, actually backed up what the chap said. They had just found a nervous seller. The car was fine!
They went back with a very hard nosed negotiation strategy and came back with an absolute bargain!
H
|
|
To my mind you already think the car may be dodgy or you wouldn't have posted on here. No chance of knowing for sure if the mileage is genuine but the lack of documentation together with the "dodginess" of the salesman would convince me to head for the nearesr exit never to return. No point buying a car cheap if it turns out a complete wreck. Walk away & find something you're happy with, which has some decent documentation & a clean HPI (done by yourself & not the dealer)
|
To my mind you already think the car may be dodgy or you wouldn't have posted on here.
True, but it would have been nice if there was some way of verifying the mileage, as the salesman hinted at (but obviously lied about)
|
I think I would agree with all.
I'm just trying to look at it from a different perspective.
|
