Thanks bell boy - good advice.
Had a long chat with the sellers over the phone, and they seem genuine enough. They bought it new from the local Renault dealer, who have also serviced it from new. They have invoices for everything as well as stamps, and are only selling the car because they're emigrating next month. The dealer basically offered them carp money for it because they weren't buying another car.
I mentioned I would be checking the car with HPI and confirming the service history and the guy was completely unfazed by it.
Cheers
DP.
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i might be over egging everything but when i used to buy cars from people at their doors they were pretty desperate people
and dammed good liers
make sure its not rented property
make sure the paperwork is genuine
make sure the car is not a ringer as a hpi will only tell you in these circumstances what you tell it
£9000 is a big wage for some scumbag to make less £50 for the key getter and £75 for charlie the log book maker
seriously
by all means look view leave £100 deposit, but double check everything before he gets the netto bag.
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I'm not arguing with any of that. We're not going to be in a position to pick it up 'til next weekend anyway, so the deposit will be all they get tomorrow. Assuming the car is any good of course. Again, I said this on the phone, and there was no drama.
Any of these would stop me going ahead:
If the name of the seller, and the address I see the car at doesn't match the paperwork.
If V5 and service history are not present.
If the house I go to tomorrow does not look like a currently lived in family home.
If the paperwork looks at all suspect, or doesn't match the car 100%
If the numbers or VIN plates on the car look fake or tampered with
If the dealer who they say has serviced it can't confirm the history.
If the HPI check doesn't come back 100% clear.
If there's any sign of accident damage, mismatched paint, or wonky panel gaps.
If the car itself is otherwise not exactly what we want (we're ready, but in no major hurry)
If there is any insistence on cash payment over bankers draft or electronic transfer (the latter two being traceable).
Given no concerns from any of the above, I would be inclined to believe car and seller are genuine.
I also have some sympathy with the "carp offer from the dealer" argument, as it's happened to us with a (genuine, mint, straight, FMSH'd) MX-5 that we wanted rid of without buying another car to replace it. We sold it privately for a full grand more than the supplying dealer offered to take it off our hands for. I'd have gone through the private sale process for half that out of principle!
Cheers
DP
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The third year of warranty is dealer backed, but not restricted to the supplying dealer.
Check all the interior trim carefully, the third year of warranty is pretty short on what it covers and they always try and fob off broken trim or interior bits as "wear and tear"
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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The third year of warranty is dealer backed, but not restricted to the supplying dealer. Check all the interior trim carefully, the third year of warranty is pretty short on what it covers and they always try and fob off broken trim or interior bits as "wear and tear"
Thanks TVM. I'm not too worried about trim and the like as long as it covers major mechanical or electrical woes (i.e. stuff that costs ££££'s to put right).
We'll take out cover with Warranty Direct anyway (been offered a good deal on their top end product), but it would be nice to be able to defer it until October.
As a general note, according to DVLA, it's even got tax on it until the end of Jan 2008. I will also be getting the serial number off the log book tomorrow, and running that through the DVLA issue check for additional peace of mind.
They really don't seem fazed by my vows to run all these checks, which means they're either dodgy and supremely confident, or they're genuine. We shall see.
I'll let you know how we get on.
Cheers
DP
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DP, I have a similar Scenic through not the Grand one. Some things for you to look at when you test drive it:
1. Are all bulbs working. Headlights especially are a pain in the neck to change.
2. You mentioned it has a Panoramic sunroof, mines creaks like nothing on earth in extremes of heat / cold. Make sure it fully works.. Open the sunroof, open all 4 electric windows, get out the car and press the button twice and they should all shut themselves automatically.
3. When driving, listen out for a creak just at the top of the drivers door. As far as I am aware, this cannot be cured - if it annoys you during the drive, it will annoy you during your whole period of ownership!
4. Try out the aircon - put it to minimum temp and max blower and check that you get cold air out it.
5. Check seats for wear and tear, the rear seats are particularly vulnerable to "puncture / rips" due to the type of material. Also check the rooflining as this can be damaged if taking big loads eg. bike handlebars.
6. There is not much room under the bonnet to check anything, this should be covered under warranty anyway. I recently had my car serviced at a different dealer from normal, but I saw from the computer print it listed everything that had been done to my car so don't be afraid to ask the dealer for a print out.
7. Check tyres for wheel alignment as this is often an issue as some fast-fit type places will align it to zero when in actual fact it should be (I think) 2 degrees.
Think thats all that springs to mind, any questions you have after driving it let me know!
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brilliant bg..........thats why i like this site proper real help
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Seconded!! All duly noted and will be checked out thoroughly. Fantastic information.
Cheers
DP
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Well, just got back and we've left a deposit. A really nice example. A couple of minor marks aside, it' genuinely is immaculate. Test drive revealed no unpleasant surprises with the engine feeling incredibly smooth and responsive (having just driven up there in the Mondeo). Brakes and gearbox feel good, suspension is quiet and there's no wind noise up to the 65 or so I went on the test drive. A minor creak from the dash over really sharp bumps but otherwise tight. No sign of noise from roof or doors.
All the electrics work, including the full closure system (very cool, that!) and the trim is in good condition. It has the "upgrade" full hands free Renault card and there are two working cards. Needs a pair of front tyres, but that was about the only fault I could find..
Has needed remedial work on 3 occasions all done under warranty. One was a sticking sunroof, one a broken doorhandle, and the third was the leccy handbrake not engaging properly. Dealer reports for all of these are with the rest of the history.
Still under warranty until October, and the service history condsists of both stamps and invoices (complete with credit card receipts still stapled to them). They had the second service done early at 24k as they wanted it done annually rather than every 2yrs or18k recommended which sounds ludicrous to me as well.
HPI has come back clear and the v5c issue date matches DVLA records
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Agreed on £8750. Pick it up Saturday.
Cheers
DP
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