is this too good to be true

[daz_uk]

Hi,

You know how much I want a 1.6 16v clio right? Well I just found an ad fresh today for one in midnight blue metallic, 32000 miles (hmmmm), V Reg, with full leather and all that jazz for £3,850.

Well, i just phoned up and the guy said its a right little belter of a car and that I can come to the garage to have a look. Well its a small place called Tyre World in manchester...anyone got any beef on them? they hardly sound classy but i know nothin about em.

He said it had one former keeper - and i forgot to ask about the Service history so it may not have one i dunno. Its just In my mind Im thinking that this little hot-hatch should have more than 32,000 miles on it and that maybe they have clocked it or whatever? hehe im so paranoid.

So anyone got the dirt on this place and had any dealings with them etc?

cheers,

Daz

 

[Iain C]

Look 4 seat/carpet damage.Fingerprints inside the clocks etc

V reg? Did they go that new?

 

[Iain C]

sorry im thinking of a valver

 

[Tony]

Just go and have a look, Check it out. After all you dont have to buy it.

 

[boyracer666]

i bought my clio with 14k on the clock at 3 1/2 years old, had an old lady owner who drove to the end of teh road and back prob

Jay

 

[^adam^]

why should it have more miles? 32k miles sounds pretty good,

its 5 years old now so I wouldnt pay much more that £4k for it so the price isnt too bad.

best thing is to go have a look, also look at the pedals, usually give a good indication of milage. the MOTs should back up the milage

 

[daz_uk]

thx lads. im just being paranoid i guess cos i want one really bad but don;t wanna be stung by some dodgy garage! the photo doesnt look like its from a car-yard so im guessing its one of the blokes who works there who is selling it (its listed as TRADE sale though).

Ill go and have a look on saturday i think if its not gone (fingers crossed).

 

[Dazz]

Well i got mine about 3 months ago. Its also a V reg (dec 1999 so only just) and had done 39000.

I got mine for £4k

 

[ricjax99]

I wouldnt worry too much about the mileage, a 1.6 16V isnt a hot hatch in everyones eyes. As an example, my grandma drives a 1.6 16V RSi (mk2 ph1 shape) and she sure as hell hasnt done over 30K lol.

So common assumptions like "its probably been ragged, mileage seems low" etc dont always apply. Just make sure if it has service history, reciepts etc make sure any recorded mileage adds up.

Good luck!

 

[daz_uk]

thanks mate. yeah its more of a warm-hatch than hot hatch i guess!

Im gonna ring him now and see if its got a FSH and whatever. Although the ad doesn;t mention it so im dubious..... would a HPI check reveal mileage cheats anyway?

 

[daz_uk]

Ok, heres the update!

I went to Manchester tonight and it was one of the worse things ive done in a long time! But not cos of the car, it was the storm. The M62 was ATTROCIOUS and we saw 2 cars written off while were on it. It was like driving on a skid pan and visibility was f**kin zero! First time i can remember being nervous when driving.

Anyway, FINALLY got there VERY late which isnt ideal as i wanted to see it in the daylight. Anyway, met him and we drove to a petrol station (he is a trader apparantly but it was like 9pm. besides, he said that he had brought the car home with him from the garage earlier - he probably owns a backstreet garage rather than a nice car-lot....). I checked the car as best as I could, asking questions. The leather trim was dark blue and very nice looking - little war that i could see. Pedals looked un-worn but not new (as I would expect of a 32,000 mile car) but the steering wheel was slightly worn in places. Gear knob looked relatively ok too. My girlfriend noticed some scratches near the boot-lock (presumeably from keys) and she saw a very small dent in the bonnet near the middle (said it looked like a small stone chip or summat). It sounded ok, but the Fan belt was squeaking (maybe just its approaching its 36,000 mile change-over? or maybe as its wet and slightly loose it makes that soft squeaking noise). Apart from that - the bodywork looked good and major electric stuff worked inside and all the VIN numbers were there. It had only 1 Service and that was at 10,000 miles at a renault dealer. the rest of the service things were blank - so NO fsh here....

I took it for a spin. It felt really nice and perky. The pedals were almost ...springy if you know what i mean? instead of the looseness you get with age. The clutch rode high though but the other 1.6 i tested the other week rode high too and my old 1.4 rt did too (is this common with renaults?).

I heard no rattling or weirdness, the engine seemed sharp and responsive too. The brakes were not brilliant but not bad at all (my old 1.4rts brakes were sh*te too despite pad and disc changes throughout its life!). I fell in love with the Leather too!

Ok so remember - this was all at NIGHT in the rain....a LOT can change in the cold light of day. Anyway, i ttok the VIN no. and Reg plate and then mentioned former keepers.....its had 2...hmmm. He said the V5 was at home and as he lived near his garage he would take me to his house and give me the former owners details from the V5 (all the way through he kept saying for me to get it HPId and an AA check before i buy if i want...which could have been bluff tactics?). Anyway, I go to his house (not the greatest upmarket abode i have ever seen...did nothing to allay my fears - though the missus seemed okay and he was quite a jolly fellow too - though bos-eyed?!). Ahemm... well i went in his kitchen. he had a folder full of car details...he mentioned all the cars he owned for the garage and i noticed V5 forms in the transaparant plastic sleeves. Anyway, he got the one i wanted and he had the V5 document and the small green retainer bit (blank) which he said was so he could tax it (which hed just done). I wrote down the former keepers and checked the MOT certificate (of March this year) then went on my way.

So guys.....I came hoem full of skeptical thoughts about HIM and the situation (meeting at night etc - which to be fair was MY fault) but good thoughts about the car.
I got home and did an HPI check which showed no problems on their database regarding anything. Though I forgot to get the MOT certificate number so i will update that later and check it (to see if its a stolen MOT i presume?). My fears about the car are allayed a little bit but after trying directory enquiries for the 2 former keepers I found that one is ex-directory and the other cant be found (so maybe the phone isn;t in his name or hes moved?). So no joy there for verifying the history. The guy I saw tonight said that he bought it as part of a lot from CD Bramall and the good stuff they stick in Autotrader etc - which this one was. WOuld CD Bramall have a record of it you think??

Now im left with a BIG dilemna!!! WHAT DO I DO?!

I loved the car but feel its risky (am i being TOO paranoid?). I have nobody to go with me who knows a lot about cars - except my dad whos an ex-mechanic but hes on holiday at the minute! I feel that I could go back Saturday to clinch the deal and end up paying the best part of £4000 for something dodgy!

Some of u experts tell me what to do!

Cheers,

Daz

 

[Red Clio 52]

Never buy a car you have only looked at at night or in the rain.

You need to see it again in good daylight to make a proper decision.

If you still have doubts then walk away, there will be other cars

 

[jongsr4]

yeh definately have another look in the daylight

i think that if you have any doubts at all you should walk away, the right one will come along at some point

[Edited by jongsr4 on 06 August 2004 at 10:12am]

 

[Dan Page]

as these guys say, think u should see it in the daylight too.

Sorry i gota do this quote an i cant think for the life of me where its from (possibly simpsons)

"My dad gave me this advice; if it seems to good to be true it probably is"

 

[lincswhite]

i bought a v plate 1.6 s.i in feb it had only done 27k, i aint had no probs with it yet

 

[daz_uk]

yeah i know ur right, I have to see it again in daylight etc.

I tried to dig deeper into its past so i phoned the guy and i asked him for the MOT certificate number - he was out and about so i couldnt get it yet but hes gonna ring me with it later. I asked him about where he got it from again and he said it was from a CD Bramall bulk sale at Brighouse End in Leeds but said i wouldnt find much out.

Undeterred, I check trusty google and found there wasnt a CD Bramall at Brighouse but there was one nearby - so i phoned them and there was no joy really (thought they were helpful). They said there was no CD Bramall at Brighouse. Ok, I searched Brighouse car places and found a car auction house that deals with all the big ones like Reg Vardy and......Cd Bramall, so I phoned them up.
I gave the guy the registration and straight away he said that it HAD gone through them, it was a Re-posession from Finance from Renault (or something) which explained was no problem. I got him to tell me the mileage when sold and he confirmed it was 32,000 miles and that it WAS CD Bramall who sold it. I also said:
"So as far as u can see, is there anything dodgy about this car?..." (lol)
to which he replied:
"No, it all looks ok from here really..."

So that long shot turned into something solid for me anyway! Now i know he had limited information but for me - just knowing that it WAS bought at auction and it was from CD BRamall originally makes the history a little better for me.

Ok, so what now? I have to go see it again - say on Saturday in the day and hopefully at his dealership too. Trouble is, say i get there and all is great and i want to buy it then Wed have to negotiate price - then when an amount is agreed Id have to produce a bankers draft to that amount. But the problem is, id need to go into a bank for that and they shut at half 12 on a saturday! hehe Id hate to have to go back to York AGAIN and go back out there AGAIN another day. Maybe I will go down early morning to leave time to go to bank in manchester (nightmare) and get back to them with the draft.

Urghh... its such a hassle buying cars!

Daz




[Edited by daz_uk on 06 August 2004 at 11:33am]

 

[daz_uk]

oh and can anyone confirm what alloys i can fit onto a 1.6 16v? I already own some 15" softline alloys with 195 45x15 tyres on them which i had on my Clio RT 1.4 (k-reg). will the fitment be the same or is it totally new?

cheers

 

[Deeg]

Quote: Originally posted by daz_uk on 06 August 2004

Anyway, I go to his house (not the greatest upmarket abode i have ever seen...did nothing to allay my fears - though the missus seemed okay and he was quite a jolly fellow too - though bos-eyed?!).

So because the guy doesnt live in a mansion he isnt to be trusted????

The guy is trying to do business, he told you to do all the things that you should do, he told you the truth about everything on the car, inclusing how he got it and where from etc.

And your still skeptical (sp?) about the guy, despite checking all this yourself?

IMO, the guy has done all he can to help you out.

I appreciate that there are dodgy dealers out there, but there are also dodgy big dealers out there, as I am sure a lot of people will be able to testify.

I had much less problems buying from a small dealer than I did buying from JamJar.

Every problem I had with the small dealer were sorted v.quickly with a courtesy car, with jamjar they were long drawn out affairs with loads of hassle and no courtesy car.

If you want the car, youll find a way to buy it, if you are trying to find ways to avoid buying it, then you obviously dont want it, and you should let the guy get on and sell it to someone else.

 

[daz_uk]

Lol - good advice there Deeg although you didnt have to be so patronising!

I appreciate that hes running a business and of course i liked the car but i was just skeptical about its past. Now ive found somethin out abput it the only thing i am worried about really is the mechanical state of it!

I mean, If i buy the car then I have to drive it for an hour and half to get back home so i guess thats an ok test as to anything really obvious with it - though i didnt detect anything on the test drive last night. I will get it back to York and take it in for a full service I think and a check-up. That way I can see if anythings wrong with it - though I doubt the dealer will offer me any form of guarantee or warranty anyway. Though if hes doing it through trade then i suppose hes technically held by the same laws as the big boys are - right?

Im leaning toward buying it - I will wait for the MOT cert. number from him for the last part of the HPI check and then if thats ok then Ill arrange to go see it again tomorrow and if its kosher, maybe put down a deposit while I go away and get a bankers draft (which means having to go down to manchester at least TWICE more! heh).

I just dont wanna be stung guys. Im not a snob but im also not made of money and if i was ripped off for the best part of 4 grand id be paying for it for a long time to come.

 

[Deeg]

I wasnt trying to be patronising, just peoples attitudes sometimes irritate me. Just because he lives in a terrace house / a rough area, he isnt to be trusted, I dont get it. The MDs of large companies live in mansions in the Cotswalds, and theyre the type of people who can cost 1000s of jobs, so who is dodgier?

All I would do, the guy is a mechanic, ask him to service it etc, then you have the book stamped from when you have bought it (if he is a garage and registered he will have a stamp). Then you can explain to whoever you sell the car to.

Anything major will be easy to spot I would have thought.

Are there any oil patches where it has been stood?
Does the dipstick have anything other than oil on it?
Etc etc

If you ask in E/P/M all the mechanicical people will be able to tell you what to look for, as I have no clue about mechanics, what I said above are just fairly common sense I would have thought.

Try and get someone to go with you, if all else fails, pay the RAC / AA to come and check it over for you, that way you have your piece of mind,a nd if something drastic goes wrong, I imagine the RAC / AA will have some sort of gurantee.

 

[daz_uk]

thx. Im off this morning to go and MAYBE buy it if it checks out ok in daylight etc.

I dont have anyhting against not having a nice house or living in a nice area - ive known many people who are great and they have poor surroundings (im one of em!!!). Its just you have to admit that a man in a mansion wouldnt bother with a deal like this whereas a guy from a dodgy council estate *would*, which is why im so paranoid.

Anyway, i decided against the RAC inspection. The time,money and all that just make me think that *IF* I see it again and it looks ok and i can get a good price and i check for leaks and knocking etc then ill probably chance it. I plan ask if he is a mechanical garage to give me a full service for nowt, if he isnt, then I will do it myself anyway and try to get a good SH going from the point i buy it onwards.

In fact, the mechanical soundness is all im worried about now - but i figure the HPI check covers me for MAJOR/DANGEROUS stuff anyway so *hopefully* anything that i find will be little stuff like brake pads/discs , back-box , fan-belt needed etc. Its if I find stuff like clutch or engine problems that Im gonna be peeved! WHich is why i need to get as much off the price as possible!

Cheers

Daz