Cars are like women, some look nice but turn out wrong uns, some look rough but turn out the best
197 advice, help needed!
- Thread starter Jonny200
- Start date
jasonlovesfrench
Paid Member
It's not common but not uncommon either - however mines on 87k and has FULL service history including cambelt change. I feel much better knowing this has been done.
I would definitely change the oil/filter every year regardless of mileage. Is there no invoices to show the owner done that themselves? On a second look it does sit very high at the rear, could be wrong springs. Belts should have been done at 5 years again regardless of mileage so as said would need done again anyway. If your not 100% walk away.
If you think its a nightmare, then follow your instincts and leave well alone. And that ride height is way off what it should be.
Agree with the consensus here. Even though it is low mileage for it's age, very low considering it's almost 10 years old! I'd say it's on the pricey side given that the service history is patchy and there is no record of the cam belt/water pump ever being done. Irrespective of the low mileage its due every 5 years and it's not a cheap job if you want to do it properly. There are plenty of them out there, maybe not as low mileage but it's not as if your limited by choice especially if your prepared to travel a bit.
For comparison on price I paid £4650 for mine a year ago with 56k on the clock. It had full dealer history and one independent but no invoice for any cam belt work so I had that done at the start of this year.
The thing to look out on them is the pivot/ball joints being knackered as it can be expensive to get rectified and steering rack issues. On mine both the ball joints were well and truly knackered which I didn't spot until about 6 months in but luckily I'd taken out a fairly good 12 month warranty so that paid for itself as the garage agreed to replace both sides under the warranty. Might be something to consider as it gives you that piece of mind for the first year that if anything goes it's covered, obviously depending on what level of warranty you're prepared to pay for as some of the cheap ones aren't worth the paper they're written on and you also are expected to keep it serviced to manufacture specs so has to go to a garage for servicing, no DIY to keep the warranty valid.
For comparison on price I paid £4650 for mine a year ago with 56k on the clock. It had full dealer history and one independent but no invoice for any cam belt work so I had that done at the start of this year.
The thing to look out on them is the pivot/ball joints being knackered as it can be expensive to get rectified and steering rack issues. On mine both the ball joints were well and truly knackered which I didn't spot until about 6 months in but luckily I'd taken out a fairly good 12 month warranty so that paid for itself as the garage agreed to replace both sides under the warranty. Might be something to consider as it gives you that piece of mind for the first year that if anything goes it's covered, obviously depending on what level of warranty you're prepared to pay for as some of the cheap ones aren't worth the paper they're written on and you also are expected to keep it serviced to manufacture specs so has to go to a garage for servicing, no DIY to keep the warranty valid.
If consumables: ie Tyres, pads, oil and filter servicing etc or general service records were poor there's no doubt i'd walk away from the sale. Even if you could perhaps notice any CVJ's knocking, bottom ball joints etc on a test drive; i think i'd do the same. All a sign of being poorly looked after imo. And perhaps a sign of the life its lived.
I mean when you see cars for sale and they go on and on in their advert about some minor problem that "only costs £50, but they havn't had time to do it"......what does this tell you about the owner ? !
BUT: In terms of the belt change - if everything else checked out, if the car was good and if there was room in the price - i personally would buy one where the belts were about due or slightly overdue - purely for the peace of mind of then owning a car where just about one of the biggest jobs possible on these cars was going to be done at a garage of my choice, giving me 5 years peace of mind.
I mean when you see cars for sale and they go on and on in their advert about some minor problem that "only costs £50, but they havn't had time to do it"......what does this tell you about the owner ? !
BUT: In terms of the belt change - if everything else checked out, if the car was good and if there was room in the price - i personally would buy one where the belts were about due or slightly overdue - purely for the peace of mind of then owning a car where just about one of the biggest jobs possible on these cars was going to be done at a garage of my choice, giving me 5 years peace of mind.
