Buying a car

Nothing wrong with a 5 year old car Peter . Our Mini is 10 years old now and we have not had a problem with it . There is a problem with the dealer, all the add ons are a rip off . Demand your deposit back and find somewhere else.
As Longk said unless you do a fairly high mileage with regular motorway trips , a petrol engine may be a better option.

 

The car is not a diesel,it’s petrol with low mileage. I’ve never had a diesel car. Its got full main dealer service history and has had only one lady owner.

It drives beautifully and it’s immaculate inside and out. The garage has also been going since the 60s and it’s a family owned business (father and sons). The old boy that owns it (he’s in his 80s) was still there working Yesterday. The business is legit and a main dealer for Isuzu or Mitsubishi - can’t remember which.

I checked out the last MOT on line before we went to look at the car and on it there was an advisory of a cracked wall on one of the rear tyres. Before I handed any money over it was on the understanding that they replaced the tyre.

This afternoon I called my local garage (I’ve been going to them for years). They told me not to buy any warranty etc., and just to stick the money in the bank instead - just in case. They even said once ive got it, to drop it in and theyll give it a look over to see what ive bought and they won’t charge me a bean, which I thought was excellent.

I won’t be paying anything other than the £100 but I’ve got a new tyre (to match existing), a valet, £20 of petrol and an HPI check for that.

 

That sounds fine Pete if you are happy with the dealer and you are not buying the Diamond treatment etc . It was a good idea to check the MOT history on line

 

The mention of an "admin fee" reminded me of forty years ao when I wanted to insure the two year-old Alfa Romeo I was buying from a colleague at work. I went into Swinton's, discussed the insurance and was given the price. Then the salesman said,

"Of course then there's the admin fee."

"What admin fee?"

"Our fee for arranging the insurance."

"Your admin fee chum, is the commission you get from the insurance company for selling the policy, you're not getting one from me too!"

And they didn't!

My CRV is fourteen years old this year, I've had it from new, as I did the previous one which I kept for seven years. I only do about 3,000 miles a year now and there's only 54,000 on the clock and everything on it works, so I'd be daft to change it. It's immaculate, apart from a couple of small car park door dings.

I got a good deal on it when I bought it. But they try it on.

"What about finance?"

"I'll be paying cash, as I did the one I'm trading in."

"Well, will you let our finance manager have a chat with you?"

"Will he give me interest free credit?

"No."

"Then there's your answer."

I got some more hard sell. So I said "Excuse me a minute," went over to the sales desk and said to the receptionist. "Can you find me another salesperson? The one talking to me is far too agressive."

She looked quite shocked, got someone on the phone, who actually was the sales manager, he came down, apologised, took me to another booth and the whole attitude changed and I got a much better price for my trade in than I had so far been offered.

 

Five yr old cars are fine, my only worry is that buying a 5 yr old your tending to get a car that has got those usual bits starting to die on it.
Battery, brakes, starter motor, water pump, exhust etc. annoying things like bulbs even.
My experience is that if you buy new or one year old, at 5 or 6 things start to need replacing, and its often the time a buyer of newer cars tend to unload them, knowing that fact.

You might get a better cheaper deal with an 8 yr old that has gone through this stage.

Its about value for money, IMO.

But you pay your money and take your choice.

Personally I'd not buy from anyone who added money to the sale price, when buying second hand you pay what's written on the windscreen, not a penny more.

 

Hopefully the crankshaft bearing "recall" has been carried out then. I think that it was issued by BMW in late 2016 to be actioned during routine servicing (new crankshaft thrust washers or a new engine if the wear was outside of the tolerances). Worth checking if it were me. This only applies to the 1.5 litre three cylinder engine.

 

Blimey, that sounds drastic.

 

A wee bit!
I manage a fleet of forty cars for a local company including two Coopers. One just had the bearings the other car had to have a new engine.
Fairs fair, they identified an issue (it becomes apparent when an oil leak appears between the engine and gearbox) and took steps to resolve it.

It sounds a bit like I'm giving the Mini a hard time but I'm not. Most modern cars are pretty rubbish but major engine issues are getting more common across all manufacturers. Fords have issues with their low capacity ultra lean burn engines suffering catastrophic damage as a result of mild overheating, Mercs are suffering timing chain issues, Mitsi diesels are cracking heads and so on.

 

Just bought a horse to replace my troublesome diesel but the damned thing just broke down with the horse flu..

 

Well, What do I know?
Nothing about car mechanics as such, but I do know with most things these days the people who make stuff aint got much of a clue how to fix them.

Technology is ahead of its time, they are all trying to bring in new innovations before they have sorted out the problems.
It goes right across the board, never buy the latest stuff, its un tested and they are trying it out on YOU.

 

Just imagine the fun and games we will suffer when all the driverless trucks start appearing on the roads then malfunctioning.....boom! Or worse still when theyre hacked by a bored 15 year kid and used as abig toy.

 

Way back in 2008 Delphi unleashed their new pienzo injectors on the world. At the same time Mercedes introduced a new diesel engine that used this system. By 2010 other manufacturers were using the Delphi injectors but they were now failing in Mercedes (and some BMW as well who started switching over to them in 2009) and it was becoming clear that the issue was big! Injectors were failing at less than 5000 miles, by 2011 they were up to 'version 6' and still they were failing. I may hold the record here - I collected one after a new set of injectors and it didn't even get off the forecourt before one of the new ones had failed! Cars were off the road for up to six weeks as they could not produce replacements fast enough! In the end the issue drove Delphi into chapter 11 bankruptcy and Mercedes had to step in with money as they were exclusively dependent upon this injection system!