Advice needed on buying a car from Auckland dealer

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kekehuang

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Geek
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Topic # 240777 25-Sep-2018 18:06

I’m planning to buy a car from the local Auckland dealer.

I went to the Turners website, and they have a vehicle condition guide for each car. If there are any obvious problems, they are all stated in this condition guide. But I went to some car dealers that are closer to me, and they don’t have that condition guide for each vehicle. But I think all cars are checked by the dealers before they start trying to sell it right?

Is pre-purchase inspection always needed if buying from a dealer?

I read from a website that the normal mileage for a car is around 15km/year. But I actually saw one car that my local dealer is selling, it’s 2007 but only 25,645km. That’s extremely low mileage. What could be the possible reason for that? Is it a good choice or there could be some problems with it?

pctek

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Reply # 2096345 25-Sep-2018 18:18

Is pre-purchase inspection always needed if buying from a dealer?

LOL, you think used car salesmen are the most honest and nice people?

Unless buying brand new, hell yes you need a pre-inspection.

Don't rely on someones piece of paper, take a knowledgeable person with you to check it properly.

CitizenErased

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Reply # 2096932 26-Sep-2018 15:44

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A 2007 car that's travelled 25,645km - there's two possible explanations: (1) The odometer has been wound back or (2) it's travelled an average of 6km per day. I personally wouldn't buy a 2007 car that's travelled an average of 6km per day. It's probably spent it's entire life running on a cold engine, resulting in excessive engine wear. The engine internals could have as much wear as a sales rep's car that's done 200,000km of hot running. I'm not exaggerating.

Starlith

56 posts

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Reply # 2096977 26-Sep-2018 16:29

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Know what you want to buy and why

Know the alternatives

Know the price your willing to pay

Know the fuel consumption rate

Know how scarce spare parts are for your model

Check for spare tyre (some have a space saver or a repair kit)

Test drive including the alternatives (Pro, Con)

Check ownership history/service history if possible eg. cars with a constant ownership history such as companies/dhb's/govt depts generally have good decent servicing over their lifetime.

Get it mechanically checked unless you are confident that you know your stuff

amiga500

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Reply # 2097021 26-Sep-2018 18:24

Before paying for a check try to take the car for a test drive on your own. A good long test drive of at least 30 minutes to an hour. Include some city driving and at least a few kms. on a motorway. If you are satisfied with the car after a decent test drive then think about getting it checked. Maybe I have been exceptionally lucky in my far too frequent car buying history, but I have never paid to have a mechanical check done. And until you have done the test drive don't waste your time checking the body work of the car and things like that. If the dealer won't allow a nice long test drive on your own - just walk away & find another dealer.

Delphinus

125 posts

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Reply # 2097079 26-Sep-2018 20:37

I would also recommend giving the car a hand wash yourself before you buy. Take it home and by washing and drying it all over you get a chance to find all the scratches and dents that might exist.

tdgeek

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Reply # 2097091 26-Sep-2018 20:53

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Delphinus:

I would also recommend giving the car a hand wash yourself before you buy. Take it home and by washing and drying it all over you get a chance to find all the scratches and dents that might exist.

Are you serious?

Checking the date, its not 1 April yet

Go to SpecSavers

driller2000

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Reply # 2097130 26-Sep-2018 22:10

Knowing what you want is key - as is doing your research.

And hell yes get an inspection done.

FYI we recently purchased a car for my partner - and had it inspected by:

www.incarautomotive.co.nz

They (Carl) did an excellent job and I cant recommended him enough - and the few small things he identified I got fixed by the yard for free - which saved me more than what I paid for the inspection AND gave us peace of mind.

PS: His reviews speak for themselves.

E3xtc

589 posts

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Reply # 2097186 27-Sep-2018 07:59

tdgeek:

Delphinus:

I would also recommend giving the car a hand wash yourself before you buy. Take it home and by washing and drying it all over you get a chance to find all the scratches and dents that might exist.

Are you serious?

Checking the date, its not 1 April yet

Go to SpecSavers

I actually agree that there is value in going over the car with a wash like level of care. Often you can (even with your eyes open) have buyers excitement and overlook (unintentionally) things you would otherwise normally see.

E3xtc

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Reply # 2097188 27-Sep-2018 08:04

I am somewhat dubious about many places that do checks; there are so many exclusions as to what they are responsible for that I feel sometimes that leads them to doing a substandard job.

I think I would be more inclined to go to a dealer and get the car to be inspected there....for example when I sold my last car the buyer got a reputable inspection service to go over the car. They didn't identify any of the key "things" that I was expecting to be highlighted - some of them reasonably serious; not serious as its going to break and kill someone, but serious like repaired accident damage, reasonably significant damage/repair work done to interior etc. And previously I have had an inspected car that subsequently turned up not having working aircon. But you have no right of redress because of all the conditions etc that make up the service agreement :\

Batman

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Reply # 2097208 27-Sep-2018 09:05

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i never trust any car inspection places. they look for the big elephants and miss everything else.

the only guys i trust more are actual franchise dealers. they actually know what they are checking for.

Swype on iOS is detrimental to accurate typing. Apologies in advance.

Coil

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Reply # 2097210 27-Sep-2018 09:13

Batman:

i never trust any car inspection places. they look for the big elephants and miss everything else.

the only guys i trust more are actual franchise dealers. they actually know what they are checking for.

The likes of Giltrap will give you a very very good PPI. They want to extract as much money as possible at the best rate so they find as much as they can wrong and give you accurate prices to replace the parts with genuine quality aprts. The AA guys should be labeled as a scam, half of them don't even know what they are looking at. A workshop may not want to do a PPI as they are not a good money maker and can be time consuming so they prefer not to.. I am sure if you know a mechanic and trust them they would be happy to help.

CitizenErased:

A 2007 car that's travelled 25,645km - there's two possible explanations: (1) The odometer has been wound back or (2) it's travelled an average of 6km per day. I personally wouldn't buy a 2007 car that's travelled an average of 6km per day. It's probably spent it's entire life running on a cold engine, resulting in excessive engine wear. The engine internals could have as much wear as a sales rep's car that's done 200,000km of hot running. I'm not exaggerating.

My blimmin WWII kraut box compression tests at factory spec @ 250,000KM of pure abuse. That is 180PSI (Hot test) with a variation of 5% max. Has never missed a service, maintained with the best parts. Goes to show what looking after a car can do for you...

amiga500

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Reply # 2097553 27-Sep-2018 14:56

Also spend some time on Youtube. Channels such as Scotty Kilmer's are good value.

Coil

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Reply # 2097586 27-Sep-2018 15:16

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amiga500:

Also spend some time on Youtube. Channels such as Scotty Kilmer's are good value.

He has some good info, like telling you to service your car on time, and replace wear components. Just the basics that logic depicts for most people.....
The rest of it is biased spiel....

Chrisfix seems a little bit better.