I have been to a Mini Garage looking for a One D.
I found out from the sales person that the Mini One D that I liked very much previously belonged to a driving instructor. It is 06 reg and has done 65k miles (averaging more than 30k a year). The sales person assured me that the car is in pristine condition with any worn parts all replaced and they will be giving the 12 months warranty and MOT cover under the MINI cherished scheme.
My question is that should I stay away from this car seeing that it must be treated harshly by the learner drivers (Or is this a misconception)?
If I were to buy this car, is there anything that I must ensure that the garage has to replace, for example the clutch, or any other mechanical parts that you recommend me to pay attention to?
Your advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanking you in advance.
Edited by Pugugly on 31/05/2008 at 12:58
|
|
I would give it a wide berth, unless it was very cheap. It will have had a very hard life !
|
|
Chances are it'l be on its 2nd or 3rd gearbox by now if my adi clients are any guide. They do draw the pupils in though, so are quite popular with the driving schools.
|
|
|
|
"the car is in pristine condition with any worn parts all replaced and they will be giving the 12 months warranty and MOT cover under the MINI cherished scheme. "
So why the worries?
|
If you believe a salesman...
|
|
|
|
The sales person assured me that the car is in pristine condition with any worn parts all replaced
Yeah right! In 65k miles of driving by learners there can't be many components that haven't been used within an inch of their lives. Or has the entire drivetrain and suspension been replaced recently...
The warranty will take away some of the worries for a year, but then what?
I would also suggest driving a typical lower mileage Mini too, so you can tell how worn and tired this ex-driving school car really is, or maybe isn't?
|
As a driving instructor. The only question to ask is: was it the driving instructor's own car or was it leased? The V5 doc will tell you this information.
If it was his own car then like me he won't have let anyone abuse it, smack the kerb, ride the clutch etc etc...
It will have been serviced regularly and as he bought a mini he's probably image concious and so will have kept it in pristine condition.
My own car a citroen C4 hdi on an 06 with 60K looks better and is kept better than any car my friends or family have. It's my business why would let anyone try to ruin it.
|
|
The MINI secondhand warranty is bombproof - I doubt whether a dealer would be flogging it unless they were happy, any doubts an it would have been shipped off to Auction. There's always a 3rd party warranty after the initial 12 months. If you want it buy it - don't worry. You can always move it on later and you won't lose much on a MINI.
|
|
|
|
Ask the garage to ask the previous owner to call you have a chat and follow instincts from there.
Just cos its been a learner car does not mean its been hammered.
We have a customer who is a driving intructor he changes his car every 18 months with 65000 to 75000 on them. His cars sell within a week as they are so well looked after. We love his custom as he is a stickler in looking after his cars as he says they are his livlihood so no car no wages.
Just check the clutch and gearbox and make sure they are covered under the warranty paying attention to any fair wear and tear clauses.
BTW to who ever said it or inferred it ............... not all salesman are liars !!
|
BTW to who ever said it or inferred it ............... not all salesman are liars
No, but many will make claims or suggestions with no facts at hand to back it up. Like this salesman trying to claim all worn parts have been replaced. How can he tell? Has he personally been over the car with a fine tooth comb to check for wear and tear in all major components? Let's face it, the car will have had the usual 20-100 point check, which may or may not have actually been completed as stated. The salesman cannot know if there are worn components that might fail expensively the day the warranty is up. He's simply telling the customer what they want to hear, a very common tactic.
I bet the first question the OP asked about the car was "will it be OK as it's ex-driving school". The only honest answer should be - "it's been maintained according to the manufacturers service programme and will have a full inspection before sale. It also covered by an excellent warranty." Anything else is filling in the blanks with what seems to sound good.
If something goes wrong the warranty will be the one to pick up the bill (until it expires), not the salesman. Yes, to be fair if they thought it a bad 'un they may have sent it to auction to preserve the reputation, but then I've seen some real dogs at main dealers too.
I could near write a book with all the meaningless, deceitful and sometimes comical lines salesmen have thrown at me. Shame really, as the few honest salemen I've had to deal with were fine people and didn't at all deserve the reputation the industry carries.
|
Not many salesmen know the difference between a conrod and a starter motor, just for a start. As for the sort of things they say, it's best not to pay too much attention.
The only new car I have ever bought, a Citroen Dyane, came from, er, a West End showroom more or less. When I went to get it the salesman who handed over the keys thought fit to make a disparaging remark about the car and its general cheapness.
Naturally I despise these jumped-up halfwits as much as the next person, but I didn't take it personally and stuff the motor up the geezer's jaxie, although it would probably have fitted quite easily. I just took the keys and left.
|
|
All salesmen tell you what YOU want to want to hear(not necessarily the truth). Would any warranty cover wear and tear items such as clutch & gearbox? I'd give it a miss.
|
"any worn parts all replaced"
At 65k all the moving parts will have some wear - and even if the Service Manager had the special issue BMW X-ray specs I doubt the Sales Manager would let him replace all the worn parts.
Total cobblers. Ignore the sales guy - he may not think it, but he is in fact telling you total porkies. He doesn't think so of course, because by the time you went in he'd said it at least ten times, thus turning total fiction into the whole truth, in his own rather strangely wired mind.
All they've done is replace the pads and discs, and may be a tyre or two. I'll bet you that. Nothing more. Nothing else can be checked for wear without costing ludicrous sums.
Edited by oldnotbold on 01/06/2008 at 21:43
|
What typical assumptions !
If it comes with fresh mot, you not think suspension bushes etc will be changed as required? Probably all the wear that it will have suffered!
|
Whilst a driving instructors car does high mileage from my father's experience (20+ years of 30,000 miles a year teaching) they actually have quite a good life for a car.
They are doing 30,000+ miles a year so are running for many hours a day which is only good for a diesel engine.
They are the tool of the trade so are serviced on the dot and repaired straight away - a broken car (even down to a bulb) can cost an instructor money.
Learners always have someone sitting with them so won't abuse it. Yes gears get missed, but they don't ride the clutch on inclines or race away from lights. My dad has only had two clutches replaced - one on a car with a fault from new, the other preventative as the gearbox needed a warranty job (the gearbox fault was well known on new Fiestas and not due to abuse), so he had the clutch done whilst the gearbox was off.
He finds the seats suffer more than the rest of the car, but one thing is for sure he has never had a problem selling his old cars at 3 years and 100,000+ miles. I had one of them and it never let me down.
His current car has done nearly 60,000 in less than 2 years, but apart from the odometer it looks brand new.
My only advice when buying from a dealer is to find out who owned it before and have a chat with them.
|
>>Common sense answer.
I would have thought it more common sensical that an L-car has had many times more wear & tear on every moving part @ 20-30K p.a. than an 'ordinairy' car. Think of how many gear changes, 3-point turns, stops & starts, slow-moving urban transits that car will have had. Almost zero low-strees M-way miles, certain low speed clutch abuse, (despite whatever examiners might say here) endless idling, etc. etc. - in fact, just the sort of tests manufacturers give cars to test wear rates & mean time between failures.
Really - why bother?
|
|
|
|
|
"I could near write a book with all the meaningless, deceitful and sometimes comical lines salesmen have thrown at me"
I could write a book with all the lies Ive been told by customers however not all buyers are liars as not all sale peoples are liars.
|
touché
But didn't you know that customers can lie through their back teeth, whilst salesmen are expected to be scrupulously truthful ? :-)
|
PMSL ..... I am very impressed by your very insightful knowledge of how the game of buying and selling of cars is played.
I rekon its the customers getting their own back from the bad old days of car salesmen.
If im truthful with my opinion Im sure more customers get ripped off than dealerships do... but for most main dealers (or the ones Ive worked at) are pretty much to be trusted ... but back to the mini thread if the salesman really did say all the worn bits have been changed then he is silly to make such an all emcompassing statement.
Did the OP actually buy the car ?? if he does I would like to hear back after a few months of ownership
|
|
Why not ask for a copy of the checklist when the car was prepared for sale, and also the jobcard to find out which faults were repaired & which were deemed ok to let go? If the salesman won't give you the information then walk away from it.
|
What is the significance of the little square after the thread title?
It doesn't appear in the original post!
Some of us worry about these things.
|
|
No need to worry. My Desktop computer's keyboard has been acting strangely after I rebuilt my system, I think the keyboard (Logitech) and mouse (Microsoft)'s wireless signal are conflicting. Anyway I noticed the strange square, corrected it in the original subject line, but didn't bother correcting it all the way through the rather lengthy thread - I reckon no-one would notice or if they did they wouldn't say anything (some hope) !
|
There's no shortage of second hand cars, why risk this one? (which I wouldn't touch with a barge poll)
MVP
|
Use your eyes and ears to see if it's the car for you, judge each car on it's own merits . A good test drive and inspection can tell you what you need to know. Don't rely on the garage or salesman's word. With the engine idling can you hear the bearings in the gearbox chatter and then go quiet when you dip the clutch ?. The synchrmesh on the box will be the first to go, is the change obstructive when downshifting at speed?.Can you hear a faint whining noise from worn diff bearings when on the move?. Any judder/grabbing from the clutch ?. Rock the steering does it feel taught with no play or knocking noises ? (compare with a newer mini) . Does the gearstick feel positive or is it loose and unprecise ? Any knocking noises from suspension when driving around town over speed bumps?. Is the paintwork on the front bumper/bonnet leading edge chipped badly?. Have you checked every inch of the bumpers for splits cracks and the bodywork for repairs?. Has it got an impeccable service record with anything needing doing done straight away or was the previous owner a penny pincher ?. Cheapo banana skin tyres and back street garage servicing aren't a good sign on a car like this.
Check drivers seat for sagging and wear on the bolster region. I'm sure there is more checks to do but if it all checks out ok it could be a good buy but only at the right price, ie less than book retail for mileage
|
|
|
|
