Hi,
I have put down a deposit on this Hyundai i10 (RF16YZM) with 34,303 miles on the clock. MOT history shows no fails and two minor advisories from years ago - other than that it's a clean sheet. However, from 2021 the car has no proof of servicing (lines up with when new owner, an older lady, took on the car). That means it has gone 3.5 years or 20,000 miles without proof of servicing.
Have had a test drive and there's no weird sounds, feels good to drive, and is immaculately kept apart from the wheel caps that the seller is going to replace.
Have tried contacting Hyundai to try and find missing history but could not progress due to GDPR.
Was feeling anxious about the lack of service history so got my mechanic cousin to have a look and he believes it's a great wee car, but noticed thinning brake pads that the seller has agreed to replace. My cousin also said that if I am worried about the service history I can give it an engine flush after 5k miles for peace of mine?
Despite all this I'm still very anxious about the gap in service history. I am naturally a very cautious person so I am looking for someone to tell me whether I am overreacting and should buy the car or if I am right to consider moving on.
I will appreciate any thoughts on this
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As you are naturally cautious and concerned about the gap in service history, I'm curious as to why you put a deposit down before establishing whether the car hadn't had any servicing done during that time period or whether the records have just gone missing?. It isn't like it is a very rare car, there are plenty of i10's around (along with its mechanical twin the Kia Picanto).
Couple of general points though. First is that service records are usually kept online these days, certainly when it comes to main dealer servicing. That may be the case here, but you aren't going to know without going in touch with a dealer. Talking of which, I don't know what this means?: "could not progress due to GDPR."
Second is that the i10 is not a complex car requiring diligent servicing to keep it healthy, so I'm not sure I'd be overly concerned about the missing history, especially so if the car is cheap.
I'm no mechanic, but I'm not sure why your cousin advised you to have it flushed after 5k miles?. Surely for peace of mind, get it done ASAP?
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Thank you
Edited by eva_3 on 04/04/2025 at 13:25
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As you are naturally cautious and concerned about the gap in service history, I'm curious as to why you put a deposit down before establishing whether the car hadn't had any servicing done during that time period or whether the records have just gone missing?. It isn't like it is a very rare car, there are plenty of i10's around (along with its mechanical twin the Kia Picanto).
Couple of general points though. First is that service records are usually kept online these days, certainly when it comes to main dealer servicing. That may be the case here, but you aren't going to know without going in touch with a dealer. Talking of which, I don't know what this means?: "could not progress due to GDPR."
Second is that the i10 is not a complex car requiring diligent servicing to keep it healthy, so I'm not sure I'd be overly concerned about the missing history, especially so if the car is cheap.
I'm no mechanic, but I'm not sure why your cousin advised you to have it flushed after 5k miles?. Surely for peace of mind, get it done ASAP?
Thank you for your reply!
Regarding the deposit, I’m 21 and this is my first car purchase so I went with my parents who were quite adamant that I should buy the car, and that I would find anything better. I’d been told by the garage that they don’t often get i10s in, and I wanted to buy with that garage as many of my friends had bought cars with them and had had good experiences. I was anxious that the car would go quick as low mileage cars seem to be more desirable.
I could not access the previous records or lack of any due to GDPR, which is the law put in place to protect people’s information, so I wasn’t able to access records as I did not own the car yet and this could expose previous owners information.
The car is £5899 and comes with an oil and filter change, fresh MoT, new brake pads, new wheel caps, and fixing up a wee scratch. The dealer didn’t want to budge on price so we thought we’d try get some things thrown in.
I’m actually not sure about the engine flush, I will have to ask him/research this separately if I go ahead with the purchase!
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£6000 for a 9 year old i10, way over priced.
We sold the uncles Suzuki Celerio 18 months ago, 4 years old, 3000 miles (not a miss type), full Suzuki service history, no MOT advisories for £5300 to the dealer we bought it from, he put it up for £6800, gone in days.
The buyer got a brilliant buy especially considering if they keep up the Suzuki service it still had 3 years warranty.
Look elsewhere.
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I’d buy it . Sounds like a great little car . Certainly get oil and filter done . I wouldn’t bother with an engine flush . Waste of time .
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I’d buy it . Sounds like a great little car . Certainly get oil and filter done . I wouldn’t bother with an engine flush . Waste of time .
Agreed. Does the MoT history show that the car has had reasonable use since the latest service (assuming it hasn't been serviced, tho it may have been) ? And any Hyundai dealer should have access to their national database, so ask one - GDPR is irrelevant unless you ask about the owner's details ! .... [I've had a look at the MoT - that old lady has been quite busy, so if it's not been serviced since. it should have been].
Don't worry about Skidpan's mercenary remarks - it may be true, but if you are happy that doesn't matter too much. But never forget that when you buy from a dealer, they are unlikely (but just possible) to know anything about a car beyond its make, model and colour. They may have checked the MoT and should have checked HPI.
Edited by Andrew-T on 04/04/2025 at 14:03
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My initial thoughts were it's overpriced but I looked on Autotrader for 1.0 S models for £6k and it's about average. Some cheaper but others more. Crazy but true. There was a time when a small car like this would be about £3k at that age.
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I’d buy it . Sounds like a great little car . Certainly get oil and filter done . I wouldn’t bother with an engine flush . Waste of time .
Agreed. Does the MoT history show that the car has had reasonable use since the latest service (assuming it hasn't been serviced, tho it may have been) ? And any Hyundai dealer should have access to their national database, so ask one - GDPR is irrelevant unless you ask about the owner's details ! .... [I've had a look at the MoT - that old lady has been quite busy, so if it's not been serviced since. it should have been].
Don't worry about Skidpan's mercenary remarks - it may be true, but if you are happy that doesn't matter too much. But never forget that when you buy from a dealer, they are unlikely (but just possible) to know anything about a car beyond its make, model and colour. They may have checked the MoT and should have checked HPI.
Thank you for taking time to help, the MoT shows 21k miles since last recorded service (Aug 2021), and then the dealer has does an oil and filter for sale at its current 34k mileage. Will this gap cause noticeable harm to the cars lifespan?
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I’d buy it . Sounds like a great little car . Certainly get oil and filter done . I wouldn’t bother with an engine flush . Waste of time .
Thank you for your advice, would you recommend getting the oil and filter done straight away despite the garage having receipts for them doing it for sale, or should I wait a few thousand miles then do it?
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I’d buy it . Sounds like a great little car . Certainly get oil and filter done . I wouldn’t bother with an engine flush . Waste of time .
Thank you for your advice, would you recommend getting the oil and filter done straight away despite the garage having receipts for them doing it for sale, or should I wait a few thousand miles then do it?
Absolutely no point changing the oil twice - assuming it has been done properly, of course. Only a very shady garage would charge for an oil change they hadn't done, as that would be fairly easy to check ! Make sure there is a new filter though, if you or your mates can.
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If you give the VIN to a Hyundai, dealer they should be able to provide a service record (assuming there is one). As previously stated, GDPR is irrelevant as it only applies to personal data (which Hyundai shouldn't be holding now anyway). That was probably just a dealer trying to get rid of you.
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If you give the VIN to a Hyundai, dealer they should be able to provide a service record (assuming there is one). As previously stated, GDPR is irrelevant as it only applies to personal data (which Hyundai shouldn't be holding now anyway). That was probably just a dealer trying to get rid of you.
I managed to contact Hyundai and ascertained that there had been no services from 2021 onwards, however they told me that this could be because they have been services performed independently of Hyundai. I was advised to ask the dealer to contact the previous owner for information regarding servicing, which I have decided to do as the car was advertised as FSH so I would expect that information.
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I’d buy it . Sounds like a great little car . Certainly get oil and filter done . I wouldn’t bother with an engine flush . Waste of time .
Thank you for your advice, would you recommend getting the oil and filter done straight away despite the garage having receipts for them doing it for sale, or should I wait a few thousand miles then do it?
Absolutely no point changing the oil twice - assuming it has been done properly, of course. Only a very shady garage would charge for an oil change they hadn't done, as that would be fairly easy to check ! Make sure there is a new filter though, if you or your mates can.
Thank you so much !
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You could go back to Hyundai again re the missing service information, and advise them that GDPR does indeed relate to the protection of personal data. However, this is a car not a person so the information you seek ought not be a problem i.e. vehicle reg, service type, service date, mileage, items replaced / work done etc. Usually this is available in summary form without any personal data. However, should they hold copies of the original service sheets containing owner names and addresses these could easily be redacted.
I've had similar issues in the past but eventually get the info OK. You just need to be persistent and a little pushy sometimes and work your way up the chain until you get to speak to an intelligent individual rather than an automaton blindly quoting erroneous information so as to make their work life easy. However this is getting more and more challenging these days.
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You could go back to Hyundai again re the missing service information, and advise them that GDPR does indeed relate to the protection of personal data. However, this is a car not a person so the information you seek ought not be a problem i.e. vehicle reg, service type, service date, mileage, items replaced / work done etc. Usually this is available in summary form without any personal data. However, should they hold copies of the original service sheets containing owner names and addresses these could easily be redacted.
I've had similar issues in the past but eventually get the info OK. You just need to be persistent and a little pushy sometimes and work your way up the chain until you get to speak to an intelligent individual rather than an automaton blindly quoting erroneous information so as to make their work life easy. However this is getting more and more challenging these days.
That’s so good to know, I will definitely try this!
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You say your mechanic cousin gave it a look over. If it hasn't had an oil change in 20K miles, I reckon he should have spotted it (a modern service consists of little else). Don't bother about another oil change or flush, if the seller says they're doing one.
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You say your mechanic cousin gave it a look over. If it hasn't had an oil change in 20K miles, I reckon he should have spotted it (a modern service consists of little else). Don't bother about another oil change or flush, if the seller says they're doing one.
Thank you!
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