Hello, Ordovices, nice to see you too, back from your lurking.

Killed any cats, or been warned by any forum moderators recently ?

In 2009 there was no saloon, only hatchback or estate. The new 2012 on model is saloon or estate.

Enjoy.

Edited by DieselBoy on 20/12/2014 at 13:47

Don't forget that absolutely no database is infallible : you might have a car that was on sale on the european mainland, and someone ordered in RHD (for example, british military personnel based there), which was then brought back and registered in the UK. It might also be what is called 'old stock' - basically, it sat around for a year or so before eventually being sold at a huge discount, so it could be of 2008 manufacture.

I've seen it before. For example, I remember when the L322 Range Rovers came out in 2003, lots of dealers got stuck with stocks of the P38s. Those P38s were still being registered (sold at a huge discount, obviously), and put on 'new' plates, as late as 2005.

Any advice on what to check when I visit Arnold Clark on monday?

So they put fake plates on it to cover the true age?

No. The plate on the car bears absolutely NO reference to the date of manufacture. It is the date of first registration. NOTHING more.

For example, if I found an unregistered TVR from 2002 sitting in a warehouse, and wanted to register it, it would come back on a '64' plate. The fact that the factory closed down in 2005 means nothing.

Do a bit of research : you may find that it's possible to type the VIN off the car into a website, and get the build date for it (you can for BMW, and it shows my May 2013 registered car as being built on 8th April 2013).

Or you may find that the build date is on a sticker, under the bonnet (again, this used to be true for BMW, they put the paint code, build month/year and other data on the suspension mount points under the bonnet)

Or the build date may even be on the VIN plate.

Whichever it is (if any), in the end, it doesn't matter NOW if the car sat around for a year or two before being registered. What matters is the car, and how it has been serviced and maintained, and the condition it is in, and the price compared to other, similar cars.

All this 'but that particular model was stopped a few months earlier' is just noise. Treat it as such, and ignore it.

If you're concerned about the vehicle's identity, then stop worrying : If the vehicle ended up having a 'dodgy' identity, then Arnold Clark would be ENTIRELY liable to refund you, in law.

Have you done as suggested in the very first reply and searched for anything yourself, anything at all?

HJ's reviews above a good starting point, owners forums etc can be found by putting suitable phrases into any search engine, you'll need to invest possibly a whole day searching and reading to learn all you need.

If you can't be bothered doing some of this for yourself you might be better advised to spend out on a professional inspection instead.

Arnold Clark sell lots of motors, they must be doing something right even if it's just providing vending coffee, a warm glass palace and easy/expensive credit to people who can't afford it, again a search engine will provide all the answers you need.

Edited by gordonbennet on 21/12/2014 at 08:43

You are fixating on something THAT DOES NOT MATTER. A couple of posts back, you'd gotten over this lot, and were asking what to look at when you went to go and see the car, rather than this lot.

I don't know how much more clearly I can put it.

It sounds to me like you've gotten cold feet over buying a car, you've put a deposit down and committed to buying it, and are looking for some excuse or other to get out of the deal. This looks, to you, like a good enough excuse, so you're going to run with it.

It's a 5/6 year old car. The exact CO2 numbers don't matter. Whether the car was a few months old, or was first used abroad and then personally imported, doesn't matter. What matters is the condition of it, the service record, the price.

Get on with it. Buy it, or don't.

I make 11 off 2009 1.8TS Mazda 6 on Autotrader...

This user review from What Car sounds like "your" car - or its twin!

• 2.0 TS 4dr James Toal , Fife . Date: 10/03/2011
  • Overall verdict 4 out of 5 stars
  • What's it like to drive 5 out of 5 stars
  • Running costs 4 out of 5 stars
  • Quality, practicality and equipment 3 out of 5 stars
  • Average MPG 37
  My car

  I have a 2009 "59" 1.8TS Saloon bought new from the showroom, which apparently doesn't exist as a model. It is surprisingly spritely, extremely reliable, handles wonderfully well on Scottish A and B roads and is economical to service. I can understand the reported sticky gearbox problems, as reverse is sometimes difficult to engage. The paintwork is also softer then other cars I have had, being extremely susceptible to chips. The colour "Sparkling Ebony", a sort of maroon black is also not listed for the model and in common with other black cars has a white undercoat, making chips and scratches particularly noticable.

Was the car a grey import? Specs in various EU countries differ and sometimes there are bargains to be had.

tinyurl.com/q9fphoz shows i

the Mazda 6 sallon was sold from 2007 -12

(this is basic stuff the OP could find in 2 minutes)

Parkers via Google says this specific saloon was in production from 1 to 30 November 2009:

www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/facts-and-figures/m.../

We really are the OP's stooges!

Have lost the will to live.

Lol all these crazy assumptions when all I wanted is clarification on running costs after reading contradicting databases.

You soud like a arnold clark salesman that is desperate to make this sale or you will lose your job lol.

Arnold Clark dealers have been mooted as a dealer large enough to be relied upon, they scored a whopping 1.4 out of 5 on the Review Centre. It was only out of 429 reviews and over some considerable period of time. If you take the last 12 months reviews, they amount to 105 reviews (a drop in the ocean for their overall sales, I suspect) however the approval rating is still palpably low, yet consistent.

This doesn't mean the cars are necessarily bad, it may just be the service received was wanting. If I were asked to give an opinion on certain Mazda and VW dealers, it would be comparably unfavourable. It's largely down to your experience and expectations.

RJP. No cats killed, there doesn't seem to be any around to cause a nuisance at the moment. Serendipity, perhaps?