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Buying car from dealer - help! - DannyC77
Hi all

I am comtemplating buying a VW Golf S 53 plate which seems in not bad nick. However the service history documents which the independent dealer has are blank? I have had a HPI check done and the registration date (which I got from their website details on the car) has come up as an alert. I think it told me the mileage was genuine - nearly 36k

I phoned up VW head office to see if I could get some of the cars service history through them and they dont have a record of the car - they said that they should have it on their system, unless it is an import?

A couple of questions:

If the car seems decent enough (I have also had someone who knows more about cars than me check it) will it be a problem with regards to the lack of service history if I come to sell it in the future?

Also if it is an import is this also a no no with regards to a future sale?
Do you reckon I am being paranoid about all this or should I stay clear. The HPI check came up with no finance owed / or having being written off.

Thanks in advance
DC
Buying car from dealer - help! - OldSock
Why take the risk? There are probably other Golfs for sale :-)
Buying car from dealer - help! - Statistical outlier
Absolutely agree. There are thousands upon thousands of Golfs out there - why buy one that you have even a shade of doubt about?? Walk away.
Buying car from dealer - help! - old crocks
I don't think you are being paranoid. When you come to sell it all these problems will come back to haunt you.
Don't walk. Run!
Buying car from dealer - help! - injection doc
run run run plenty more. it will bite you in the a.... one day
Buying car from dealer - help! - perro
The car is 6 years old, if you keep it for 2 years, 6 + 2 = eh ... 8, so the service history would be no big deal - *if* you get the car at the right price.
And anyway - service booklets can be gotten & filled in, so at least you know where you stand with this car.
How many owners has the car had?
Find out the previous owners name & get in touch with him/her and see what you can glean from them - it might actually be a good car but - the mileage seems suspect!
Buying car from dealer - help! - MissScatty
I've just bought one - wish I hadn't.

36k is way too low - as is the 66k for the one I bought from a dealer (turned out to be clocked and I'm now in legal process)

You can check on the VOSA website for all the previous MOT information as long as you have one of the MOT numbers and reg no.

But if I were you now (and how I wish I was) DO NOT BUY THIS VEHICLE.

The service book in my case was faked. Easy enough to do.
Buying car from dealer - help! - DannyC77
Hiya

I just phoned up the nearerst VW dealer to where the car is being sold and they have no record of the cars reg on their national database - which apparently means it is either an import or has had a private plate on it, and now has its original plate back on it. I have had a HPI check done and it hasnt highlighted anything wrong with the mileage? But im not sure how they can have a record of this and VW dont have anything?

DC
Buying car from dealer - help! - David Villa
HPI checks are not 100% reliable.

As others have said,there are plenty of Golfs out there,why take the risk on something you have doubts about?

For me personally,I would not want to get involved-too many alarm bells ringing.
Buying car from dealer - help! - perro
Follow Miss Scatty's advice re: MOT's + ask dealer for previous reg. owners name & address then get in touch with him/her but ... if it sounds too good to be true - it probably is!
Buying car from dealer - help! - Optimist
Car sounds like one to avoid, but can't info be obtained from VW by reference to the VIN?


Buying car from dealer - help! - Andrew-T
The Optimist is right. The car's VIN will be a better handle than the reg.no. especially for enquiries with VW, for example. Make sure it checks with HPI.

Presumably you are interested because it is a low-mileage 6-y-o car at a tempting price - which is often a suspicious combination. But as has been said, if you keep the car for a few years it will become middle-aged and not worth a large sum unless exceptional. You have to decide whether to buy an apparent 'bargain' and live with that niggling doubt ...

But you may just be lucky. Dig a bit deeper.
Buying car from dealer - help! - Altea Ego
Hiya
I just phoned up the nearerst VW dealer to where the car is being sold


DannyC77

Stop wasting your time. the advice here is that the car is a pup, dont buy it, stop chasing around after it and start looking elsewhere.
Buying car from dealer - help! - jbif
... the advice here is that the car is a pup, dont buy it, stop chasing around after it and start looking elsewhere. >>


The problem is that when someone posts asking this type of question, they are not looking for reasons not to buy, they are looking for support from people to help them buy a car with which they have already formed an emotional bond. No amount of sensible advice telling them to walk, run, it's a pup, etc. is going to stop them wanting to go ahead with the purchase.

Buying car from dealer - help! - MVP
Run away now, why are you wasting your time?

MVP
Buying car from dealer - help! - Andrew-T
I think it told me the mileage was genuine - nearly 36k


I don't think HPI or anyone other than previous owners can say the mileage is genuine. They will only have data if mileages have been recorded at change of keeper - and they often aren't. HPI can only say if the mileage is false.

That may be why there is no service record ...

Edited by Andrew-T on 23/10/2009 at 15:46

Buying car from dealer - help! - paulb {P}
Can only echo what others have said - everything here points to dodginess, and it's not as if there aren't other Golfs around for sale, so look elsewhere.

One question for the OP & apols if I have missed the answer in previous posts: you mentioned an HPI alert showing - what was it for?
Buying car from dealer - help! - DannyC77
On the ad they have a date the car was registered but when i put this into the HPI check it didnt match the date on their system

Half thinking of making them a v low offer and seeing what they say
Buying car from dealer - help! - Andrew-T
Making them a v low offer and seeing what they say


Unlikely to work unless the car has been hanging around for some while. There are always a few less cautious punters about, who may not wish to pay for an HPI.
Buying car from dealer - help! - bell boy
so
if i understand this right the dealer advertises a car and has made a slight mistake on first registration date in comparison to what a hpi check says which incidently uses the same source for its data
the vw dealer has no record of service history and says its probably an import
it could have come from the iom/jersey/northern ireland rather than catmandoo remember
the op likes the car and takes a clued up mechanic to once it over
oh and the op likes it
personally if the car ticks all the boxes and its been serviced at somewhere independant to a vw dealer i dont see the problem
its like the dealer is made out to be dodgy because it hasnt got a full vw service history etc
weird...............
as for making a low offer to the dealer,why?,he bought it he knows he can sell it because thats his job,why not just forget it and buy a so called bargain out of an internet auction site,im sure there are cheaper ones with a fully stamped up £5 book there
Buying car from dealer - help! - paul2007
Do not buy.
Buying car from dealer - help! - nick
Choose something else. Why take a risk?