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What to look for on a used car?


laumk7
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After the faff that was my sons 'other' car which turned out not to be, I'm in the process of getting him another one...

The car is a 07 plate ford fiesta zetec climate, full mot, fsh and cambelt has been changed.  What do I look for when going to collect this Car? It's a private sale so I don't have any dealership warranty. I'm not expecting perfection but I don't want to buy a money pit iykwim 

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put the reg no in to www.totalcarcheck.co.uk and see if there are advisories on last mot, that can be an indication off future costs. 

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what colour are you going for this time?

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57k or 80k mileage? lol was looking on autotrader .

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80k lol

*goes to have a looksie on autotrader considering bought off fleabay*

 

It's not limited edition anymore btw it's just a plain old zetec climate

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Nah, its not on there by the looks of it

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History check it before you make the purchase. Check for accident damage under the bonnet and under the boot carpet for any obvious welding, panel gaps being even and any evidence of poor paint matching. Check the MOT history online (Google 'mot history') to see what it's had as advisories - if the same advisory many times chances are that part would need replacement. On test drive check brakes pull straight and stop well, steering doesn't pull, no squeaks, rattles etc, clutch bites nicely with no judder or slip, all gears go in and out without issue, all controls/electrics inside all work, no odd engine rattles/noises, no excess smoke on start up and hard acceleration, engine oil is ingood condition (not completely blackened and smelly) without any sludge or white mayonnaise like stuff on under the filler cap. Check exhaust for corrosion and any blows too. It may seem silly but lock it and make sure all doors are actually locked properly, all lights work etc.

Lots of stuff to look over when you're buying privately without a warranty, but it can be done!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Ask to see all of the receipts for previous work, especially major work like cambelts and clutches. If it hasn't had a new clutch at 80k miles chances are it hasn't got that many more miles left unless it's solely been used on a motorway.

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Apparently the cambelt and waterpump pump were done last year at 58k. To put on 20k in a year I'm going to assume it's been a motorway uni runabout

 

Edit.

How much would it be looking at for the clutch to be done?

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I've seen more photos since btw and the stonechip looks an easy epoxy fill repair via the windscreen man

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So you have provisionally bought it subject to viewing it? ,

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Yes,  I'm contractually obligied by eBay to purchase the car

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4 hours ago, laumk7 said:

Yes,  I'm contractually obligied by eBay to purchase the car

Only if it is as described.  Make sure there isn't anything not mentioned by the seller prior to the listing ending.  If anything has changed/is different you can cancel the purchase through eBay.

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Turns out that the stonechip can't be repaired according to the local windscreen man. So back to the old drawing board :sad:

Now though my son is telling me that he wants a aygo/107/ c1 as they're dead cheap for his age to insure and run :shock:

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Could just ask him to come down a bit on the price and do the windscreen through insurance?  New windscreens without chips and scratches are so nice!!  I think any car in your budget will need some work, a windscreen is the easier end of the scale.

My sister has a C1 after a Corsa (terrible car lol), she likes it and gets decent MPG and cheap tax/insurance.  However I'd advise road testing one, I find them so uncomfortable on rough roads that it made me carsick!  They do handle well though which is a surprise, and if you go for a top spec one come with quite a bit of tech as well.  Very reliable Toyota engine in them as well, though they aren't overly torquey, do need revving to get anywhere.  I'd definitely have one of those over a Ka lol! :laugh: 

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12 hours ago, laumk7 said:

Turns out that the stonechip can't be repaired according to the local windscreen man. So back to the old drawing board :sad:

Now though my son is telling me that he wants a aygo/107/ c1 as they're dead cheap for his age to insure and run :shock:

Why?  A windscreen replacement is only £70 through insurance (fully comp).  I'm sure you could knock £100 off the price to allow for that expense and £30 for the inconvenience.

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9 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Could just ask him to come down a bit on the price and do the windscreen through insurance?  New windscreens without chips and scratches are so nice!!  I think any car in your budget will need some work, a windscreen is the easier end of the scale.

My sister has a C1 after a Corsa (terrible car lol), she likes it and gets decent MPG and cheap tax/insurance.  However I'd advise road testing one, I find them so uncomfortable on rough roads that it made me carsick!  They do handle well though which is a surprise, and if you go for a top spec one come with quite a bit of tech as well.  Very reliable Toyota engine in them as well, though they aren't overly torquey, do need revving to get anywhere.  I'd definitely have one of those over a Ka lol! :laugh: 

I can imagine!  The 405's windscreen is the original from 1996 (back when they were just glass with no coating to prevent scratches) and is full of scratches, plus has a chip (been there for three years now).  You do get used to it, but it would be lovely to have a nice new windscreen.  That said, I couldn't bring myself to have the original removed unless it became illegal.

We borrowed the Peugeot equivalent of the C1 (the 106, I think it was) a couple of years ago and it was OK.  It was a diesel and got fantastic fuel economy from what I remember.  Awful ride quality and handling though.  Was like sitting in a tin can, much like the Ford KA.

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My Fiesta screen has been replaced (was a sticker still on it lol!) at some point in its 8 year/115k life....but the replacement is already awful with chips and scratches everywhere - very different to the 6 month old screen in the Focus lol!  But even the old Focus screen wasn't that bad!

You're getting confused between the 'city bugs' I think.  106s are really old now and did come with a 1.4 and 1.5 TUD diesel engine, I've owned a couple - epic MPG but nothing else going for them!  The C1/107/Aygo are all built on the same platform and the older ones only come with a 1.0 petrol VVTi engine.  There was the option of a 1.4 HDi for a short while but that was quickly dropped as no one bought them lol.  Ride is bad but the handling is awesome, can really chuck them around being light with the wheels right on the corners...if you can stomach it lol.

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6 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

My Fiesta screen has been replaced (was a sticker still on it lol!) at some point in its 8 year/115k life....but the replacement is already awful with chips and scratches everywhere - very different to the 6 month old screen in the Focus lol!  But even the old Focus screen wasn't that bad!

You're getting confused between the 'city bugs' I think.  106s are really old now and did come with a 1.4 and 1.5 TUD diesel engine, I've owned a couple - epic MPG but nothing else going for them!  The C1/107/Aygo are all built on the same platform and the older ones only come with a 1.0 petrol VVTi engine.  There was the option of a 1.4 HDi for a short while but that was quickly dropped as no one bought them lol.  Ride is bad but the handling is awesome, can really chuck them around being light with the wheels right on the corners...if you can stomach it lol.

Just checked and it was the 107 that we used.  It had the 1.4 diesel, which was...  Interesting... 

Put it this way, full throttle in the 1.4 was the same as half throttle with my 1.9.  Things went downhill after the XUD engines were discontinued, I'll say that much.

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Well I don't agree, in fact the DW10 was a far better engine than the XUD9.  But the 1.4/1.6 HDis are horrific yes lol.

You can see why they quickly dropped the 1.4HDi in the 107s! :laugh: 

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18 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Well I don't agree, in fact the DW10 was a far better engine than the XUD9.  But the 1.4/1.6 HDis are horrific yes lol.

You can see why they quickly dropped the 1.4HDi in the 107s! :laugh: 

I will ignore that comment Tom, we both know nothing beats the XUD9 :wink:

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Well I conceded and went down and had a look at an aygo and a c1 in his area (main dealers). The aygo we couldn't agree on the new x shape or the old shape, the sales advisor was rubbish, and each and every car was covered in bird s*** so much for main dealer standards! 

So off we went to citreon, we agreed the new shape is reminiscent of the Nissan joke (no spelling error :wink: ) and therefore both hated it instantly! Took a further look at a vtr+ and a platinum, and ended up me taking the platinum for a test drive.  Not too bad of a car tbh the specs were really good and it was quite nippy . Downside it's 0-60 was shocking and it's only 68bhp but for a lad in his 20s, that's ideal for insurance.  On top of all that 5.5k for a 14 plate is amazing!  So decision is made :) 

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Also having owned a pug, they were a no go.

Re the windscreen on the fester, I'd rather not start an insurance policy with a claim :wink:

 

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