Hi guys, thought i'd ask on here for a bit of advice...

Currently got a 2 litre 2001 focus but time has come to move on. Haven't got a massive budget but have seen a C-Max 2004 in our range. I've been to see it and it's got service stamps in the book and is well serviced... But I'm not sure I trust the guy selling ti. He keeps putting a big emphasis on the fully loaded Ultima side of things, which I do really like, but I just don't know what I'm looking for.

Took a mechanic friend with us tonight and he gave it a look over, said the dual flywheel was making a slight rattle when you push the clutch half way in, that there was an oil leak but it looks like it might just be from the air system as a pipe looks like it may be split and the camber of the rear wheels looks to be leaning inwards, although the tyres look fine (could've been replaced?).

He test drove it and said it seemed sound enough, not sure whether he knew it was a TD, would he be able to tell from testing it? Are there any telltale things to say your money might be going straight down a drain if you buy it?!

Anyone give me any advice? I'm pretty much sold on all the good stuff the car has, and it'd be great for our family, assuming it works!

Hi Chris, and welcome to the family!

As long as you dont buy an auto, you should be fine! however, if you do buy a 1.6tdci, then you will need to watch out for the cracked turbo intercooler pipe (see my signature for replacement).

Otherwise, the DMF is a pain in most diesel owners backsides these days. They can be replaced and still not done correctly so check the history for when this was done.

Failing that, the car is generally very good with no real "known" flaws (manual that is) and you can buy a very good car for your money.

Just make sure you get the guy to acknowledge that he has to offer a 6 months warranty (if he is a dealer / garage) and keep that in mind incase it is needed.

Unfortunately the guy is one of these chaps who sells cars as a "private" seller, despite obviously dealing in cars.

It's a 2.0td Ultima, don't know if that helps with saying if it's any good? I'm just waiting on the garage to send through the full history to take a look at. They just said on the phone the rear tyres were replaced in March, would that be why the tyres weren't suggesting any odd wear on the inside of them? Or is the camber something that evens itself out when driving?

"Ultima" isnt a model of CMAX from the UK? so that would be my first question!

Get the number plate, and visit etis.ford.com and pop the reg into the registration lookup tool, and see what it says.

As for the private seller, if he has more than one or two vehicles to sell, then he is a trader! is there a link to the car on the net (autotrader, facebook, gumtree, website?).

I would insist that if I was buying that car, I would expect a warranty. if you have evidence that he has multiple cars on the driveway and if he has others for sale, it is down to him to prove to you (and trading standards!) that he is nothing more than an addictive personality to buying and selling personal vehicles, which wont wash! If you are concerned, contact your local trading standards and they can confirm for you if he should be seen as a trader which I fully expect he will.

If you dont feel safe with the purchase, walk away. It might be a good car, but the last thing you want is to get a promise worth not even the ink its written with, for you to then have to have big arguments in a few months time regarding the cars safety / issues that should be rightly resolved by them!

He's not currently got more than one car for sale that I can see, but his ebay history is just selling cars, the key for the car had a tag on it "CMAX" etc. And when searching his number on google it shows up lots of previous listings for cars on gumtree. I just messaged him about warranty and he said "No mate, Sold as seen"...

This is how it shows up on www.sellyourcar2jack.com

https://www.dropbox.com/s/le9z0t9jgw5la9d/Screenshot%202014-04-23%2009.44.19.png

I should add, he told us yesterday that his cousin has or works in a Peugeot garage in Leicester and that's where the car came from. I've got a mate who works at a BMW garage and they get first refusal on the cars that come in part exchange so wondering if it's much the same deal here?

Also, it's 140k miles, is that high for a fully serviced engine? Or would the full service mean that it'll be pretty fresh?

Its a high miler, but if its full service history with a recent clutch and DMF change then it could be worth a shot, also check if the EGR has been replaced at all.

IMHO, I would run the other way, I dont trust any garage who says "sold as seen" and certainly if its a one man band just selling one car after another then I really wouldnt take the risk personally. However, if I was you, I would contact trading standards regardless.

Provide them all the information you have about the guy, his communication, his recent sales history. Trading Standards will probably find a clause they can pull him on and will force him to acknowledge a trader status.

Its really up to you how you proceed, if the car sounds good (bar that little noise) I would say go for it if you can do without the warranty and its a great deal, however, if any part of you says no, walk away. If he wants to sell it to you then he can cut a deal with warranty, otherwise, let his ploy be for someone who is willing to play the risk card.

Here's what the garage provided, does this tell anything??

https://www.dropbox.com/s/74qjuaczc98z0so/scanservicehist.pdf

Thats one garage by the looks of it, but if it went to anyone else, then it might have had more work done. Its a starting point, but I wouldnt necessarily call that a full service history.

I cant see anything on there about clutch and DMF, so I would advise caution, unless there is a receipt for it in a pack, there is no evidence that this has been done and it will be a costly piece of work... if you get no warranty, then you really are up the creak if thats the case.

The garage that that came from are the ones who have also stamped every service stamp in the book.

If I were you I would walk away. The car may seem like a good deal but something does not sit. I have never heard of a c max ultima and TD? TD what? TDDI or TDCI?

The so called service history is poor, no mileage no price and what exactly went wrong that the car had replacement brake calipers more than once? Brake calipers don't normally ever fail.

Furthermore what the hell is "general mechanical" work? In any case for anyone having work done on a car for your own history and resale value of your vehicle it is important for any work done be recorded for what it is. "General mechanical" work means nothing and sounds made up to fill the gaps

Badly worn tyres mean bad alignment it would have been obvious for any garage doing wheel bearings to check or do wheel alignment.

Here is what you can do.

Ask the seller for the cars reference and number plate number go on the gov website and check the car entire mot history from new, or tell him to print one out for you, cross reference all serviced info with mot mileage if possible, if he refuse walk away.

I find too many holes in this sale, I really don't think you should buy this car because there will always be newer and bigger opportunity in the future and just because I smell a rat

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Ford OC mobile app

I've got the MOT V5 number, MOT number and Reg, but not sure what i'm looking at, could you check it out for me and see what you think or tell me what flags i'm looking for? Cheers

An mot number alone will only give you info about that specific mot. The V5 reference number will show you all mot from new.

Go here https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history-vehicle

Put in the v5 number and number plate number, check previous mot for general failure or advisory, see if any of the mileage and dates for the "service and mot" match those dates

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Ford OC mobile app

Offside rear brake binding (3.7.A.1) - 10/12/2010

Which is presumably why the OSR caliper was replaced a few weeks later? Can garages temporarily fix something like that and suggest it needs fixing? As it was passed the same day with no advisories.

Then an advisory on 02/04/2012 that said:

Offside Front front brake grabbing slightly (3.7.A.2b)

Which seems like this was then replaced on the 11th of the same month?