Buying a car with imperfect service history...
Discussion
I've seen a car I really like, had a look at it, and it's in fairly tidy condition, but it's 6 months overdue for a service. So a few questions...
1. Would you ever buy a car with this service record? (It's at a second hand car dealer, so it may have just been sat there for 6 months)
2. What would be an appropriate discount on the car because of this? (It's a 58 plate so will have lost its warranty)
3. Would the car be impossible to sell on? (I ignore Cat D cars, for example; and wouldn't touch one with a bargepole)
1. Would you ever buy a car with this service record? (It's at a second hand car dealer, so it may have just been sat there for 6 months)
2. What would be an appropriate discount on the car because of this? (It's a 58 plate so will have lost its warranty)
3. Would the car be impossible to sell on? (I ignore Cat D cars, for example; and wouldn't touch one with a bargepole)
thinfourth2 said:
Its overdue a service and the dealer hasn't stamped it up
Good sign in my eyes considering you can buy a service stamp off ebay for a tenner
Well that's a fair point.Good sign in my eyes considering you can buy a service stamp off ebay for a tenner
The car is a Suzuki Swift, so it's never going to be a top dollar car anyway. I'm just wondering if it's even worth it if I save maybe £500 or so off the value of the car, yet end up getting that money knocked off when I come to sell it - may as well buy a decent example instead. (It's just that this one is near to home and seems OK otherwise).
It's only got 9,000 miles on the clock, so the lack of a service mechanically wouldn't worry me too much.
Pulse said:
hornetrider said:
When was it registered, has it been serviced at all yet? Details, man.
Sorry, sorry! 
It was registered in September 2008, and has had one service around September 2009 at a main dealer (verified). Since then, it's had nothing, and should have had in September 2010.
hornetrider said:
Is it sat at a dealer or with the original owner? Have you queried why it hasn't been serviced?
It's sat at a dealer, but I'm not sure how long they've had it. It looks to have been a trade-in. I'll ask them how long it's been with them. They did offer to service it for me FOC, but that wouldn't be a dealer stamp, it'd be just a service.Pulse said:
It's sat at a dealer, but I'm not sure how long they've had it. It looks to have been a trade-in. I'll ask them how long it's been with them. They did offer to service it for me FOC, but that wouldn't be a dealer stamp, it'd be just a service.
If they service it, they stamp it surely? 
Other than that, negotiate the price, then knock off the cost of a service, and take it to Suzuki.
hornetrider said:
Pulse said:
It's sat at a dealer, but I'm not sure how long they've had it. It looks to have been a trade-in. I'll ask them how long it's been with them. They did offer to service it for me FOC, but that wouldn't be a dealer stamp, it'd be just a service.
If they service it, they stamp it surely? Other than that, negotiate the price, then knock off the cost of a service, and take it to Suzuki.
I was thinking of potentially asking them to service it AND negotiate a further £500 off the price. It was originally up for about £3000 more though!
Had a similar problem myself last weekend, found a car I loved with exactly the spec I wanted for a very good price, had been waiting a couple of months for one to come up I liked, but didn't buy because of missing service history 
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
In this case I'd want to knock off the price of a service from the asking price and contact Suzuki to make sure the warranty is still valid, if not knock off another £500 to take that into account.
Might be worth playing around with WBAC as well to find out what they would pay for that model with FSH and how much that price drops by if it only has part service history, this will give you some idea of what the difference in price will be when you sell it on. However in the long run once its out of warranty I think the difference will be very little.
If the car is for sale at a dealer and only has one previous keeper I'd say its a fairly safe buy, assuming the condition checks out and it drives nicely.
Might be worth playing around with WBAC as well to find out what they would pay for that model with FSH and how much that price drops by if it only has part service history, this will give you some idea of what the difference in price will be when you sell it on. However in the long run once its out of warranty I think the difference will be very little.
If the car is for sale at a dealer and only has one previous keeper I'd say its a fairly safe buy, assuming the condition checks out and it drives nicely.
va1o said:
In this case I'd want to knock off the price of a service from the asking price and contact Suzuki to make sure the warranty is still valid, if not knock off another £500 to take that into account.
Might be worth playing around with WBAC as well to find out what they would pay for that model with FSH and how much that price drops by if it only has part service history, this will give you some idea of what the difference in price will be when you sell it on. However in the long run once its out of warranty I think the difference will be very little.
If the car is for sale at a dealer and only has one previous keeper I'd say its a fairly safe buy, assuming the condition checks out and it drives nicely.
Yeah, it'll be out of warranty in 6 months anyway, so the warranty doesn't really bother me. It's just if it would be a nightmare to sell on in the future. It wasn't in the best condition, but then I do have very high standards. It had 3 curbed alloys and some scratches on the bodywork.Might be worth playing around with WBAC as well to find out what they would pay for that model with FSH and how much that price drops by if it only has part service history, this will give you some idea of what the difference in price will be when you sell it on. However in the long run once its out of warranty I think the difference will be very little.
If the car is for sale at a dealer and only has one previous keeper I'd say its a fairly safe buy, assuming the condition checks out and it drives nicely.
I think if I can knock them down a further £500 and get them to either include a service or some tax, then I would be prepared to move on it. It's a cheap car, so won't worry me too much!
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