What does "good condition" mean to you?
Discussion
I have made two trips over an hour each way during the last couple of weekends to look at defenders described as in "good condition", both have turned out to be anything but. The one today had dented wings bonnet and roof caused by people walking on them. Now call me picky but Fu%#%g big dents would tend to rule out something being in good nick. Fair wear and tear for the age and type of vehicle is of course acceptable and dents on s defender are more acceptable than other cars but ........
Do these idiots ecpect blind people to turn up?
Do these idiots ecpect blind people to turn up?
In my experience, cars described as "good condition" are anything but. They usually turn out to be sheds.
I tend to look for well written adverts, the location of the phots also gives a lot away, if a car is described as "immaculate" or "exceptional" if you are making a 200 mile round trip to view it then it bloody well whould be perfect.
The problem with a Defender is that sellers think that some battle scars add to the charm, that's fine if the car is honestly described and that's what you are after.
I tend to look for well written adverts, the location of the phots also gives a lot away, if a car is described as "immaculate" or "exceptional" if you are making a 200 mile round trip to view it then it bloody well whould be perfect.
The problem with a Defender is that sellers think that some battle scars add to the charm, that's fine if the car is honestly described and that's what you are after.
I take it you've been rolling on your back underneath them checking out if they really are in good condition?
I suppose it depends on what you are spending but like most things on a defender it's about preventative maintenance and generally looking after it rather than trying to achieve the aesthetics of a showroom quality paint finish. I look after mine but it is expected to work to earn it's keep, as do most defenders, and I consequently climb on the wings etc when securing loads, that is one reason why it's useful that a defender has flat wings and some people fit non slip chequer plate on top for increased rigidity - so expect them to pick up dents here and there because one that has been used as intended will have all sorts of marks. Mine has a few dents but tbh I would class my defender as good condition because I'm more concerned about sorting anything structural, electrical and mechanical than the odd work related dent which is a superficial flaw in terms of the multitude of more important things you should be looking at when gauging the condition of land rovers.
I suppose it depends on what you are spending but like most things on a defender it's about preventative maintenance and generally looking after it rather than trying to achieve the aesthetics of a showroom quality paint finish. I look after mine but it is expected to work to earn it's keep, as do most defenders, and I consequently climb on the wings etc when securing loads, that is one reason why it's useful that a defender has flat wings and some people fit non slip chequer plate on top for increased rigidity - so expect them to pick up dents here and there because one that has been used as intended will have all sorts of marks. Mine has a few dents but tbh I would class my defender as good condition because I'm more concerned about sorting anything structural, electrical and mechanical than the odd work related dent which is a superficial flaw in terms of the multitude of more important things you should be looking at when gauging the condition of land rovers.
I didn't get as far as looking underneath ! I've been into land rovers for years and know that people walk on them and dent them -that's why checker plate is so popular/essential, the odd dent is acceptable and 'charecterful' but an inch and a half gap between the wing tops and bonnet is pushing it a bit! Seat covers hiding rips on the 'immaculate' interior! The most annoying thing is that the photos were either lifted from an advert for a different car or from years ago when the current owner bought it?
I wouldn't even go to look at a car that was described as merely in "good condition."
In my experience, sellers nearly always exaggerate how good their vehicle is, so, if the best they can describe it as is "good," then it's going to be a shed.
I went to look at a car once with a friend, as they didn't know much about cars. He stressed to the seller that he was putting me out to look at the car and wanted an honest description before we set off.
He was assured that the car was in excellent condition, apart from a dent that "was so small, you wouldn't notice it if I didn't tell you it was there."
When we got there, we saw a car that was devoid of almost all of it's paint and a dent that looked like it was made by a sledgehammer.
My friend went absolutely nuts and I thought that I was going to have to drag him off of the seller, who genuinely couldn't see what the problem was!
Tim
In my experience, sellers nearly always exaggerate how good their vehicle is, so, if the best they can describe it as is "good," then it's going to be a shed.
I went to look at a car once with a friend, as they didn't know much about cars. He stressed to the seller that he was putting me out to look at the car and wanted an honest description before we set off.
He was assured that the car was in excellent condition, apart from a dent that "was so small, you wouldn't notice it if I didn't tell you it was there."
When we got there, we saw a car that was devoid of almost all of it's paint and a dent that looked like it was made by a sledgehammer.
My friend went absolutely nuts and I thought that I was going to have to drag him off of the seller, who genuinely couldn't see what the problem was!
Tim
HellDiver said:
To me, "good condition" means you have to look at the reg plate to see how old the car is. A girl at work has a Passat B5 that's a very, very early one, and it looks better than most of the very late B5.5 Passats on the road. That's "good condition".
I'd say this too. Average condition means just that. Good means it looks maybe 25% younger than it is, great/excellent should look half its age. And if you're gonna call it immaculate or pristine, heaven help you, these should be taken literally in my book.Sadly, most sellers will use "good condition" to say it's not lost any whole body panels yet. Adverts like "interior showing some cigarette burns but in overall good condition" sum it up nicely.
I spent the large part of yesterday visiting various garages, spread out over a sixty mile radius, in order to look at four particular vehicles, and also to check out any examples that I'd missed. I'd booked appointments with each of the garages, based in no small part on the "immaculate" and "exceptional" descriptions within the advertisements themselves...one even claim that the vehicle in question was "undoubtedly the finest example in the south of England".
In all cases the conditions were average at best, and in two cases the cars were actually in pretty shoddy condition. One had clearly not been washed in many weeks and seemed to have a 'tide mark' running along the side.
However, I spotted a vehicle in truly superb condition in a garage literally next door to one I had arranged to visit. It was well priced, well maintained and had history to shame any other example I saw. I gave the car a good look and am still considering purchasing it now...
...but the craziest thing is that the advertisement for it, that I've now seen on Autotrader.co.uk, plays down the condition greatly. Were I to have seen the advertisement (I hadn't for some reason), I might not have arranged a viewing on account of my assumption that the condition cannot have been good enough (else the dealer would have mentioned it).
Moral of the story? Words mean nothing, as does a lack of them.
In all cases the conditions were average at best, and in two cases the cars were actually in pretty shoddy condition. One had clearly not been washed in many weeks and seemed to have a 'tide mark' running along the side.
However, I spotted a vehicle in truly superb condition in a garage literally next door to one I had arranged to visit. It was well priced, well maintained and had history to shame any other example I saw. I gave the car a good look and am still considering purchasing it now...
...but the craziest thing is that the advertisement for it, that I've now seen on Autotrader.co.uk, plays down the condition greatly. Were I to have seen the advertisement (I hadn't for some reason), I might not have arranged a viewing on account of my assumption that the condition cannot have been good enough (else the dealer would have mentioned it).
Moral of the story? Words mean nothing, as does a lack of them.
Not the car that I saw this time last year.
S320 cdi. 60k miles, Service History, was told in very good condition.
4 tyres. All different makes. Just one of them a winter tyre. Bolt missing from one wheel.
He told me that he'd replaced the parking sensor as it had packed up. Would have been nice if he could have painted it silver like the rest...
Inside was ok - he was very keen to show me the tv. I was more interested in the shiny wheel and pedals together with the lovely aroma of tobacco.
Then for a laugh at this stage had a look at the history. Just one service, that was it. Cheeky bugger was arguing that is a history.... Not quite what I expected though...
S320 cdi. 60k miles, Service History, was told in very good condition.
4 tyres. All different makes. Just one of them a winter tyre. Bolt missing from one wheel.
He told me that he'd replaced the parking sensor as it had packed up. Would have been nice if he could have painted it silver like the rest...
Inside was ok - he was very keen to show me the tv. I was more interested in the shiny wheel and pedals together with the lovely aroma of tobacco.
Then for a laugh at this stage had a look at the history. Just one service, that was it. Cheeky bugger was arguing that is a history.... Not quite what I expected though...
Of the three cars here I would decribe the KA as good condition, the mini as a project, and the Volvo as excellent.
The Ka good because it is mechanically 100%, has a very lightly used interior, but a few small scratches and parking dents, but importantly no rot, and it is a 5 year old shopping car so you wuld expect some small dents.
The Volvo has some very small electrical niggles, but the interior is immaculate for a 13 year old car and the bodywork is immaculate with no scratches or rust spots anywhere.
The Ka good because it is mechanically 100%, has a very lightly used interior, but a few small scratches and parking dents, but importantly no rot, and it is a 5 year old shopping car so you wuld expect some small dents.
The Volvo has some very small electrical niggles, but the interior is immaculate for a 13 year old car and the bodywork is immaculate with no scratches or rust spots anywhere.
hora said:
Reminds me of "full service history" which means two stamps in 5yrs....
Funnily enough, when I ask customers for their part exchange's history, its always full. Without a shadow of a doubt, every single part exchange I've ever dealt with, according to the respective customer, has a full service history. That is until I ask them to have a look at the service book...On topic, if I call someone and they tell me their car is in good condition, I ask what's wrong with it. Nobody describes their car merely as "good" unless there's something amiss.
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