Mileage concern on potential next car from dealer

[Aidanbrown]

First post on here but seems like the best place to ask for advice

I’ve been looking to buy a mk7 Golf Gti as my next car for a few months, maybe should have waited till the current situation was over but i’ve not rushed into anything yet; found a car I like on autotrader from an evans halshaw garage which was obviously advertised elsewhere aswell (motors.com etc.) and got some more pictures and details through email, and decided to reserve the car so that at the first chance I can have a look at it in person (website says that this reserve fee is refundable if buyer decides against the purchase).

I’ll be as clear as I can here; reg check shows the car was first advertised by them in mid march for £15,290 then 2 weeks later the price reduced to £14,190 (this is the price it was at when I reserved). Last v5 issue was 12th Feb so I assume this is when they took the car in part ex? It’s a fairly well-specced model with very low miles; 63 plate on 29,970.

My problem is I was searching through an owners group on facebook and found the advert from the previous owner at the beginning of February when they must have been trying to sell the car privately (first for £14k then reduced to £13k), but both of their adverts state the car is on 31,000 miles but now 2 months later evans halshaw’s ad had the car at 29,970 and i’m not really sure what to make of it

Apologies for the long winded explanation just wondering if anyone could shed some light. Surely it’s not been corrected to show 1000 less miles but it’s strange that the current ad is an exact number

[MitchT]

Maybe the private seller overstated the mileage slightly to manage potential buyers' expectations as the car may have done a few more miles by the time someone came to view it. 31,000 would seem sensible for a car with 29,970 on the odo.

[Aidanbrown]

MitchT said:

Maybe the private seller overstated the mileage slightly to manage potential buyers' expectations as the car may have done a few more miles by the time someone came to view it. 31,000 would seem sensible for a car with 29,970 on the odo.

Yeah that’s a possibility mate good point. I’ve gave the previous seller a message but facebook must have sent it to their request folder. Don’t want to mention anything to the dealer just now, going to wait to see the car in person and have a look.

[10126 Torino]

I would think it unlikely that someone would knock off 2000 miles from a Speedo.
If you want to clock it ,knock off a huge number to increase value.

[V8fan]

On your point of the last V5c issue date from a vehicle enquiry, this won't be from when it was part-exchanged. The trader keeps the V5c and the seller sends off the yellow section to inform DVLA the vehicle is 'in trade.' The previous owner gets the VED refund or d/d stops as appropriate.

There could be several reasons for the V5c issue date being so close to part-ex. The owner may have moved house, removed a private plate, or requested another one because they'd lost it.

[Aidanbrown]

V8fan said:

On your point of the last V5c issue date from a vehicle enquiry, this won't be from when it was part-exchanged. The trader keeps the V5c and the seller sends off the yellow section to inform DVLA the vehicle is 'in trade.' The previous owner gets the VED refund or d/d stops as appropriate.

There could be several reasons for the V5c issue date being so close to part-ex. The owner may have moved house, removed a private plate, or requested another one because they'd lost it.

Ahh right. Yea the car was on a private plate according to HPI check so that would make sense, thanks for clearing that up.

[OverSteery]

Aidanbrown said:

My problem is I was searching through an owners group on facebook and found the advert from the previous owner at the beginning of February when they must have been trying to sell the car privately....

Can you not ping him a message and ask him? He sounds like an "enthusiast" owner, so may be happy to give you some background.

I once got a message from someone looking to buy a car I'd sold a year before. Clearly it been driven backwards for some 35k miles in that time.....

[Aidanbrown]

OverSteery said:

Can you not ping him a message and ask him? He sounds like an "enthusiast" owner, so may be happy to give you some background.

I once got a message from someone looking to buy a car I'd sold a year before. Clearly it been driven backwards for some 35k miles in that time.....

Agreed mate but as above i’ve fired him a message but must have went to his request folder as it’s showing as sent but not delivered

[dunc69]

I’m sure there is a logical explanation. It’s only a smallish difference and is still probably a good, low mileage deal....

As above, not worth clocking for such a small amount.

[Aidanbrown]

Got a reply from the previous owner just saying he thinks he over estimated the mileage in his ad but this is what I suggested in my initial message to him; not sitting right with me whats others’ opinions on this?

I agree that most would say it’s certainly not worth clocking less than 2000 miles off a car to get maybe a hundred more in trade in value but it is a possibility.

[DigbyDog]

Is there a photo of the mileage at 29k? Maybe Evans halshaw have advertised it at below 30k miles to appear in the ‘up to 30,000 miles’ category on a search...

[Aidanbrown]

DigbyDog said:

Is there a photo of the mileage at 29k? Maybe Evans halshaw have advertised it at below 30k miles to appear in the ‘up to 30,000 miles’ category on a search...

There isn’t no, i’ve asked for this though; will see tomorrow.

It’s a possibility but if this was the case and the car displays >30k, i’d think the owner would clarify this, instead of saying he thinks he over estimated it. Personally selling a car i’d check and double check the reading before writing the ad.

[Dimebars]

Evans Halshaw don't clock cars, let alone by <2000 miles

They may have entered the mileage as an estimate on their system at the time it was stocked and it's never been updated.

[halo34]

Who would gain anything from 2000 miles difference?

[Dave Hedgehog]

halo34 said:

Who would gain anything from 2000 miles difference?

the guy charging £300 to reprogram it?

[Sheepshanks]

DigbyDog said:

Is there a photo of the mileage at 29k? Maybe Evans halshaw have advertised it at below 30k miles to appear in the ‘up to 30,000 miles’ category on a search...

Reading the thread I had exactly the same thought.

[Mark V GTD]

Its not 2,000 miles though is it? Its barely over 1,000 miles difference: 1,030 to be exact.

[ritch]

do you know when it was last serviced? I sold a car on autotrader (approx 20 yrs ago), the chap that bought it clocked it back too mileage of the last service and proceeded to advertise on Autotrader the following week, when my advert was still live with the correct mileage....

just to echo prev comment - on the occasions when I've advertised cars I usually round up the mileage by a few hundred miles to account for any mileage I may do whilst the car is advertised.

[Wacky Racer]

ritch said:

do you know when it was last serviced? I sold a car on autotrader (approx 20 yrs ago), the chap that bought it clocked it back too mileage of the last service and proceeded to advertise on Autotrader the following week, when my advert was still live with the correct mileage....

just to echo prev comment - on the occasions when I've advertised cars I usually round up the mileage by a few hundred miles to account for any mileage I may do whilst the car is advertised.

This.

If you normally do 250 miles a week, you might hope to sell your car within a month, so stick another 1000 miles on to be on the safe side.

1000 miles won't put anybody off usually.

[jjwilde]

I'd guess they have listed it as just under 30k to get more views then when you go view it they will say something like 'oh, it's been used for a couple of long runs since we listed it, but you're here now....'