Importance of service history

[ajcj]

Morning all

Well, I’m back in the car buying market, looking at a 1.2 petrol Corsa for my daughter about the £2.5k mark. Found one in a girl-friendly colour to reduce chances of it having been ragged to death by previous owners, good. But only three service stamps on a ten year-old car with 50k miles. Hmmmm.

It’s c.£500 cheaper than the average as a result, and I need to find out which services have been done, but what is the general feeling about such a scenario? I’m relaxed about 18 months between services if the miles aren’t silly, but this feels uncomfortable. A good service now will sort out some of the potential undesirable effects - grungy plugs or clogged filters - but what else could be lurking?

[Belle427]

Difficult decision, how does the previous mot history look, does it all seem to stack up?
Generally if it’s clean and tidy and drives well that’s all you can do really, no one really knows what will happen around the corner.
If the spark plugs have never been changed there may be issues removing them but this is just my mechanical mind at work!

[griffter]

If your daughter’s going to run it into the ground or abuse it I wouldn’t worry too much. If it presents and drives on and you check/change everything that’s due and it’s good to go, it should be fine.
But if you’re planning on selling it in six months you’ll be facing the same problem in reverse.

[DoubleD]

I wouldnt put too much hope into it not being previously ragged, due to its girl friendly colour. Girls rag cars just as much as guys do.

[cootuk]

Does the cambelt have a serviced sticker if required?
Does the oil look a decent colour?
Do brake discs/pads look serviced?
Check the antifreeze strength?
Does mot history look like it's been run on a budget?

[ZX10R NIN]

DoubleD said:

I wouldnt put too much hope into it not being previously ragged, due to its girl friendly colour. Girls rag cars just as much as guys do.

This, find out how much will it cost to give it a full & proper service once you know this then you can decide if it's a good deal.

Service history is a guide to how well it's been looked after without it you just have to assume no work has been done & haggle/go from there.

[Ron99]

DoubleD said:

I wouldnt put too much hope into it not being previously ragged, due to its girl friendly colour. Girls rag cars just as much as guys do.

I agree.
A previous lady owner makes no difference to whether a car will be a good one or not.

However, I find that some of the best cars have few owners (the car was a good 'un so the owner kept it), main dealer history (proper oil/parts used) and matching tyres of good quality (the owner cared about keeping their car in the best possible condition).

[PistonAFC]

You want to buy a cheap car and expect FMDSH? If you want 10 stamps then just spend a bit more and get one with 10 stamps, I'm sure they are out there. Just put the £500 you're saving in the "contingency fund" for any repairs or spend the £500/1000 and buy a better car that won't leave your daughter stranded in the middle of buttfkknowhere at 3am.

[Mexman]

Need to higher your budget, or lower your expectations.
Its a £2500 car, £500 cheaper than others.
Should be a chain driven engine anyway, just get a good service done if you purchase it.

[steveo3002]

girly owners mean nothing ...good chance its never had the bonnet open or only when the oil light comes on

all you can do is pull the dipstick and see if theyve kept it topped up , if the oil is ok looking and no rattles /knocks then carry on

good chance if a back street trader got hold off it they would stamp up the book before sale and you'd be happy with it ...happens alot