Is a service history essential ??????????
Discussion
all depends if you can see if its had all the upgrades, and if alot of homework can be done before buying it i.e previous owners etc
if its not been serviced every 6k, there maybe potential expensive problems lie ahead!
I have found they run like a dog if not kept in tip top shape anyway!
I would get a cerb indie to check it over first
good luck
if its not been serviced every 6k, there maybe potential expensive problems lie ahead!
I have found they run like a dog if not kept in tip top shape anyway!
I would get a cerb indie to check it over first
good luck
A cerb is no different to any other car.
You wont be able to sell it on?
Has it just lost SH ?
There are plenty of Cerbs out there - you can afford to be choosey.
They are getting too cheap and so people are buiying them for hot hatch money and skimping on SH. People even consider cars with obvious engine probs!!!
You wont be able to sell it on?
Has it just lost SH ?
There are plenty of Cerbs out there - you can afford to be choosey.
They are getting too cheap and so people are buiying them for hot hatch money and skimping on SH. People even consider cars with obvious engine probs!!!
It very much depends on the previous owner I'd say
Lets say the car was around 50K miles and had a full service book set of stamps but hadn't been otherwise cared for, scuffed interior, tatty paint, none of the little jobs done and kept on top of so little things on it, don't work very well like it'll occasionlly lock you out, or overheat and its appetite for oil hasn't been kept topped up
and the opposite case of no service stamps for the last 20K BUT where the owner had done all the work either himself or has it done at an independent specialist with a good reputation, this car has aftermarket goodies, a big sheaf of receipts and the owner regulary uses it for long journeys,
everything on it works better than when it left the factory ( not as difficult as you might imagine...
)
Both cars are priced the same with the same spec and mileage
which would you go for?
Matt
Lets say the car was around 50K miles and had a full service book set of stamps but hadn't been otherwise cared for, scuffed interior, tatty paint, none of the little jobs done and kept on top of so little things on it, don't work very well like it'll occasionlly lock you out, or overheat and its appetite for oil hasn't been kept topped up
and the opposite case of no service stamps for the last 20K BUT where the owner had done all the work either himself or has it done at an independent specialist with a good reputation, this car has aftermarket goodies, a big sheaf of receipts and the owner regulary uses it for long journeys,
everything on it works better than when it left the factory ( not as difficult as you might imagine...
) Both cars are priced the same with the same spec and mileage
which would you go for?
Matt
Edited by 350matt on Monday 26th June 23:31
i agree with 350matt, having a full service history doesnt mean the cars been looked after properly. Having a good look at the car and getting an indie to check over it if you dont know what your looking for is worth more than a full service history. Fsh doesnt mean that nothing will go wrong with the car, same can be said for one without it!!
Following on from what matt said, finding out how the car was driven will be a big help to deciding if its a good car, if it was only taken out once a month on dry days does that mean its in better condition that one thats been used as a daily driver, same can be said for the milliage, its it better to go for a higher millage model hoping that all the small niggles have been fixed out or a lower milliage one thats still got some niggles to come
Following on from what matt said, finding out how the car was driven will be a big help to deciding if its a good car, if it was only taken out once a month on dry days does that mean its in better condition that one thats been used as a daily driver, same can be said for the milliage, its it better to go for a higher millage model hoping that all the small niggles have been fixed out or a lower milliage one thats still got some niggles to come
Contact Julian at
http://trackcarsolutions.net/shop/
He may know of a decent car for sale and knows a thing or two about cerbies.....
also James Agger
www.jamesagger.com/
tends to sell cars which have been cared for
Matt
http://trackcarsolutions.net/shop/
He may know of a decent car for sale and knows a thing or two about cerbies.....
also James Agger
www.jamesagger.com/
tends to sell cars which have been cared for
Matt
If it's a lot cheaper without history, I'd go for it.
I went down the "one owner, FSH" route, and my car's a pain in the arse.
Is the chassis about to fall apart ?
Is the engine throwing out plumes of blue smoke when you rev the engine ?
If not, buy it.
Most of the car's on here have FSH, unfortunately it's not a written guarantee that they're not going to go wrong
I went down the "one owner, FSH" route, and my car's a pain in the arse.
Is the chassis about to fall apart ?
Is the engine throwing out plumes of blue smoke when you rev the engine ?
If not, buy it.
Most of the car's on here have FSH, unfortunately it's not a written guarantee that they're not going to go wrong
I'd agree with matt. I bought a Cerb from a chap who told me he was emigrating to australia. We met in a little chef car park as he had just sold his house and was on the way to fernies to drop it off for them to sell it.
I bought it off him and then used it to take him to the airport and waved him good bye. He disappeared into the airport with a huge pile pile of readies.
I only opened the service history at the end to see if there was anything I could use to knock the price down, but decided to buy it on a clean HPI check and the strength of a two hour test drive and inspection, including the jacks and ramps I took with me, after a lot of research in this forum.
Strangely I recently sold an 850i BMW. I could tell whether someone was actually a timewaster/dreamer/testpilot or not depending on how long it took them to ask for a details of the service history on the phone. Those that asked straight away either didn't know much about the car/speculating etc or were trying to find something to knock the price down on before they'd even seen the car, you know the sort, ten seconds on the phone and they say would you take a lower offer mate. Guys who knew what they were buying asked direct knowledgeable questions, bit like on a cerb when someone asks when the uprights were upgraded or which clutch type who have. I eventually sold it to the first such knowledgable guy who came to see and realised what condition the car was in.
I bought it off him and then used it to take him to the airport and waved him good bye. He disappeared into the airport with a huge pile pile of readies.
I only opened the service history at the end to see if there was anything I could use to knock the price down, but decided to buy it on a clean HPI check and the strength of a two hour test drive and inspection, including the jacks and ramps I took with me, after a lot of research in this forum.
Strangely I recently sold an 850i BMW. I could tell whether someone was actually a timewaster/dreamer/testpilot or not depending on how long it took them to ask for a details of the service history on the phone. Those that asked straight away either didn't know much about the car/speculating etc or were trying to find something to knock the price down on before they'd even seen the car, you know the sort, ten seconds on the phone and they say would you take a lower offer mate
. Guys who knew what they were buying asked direct knowledgeable questions, bit like on a cerb when someone asks when the uprights were upgraded or which clutch type who have. I eventually sold it to the first such knowledgable guy who came to see and realised what condition the car was in. My experience is that the worth of a service history is very much dependent on who did the servicing. It's also worth noting that there are some dealers who I'd actively recommend people avoid - I'd take service history from an well known indie over one from these jokers every time.
Steve.
Steve.
Edited by Steve_T on Tuesday 27th June 09:49
I bought a car a year ago with only partial history.... I kept telling myself I was insane, but the car just "felt right" It was one owner since new, (1997) and had a lot of work done by the dealer (not main dealer), including a re-spray, and engine was sent to TVR Power for fettling. The previous owner had run the car through his business, so I guess that all the history ended up within his business accounts system. The book was stamped until 14K miles, the car had 35K when I got it. Having seen a lot of tatty looking cars, the general condition of the interior suggested it had been looked after. Looking back on the purchase, I was a bit hasty, I think and could have sat on a portion of the final payment until some of the un-substantiated claims of it's history could be verified but so far I have run it for a year with no breakdown. I just got the bill for the first annual service in my custody... £372 including MOT, 2 new ball joints and VAT. It is going back for some extra bits in a few weeks which may set me back another £500 or so. I have also done a bit of work myself over the winter to get the chassis cleaned up, brakes up to scratch etc. Nothing has bust, but I just want it as good as I can get it. I do not think I could have expected anything better with a full history. Judging by all the information I have gained from PH,I think that for all the maintenance in the world, if an owner treats the car badly, (reving from cold etc etc) then it is more prone to failure and no amount of service history will tell you this.
Jon H
Jon H
the only reason i find that a tiv should not have a service history is that it was actually owned by tvr because are old chimaera was owned by the factory and came with no serviice history along with the other chimaeras that left the factory 18months ago when moleskin came and took over and as it was at tvr it didnt really need to have fsh as all the cars owned by the factory were obviously looked after in a good standard
Steve_T said:
My experience is that the worth of a service history is very much dependent on who did the servicing. It's also worth noting that there are some dealers who I'd actively recommend people avoid - I'd take service history from an well known indie over one from these jokers every time.
Couldn't agree more, indies every time.
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