Would irregular service history put you off buying?
Discussion
Been looking at a car on Autotrader and the dealer has sent me over the service history (below). It is a thorough history with services every 10k, however they are quite irregular in time. This is more than likely due to the fact it has 4 previous owners who obviously used the car for different reasons, but just wondered if it would put anyone off. For example, 10k-20k was done in less than 6 months, 20k-30k was done in less than 6 months, which obviously combines to over 20k in 1 year, but then the car has only done 6000 miles in the past 2 years!
c.1000 miles Sept 2005
c.10000 miles Oct 2006
c.20000 miles April 2007
c.30000 miles Oct 2007
c.40000 miles Feb 2008
c.50000 miles Nov 2008
51321 miles June 2009 including cambelt & tensioner
52180 miles March 2010
c.57000 miles Current mileage
c.1000 miles Sept 2005
c.10000 miles Oct 2006
c.20000 miles April 2007
c.30000 miles Oct 2007
c.40000 miles Feb 2008
c.50000 miles Nov 2008
51321 miles June 2009 including cambelt & tensioner
52180 miles March 2010
c.57000 miles Current mileage
it doesnt look irregular, it just seems the car hasnt been driven much in the last 2 years, maybe it was relegated to 2nd car?
if those last 2 invoices werent there, then it would look suspicious.
its had 9 services in 60,000 miles/6 years, plus a cambelt less than 5k miles ago..
in fact... the more i look at it, it does seem a little suspect. is the current owner the one who has put so few miles on?
if those last 2 invoices werent there, then it would look suspicious.
its had 9 services in 60,000 miles/6 years, plus a cambelt less than 5k miles ago..
in fact... the more i look at it, it does seem a little suspect. is the current owner the one who has put so few miles on?
Edited by the_bear on Tuesday 2nd August 16:35
Defcon5 said:
Potentially it has been clocked just before every service. Whats the mileage on the MOT certs (you can look them up online)
Checked the MOT history on the DVLA site as the dealer also provided the document reference number from V5C so i dont think it has been clocked. Dont think there is anything dodgy, just the fact the car has not had regular use, 6k in last 2 years.J4CKO said:
Jesus if thats irregular, you wont want my car, I have some history and a box of receipts with dates on, you can get all CSI and piece it together if you like.
Who says anything was actually done on any of those occasions anyway ?
Maybe i should have titled this irregular mileage, rather than irregular service history, agree the intervals make for a great historyWho says anything was actually done on any of those occasions anyway ?
wilbo83 said:
Checked the MOT history on the DVLA site as the dealer also provided the document reference number from V5C so i dont think it has been clocked. Dont think there is anything dodgy, just the fact the car has not had regular use, 6k in last 2 years.
Or current owner bought a higher mileage car for the year, knowing that they don't do many miles and when it comes time to sell the car has lower/average mileage for the year. The services also suggest it has spent a lot of time sitting on motorways, a lot less stressful for a car.Defcon5 said:
the_bear said:
in fact... the more i look at it, it does seem a little suspect. is the current owner the one who has put so few miles on?
Potentially it has been clocked just before every service. Whats the mileage on the MOT certs (you can look them up online)But remember, new cars will have been thrashed getting on and off the ferry!
sim16v said:
I think if you read in to it in that detail, it is probably best that you only buy new cars.
But remember, new cars will have been thrashed getting on and off the ferry!
I dont believe it has been clocked at all, maybe Defcon5 thought the figures i posted were the exact figures from service history rather than approximates.But remember, new cars will have been thrashed getting on and off the ferry!
Has it perchance had two previous owners?
History looks fine to me, she's not been used as much in the last two years. If one owner, he could have moved jobs to somewhere closer in the last two years, could have a new company car and this one is now for his wife, all sorts of perfectly rational explanations for it.
History looks fine to me, she's not been used as much in the last two years. If one owner, he could have moved jobs to somewhere closer in the last two years, could have a new company car and this one is now for his wife, all sorts of perfectly rational explanations for it.
My cars mileages fluctuate a lot. My job involves periods out on sites (anywhere up to 150 miles a day) followed by periods in the office (45 mile a day commute), sometimes this is further complicated by using hire cars for work. I guess that my service intervals look a bit weird as well.
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