'Promotional' Car - Twingo buying help
Discussion
Hello all,
I went to view some Twingo 133s today at an unnamed dealers - came away with some very conflicting thoughts.
THE CAR/S
- Dealership said they had sourced 5 identical black 59 Plate Twingo 133s, 2 have been sold leaving 3.
- They claimed to be un-sure of origin but suggested they are likely to have been 'promotional' cars.
- All 5 had the same reg plate differing by the final letter.
- Of the 3 I saw, Mileage varying between 7.5k and 12k.
- All cars on Michelin Contisportcontact 3s.
- They said the cars had originally been listed for £7k each but they'd recently dropped the price to £6k.
Car 1:
- 9k miles.
- 3 of the 4 tyres were 99% illegal. Dealer claimed the extreme wear in 9k miles was due to cars having different suspension set ups...
- ABS Light, service light and traction control light on dash.
- OSF tyre had large gouges out of rim protector.
Verdict: Wouldn't touch with a barge pole.
Car 2:
- 7.5k miles.
- All 4 tyres much better. The kerb protector bit on OSF had obviously been clonked and had a small gouge out of it. Rim OK.
- No warning lights on dash.
- Noticed wheel-balancers on front wheels, problem?
- Best of the 3 and one i'm contemplating buying.
Car 3:
- Didn't take much of a look at.
- Mileage was 12.5k.
- Wheel/Kerb protector bit had some big gouges out of it.
- No dash lights.
- Stored inside showroom (others were outside).
All of these cars are reaching the 5 year age limit where the belt change is due. I rang Rentech in Portsmouth who I trust and they suggested a price in the region of £700, probably a touch lower as water pump wouldn't need doing.
QUESTIONS
- What could 'promotional' mean?
- My instant thought was press-car and the tyres on Car 1 suggested some heavy driving, hence my trepidation, but the mileage seems low for a press-car?
- Car 2 had some strange brake pedal characteristics. It felt very firm from about 1 inch in to the pedal and didn't feel all that powerful, could this be due to the car being parked up on their lot for a while? Had a look at front brakes and hoses looked very new. Possibly it's just had new brakes of some sort?
- They have 2 full-time mechanics and agreed to change the belts without changing the asking price. Do I trust them to actually do the work?
Now, I may appear over-cautious but this 'promotional' car thing is really bothering me. The car drove well (bar the slight brake strangeness) and a 7.5k mile, 59 plate Twingo 133 with belts changed for £6000 is a pretty smart deal.
What do we think?
Many thanks in advance.
I went to view some Twingo 133s today at an unnamed dealers - came away with some very conflicting thoughts.
THE CAR/S
- Dealership said they had sourced 5 identical black 59 Plate Twingo 133s, 2 have been sold leaving 3.
- They claimed to be un-sure of origin but suggested they are likely to have been 'promotional' cars.
- All 5 had the same reg plate differing by the final letter.
- Of the 3 I saw, Mileage varying between 7.5k and 12k.
- All cars on Michelin Contisportcontact 3s.
- They said the cars had originally been listed for £7k each but they'd recently dropped the price to £6k.
Car 1:
- 9k miles.
- 3 of the 4 tyres were 99% illegal. Dealer claimed the extreme wear in 9k miles was due to cars having different suspension set ups...
- ABS Light, service light and traction control light on dash.
- OSF tyre had large gouges out of rim protector.
Verdict: Wouldn't touch with a barge pole.
Car 2:
- 7.5k miles.
- All 4 tyres much better. The kerb protector bit on OSF had obviously been clonked and had a small gouge out of it. Rim OK.
- No warning lights on dash.
- Noticed wheel-balancers on front wheels, problem?
- Best of the 3 and one i'm contemplating buying.
Car 3:
- Didn't take much of a look at.
- Mileage was 12.5k.
- Wheel/Kerb protector bit had some big gouges out of it.
- No dash lights.
- Stored inside showroom (others were outside).
All of these cars are reaching the 5 year age limit where the belt change is due. I rang Rentech in Portsmouth who I trust and they suggested a price in the region of £700, probably a touch lower as water pump wouldn't need doing.
QUESTIONS
- What could 'promotional' mean?
- My instant thought was press-car and the tyres on Car 1 suggested some heavy driving, hence my trepidation, but the mileage seems low for a press-car?
- Car 2 had some strange brake pedal characteristics. It felt very firm from about 1 inch in to the pedal and didn't feel all that powerful, could this be due to the car being parked up on their lot for a while? Had a look at front brakes and hoses looked very new. Possibly it's just had new brakes of some sort?
- They have 2 full-time mechanics and agreed to change the belts without changing the asking price. Do I trust them to actually do the work?
Now, I may appear over-cautious but this 'promotional' car thing is really bothering me. The car drove well (bar the slight brake strangeness) and a 7.5k mile, 59 plate Twingo 133 with belts changed for £6000 is a pretty smart deal.
What do we think?
Many thanks in advance.
Edited by TimLambert7 on Saturday 21st June 19:55
Defcon5 said:
Renault don't do any experience events like the VXR Power Events do they?
Good shout.This is the closest I've found:
http://www.renaultsport.co.uk/roadcars/trackdays/o...
But no mention of Renault doing any car hire or anything.
GC8 said:
Not when they went out, but they could be shredded when they came back in. I wouldn't trust the dealer/salesman to tell you where they came from, even if they knew, which Id doubt again.
Any press cars would have tyres replaced long before they needed doing. If the OP comes back with reg numbers, I might be able to help him. 
Personally I would avoid them as it would seem they would have led a hard life. By saying the tyres were almost 99% illegal. I assume you mean very little tread left. To wear out a set of tyres, especially rears on a FWD car suggests some very hard driving.
Service history would be important and worth a good look at
Service history would be important and worth a good look at
I don't think any car manufacturer would be using 4-5 year old cars to promote anything.
More likely they've been sold to a promotions firm to do work for someone like Red Bull (I quite fancy some of the Minis they used!) or maybe just used by a firm as citycars with maybe a vinyl wrap to advertise their estate agency, Dominos Pizzas, or anything else.
More likely they've been sold to a promotions firm to do work for someone like Red Bull (I quite fancy some of the Minis they used!) or maybe just used by a firm as citycars with maybe a vinyl wrap to advertise their estate agency, Dominos Pizzas, or anything else.
Urban Sports said:
Christ they seem dear my BIL is sticking his 10 plater with about 14k on sale for less than that, hoot to drive them, great fun, could do with a touch more power because the chassis is very capable!
Seem dear? Really?Compared to everything on Autotrader and PH, once you've considered the £700 for belts, it's looking pretty good!
If your BIL is really selling a 10 plater with 14k for less than £6k and isn't hundreds of miles from Oxford, could you perhaps put him in touch?
TimLambert7 said:
Registration of the car I'm interested in is LY59 BXX.
Carl, if you can help I'd be very grateful.
I'm in two minds. It's looking like a good deal but I'm worried about the car's past. Surely the V5 will list the previous owner?
Ok, so it's not an ex press car, as they would begin with 'H' . The V5 would have the previous keeper on it. Carl, if you can help I'd be very grateful.
I'm in two minds. It's looking like a good deal but I'm worried about the car's past. Surely the V5 will list the previous owner?
Edited by TimLambert7 on Saturday 21st June 21:52
TimLambert7 said:
Urban Sports said:
Christ they seem dear my BIL is sticking his 10 plater with about 14k on sale for less than that, hoot to drive them, great fun, could do with a touch more power because the chassis is very capable!
Seem dear? Really?Compared to everything on Autotrader and PH, once you've considered the £700 for belts, it's looking pretty good!
If your BIL is really selling a 10 plater with 14k for less than £6k and isn't hundreds of miles from Oxford, could you perhaps put him in touch?
Urban Sports said:
Yeah will do if I remember, he's going away for a week, I'll probably stick it on here for him when he's back, white with black gloss wheels and spoiler etc
Cheers - from your brief details it certainly sounds interesting.CarlT said:
Ok, so it's not an ex press car, as they would begin with 'H' . The V5 would have the previous keeper on it.
Thanks Carl.I'm really struggling to reach a decision. Perhaps if I give them a call tomorrow and find out who is on V5?
It's frustrating because I could probably buy it and be OK but I just don't want to risk buying a knackered car.
TimLambert7 said:
Urban Sports said:
Yeah will do if I remember, he's going away for a week, I'll probably stick it on here for him when he's back, white with black gloss wheels and spoiler etc
Cheers - from your brief details it certainly sounds interesting.CarlT said:
Ok, so it's not an ex press car, as they would begin with 'H' . The V5 would have the previous keeper on it.
Thanks Carl.I'm really struggling to reach a decision. Perhaps if I give them a call tomorrow and find out who is on V5?
It's frustrating because I could probably buy it and be OK but I just don't want to risk buying a knackered car.
Ladies and Gents,
I've given it some serious thought and am erring on the side of going ahead. Justification from the Old Man being that the mileage is so low that it's likely to be OK.
I am after some help on two points:
1/ Brake pedal. As described above, there was some very strange feel to the brake pedal. They felt very firm high up in the pedal-travel and took a fair old shove to get any power out of them. I noticed this on Car 2 but not Car 1. I fired up Car 3 and pumped the brakes a few times and it felt the SAME as Car 2. Could this be due to new pads or is it a clear symptom of something wrong?
2/ Timing and Cam belts. Are both belts a serviceable item under the 5yrs/72k rule? I was told by Rentech that it's unlikely water pump needs doing as well because mileage is low.
3/ Wheel balancers. I noticed the cars had small weights stuck to the inside of the rims. Now i've never seen wheel balancers on a modern car, only old race cars. What could this mean?
Long and short of it, if I can walk away with a 7k mile old, Belts changed 59 plate Twingo RS with 4 good tyres i'm on to a good deal, right?
I've given it some serious thought and am erring on the side of going ahead. Justification from the Old Man being that the mileage is so low that it's likely to be OK.
I am after some help on two points:
1/ Brake pedal. As described above, there was some very strange feel to the brake pedal. They felt very firm high up in the pedal-travel and took a fair old shove to get any power out of them. I noticed this on Car 2 but not Car 1. I fired up Car 3 and pumped the brakes a few times and it felt the SAME as Car 2. Could this be due to new pads or is it a clear symptom of something wrong?
2/ Timing and Cam belts. Are both belts a serviceable item under the 5yrs/72k rule? I was told by Rentech that it's unlikely water pump needs doing as well because mileage is low.
3/ Wheel balancers. I noticed the cars had small weights stuck to the inside of the rims. Now i've never seen wheel balancers on a modern car, only old race cars. What could this mean?
Long and short of it, if I can walk away with a 7k mile old, Belts changed 59 plate Twingo RS with 4 good tyres i'm on to a good deal, right?
Edited by TimLambert7 on Sunday 22 June 19:47
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