Should I buy an ultra low mileage VW?

[Gio G]

Wanted to get the PH view on this please..

Let me add some context, seen a car I would potentially like to purchase for the wife. Not very PH I am afraid, it is a 2013 Beetle 2.0 TSI Turbo. Over the 4 years of the car's life, it managed to do under 300 miles. I am told by the dealer that the car was stored for most of it's life.. The previous owner purchased a few of these models for "investment purposes" and recently offloaded it in PX for another car.

Now I saw the car over the weekend, while the interior was in mint condition, which was certainly in keeping with the mileage, I was however a little sceptical about the condition of the exterior. Lots of little surface marks on the bodywork, some blistering of paint on the front bumper, also some of the chrome looked faded and scratched, especially around the badge areas. Luckily there were no dings or dents I could see which was good. I noticed the brakes on the front were quite rusty, just behind the discs and around the hub area was a fair amount of corrosion. Maybe were rain had sat on the brakes and not dried properly.. Picture below..

I took it for a test drove and it felt all fine. All the paperwork seemed to look in good order, from the new car invoice through to last MOT etc..

Now I do like the car, as it has the right level of specification we want and there are not too many around. I am probably paying a premium for the mileage and spec, however I am thinking while it is nice to own an ultra low mileage car, I suspect that it could have some issues down the line, given it has not been driven for 4 years of it's life.

The dealer will offer me a warranty and told it will get prepared to a high standard. They will perform an inspection service to check fluids, brakes etc and get the bodywork detailed.

My concern is that the car may have been stored outside for most of it's life, even though the previous owner used a car storage company (Calibre in Dartford), which is no big deal, as my own vehicle is not garaged. However expected the bodywork to be in superb condition. Anything the wise PH'ers out there can advise me on? given it has done less than 100 miles a year and clearly stored somewhere for a long while, should I be sceptical?



Thanks G

[Cupramax]

Has it had any sort of service in that time? TBH i'd tell them to forget the prep and give it a proper fluid service, at the very least oil/filter and brake fluid change, plus a thorough brake inspection. A car thats not been used in 4 years shouldnt need any prep other than a wash and wizz over with a rotary polisher.

[Gio G]

It has never had any service. Agree on a thorough fluids check.

G

[anonymous-user]

I would buy one that has been used, they have little investment potential as they just aren't popular as expected.

a 11k mile 2013 one is around 11k not sure what you are paying but it is a buyers market.

[Cupramax]

I'd also be checking the tyres arent square, four years sat still its pretty likely theyre fked as well. Beware they dont just overinflate them to mask if theyve got flat spots.

[ashleyman]

The rusty hubs thing is quite common on VW's. Perhaps it's been getting the sun in the same spot for 4 years as it's not been moved so is faded in some places.

I can see the attraction but would be worried about the fluids and tyres so it would all need changing regardless of miles. I'd actually treat it the same as any other car at that age and make sure everything is up to date.

[Gio G]

Cupramax said:

I'd also be checking the tyres arent square, four years sat still its pretty likely theyre fked as well. Beware they dont just overinflate them to mask if theyve got flat spots.

The tyres looked fine, but did not inspect too much. I have spoken to car storage place, the guy had it stored outside for 4 years. They company mentioned they would turn the engine around every month, and drive very little.

The MOT last year had the car at 30 miles. So it did the balance of the miles driving to the dealer..

Thanks for comments and advice!

G

Edited by Gio G on Tuesday 7th March 08:45

[silentbrown]

Gio G said:

It has never had any service.

I'm guessing it's not 'approved used' then! Car will almost certainly need a major service, otherwise warranty won't be valid. Lack of service history will also deter some buyers when you come to sell, so adjust price accordingly

I'm skeptical abut the 'investment'. I wonder if it's been used as some kind of static advertisment, covered in wrap/stickers which could account for the dodgy paintwork.

[Gio G]

silentbrown said:

I'm guessing it's not 'approved used' then! Car will almost certainly need a major service, otherwise warranty won't be valid. Lack of service history will also deter some buyers when you come to sell, so adjust price accordingly

I'm skeptical abut the 'investment'. I wonder if it's been used as some kind of static advertisment, covered in wrap/stickers which could account for the dodgy paintwork.

Not approved used, as being sold at an independent dealer. So the storage place said the guy had five of these cars in different colours, how they thought it would be an investment is a bit beyond me..

I think the paintwork issue is down to being left outside and probably poor maintenance cleaning methods. The lack of history is a concern also..

G

[daydotz]

This ?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

If it were a GSR I could understand

[Gio G]

That is it.. need to really think about it. Thanks again for advice..

G

[anonymous-user]

once you start using it it will deprecate, it seems a lot of money just for a dank smell of new carness.

[Gio G]

The Spruce goose said:

once you start using it it will deprecate, it seems a lot of money just for a dank smell of new carness.

I agree, however it was circa £30k brand new, the options themselves were over £5k worth. That makes the £17k price seem a bit OTT after 4 years... I can see another car the same year less miles up for £23k, which is totally crazy... The official dealers stock the turbos, however most of them with quite low specification.. I don't want a diesel, which is proving difficult..

G

[daydotz]

Plenty Of cheaper options at least they have been used & have been serviced
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Edited by daydotz on Wednesday 8th March 15:13

Edited by daydotz on Wednesday 8th March 15:15