Buying an ex minicab

[avantra]

I read here and in other places the warning about buying cars that are ex minicabs, is this based on some facts?
If the car has a reasonable milage let's say up to 120k why should one be more carefull? minicabs do get used more over a shorter period but is the service and driving is worst than let's say a company car?
I am looking at one nice 2001 Nissan Primera 2.0 petrol with 106k on the clock from a private minicab owner for £1200, good deal or bad deal?

[tanith]

Personally I wouldn't touch an EX mini-cab with a barge pole.... for one thing God knows what its had in it.. even if it looks clean :eek: secondly its probably been thrashed to death and thirdly I guess you'd get what you paid for.......

[rdwarr]

I'll try to be a bit more objective ;)
The main difference between a minicab and a company car is the type of journey they undertake. A minicab will be a lot of stop/start and short journeys when the engine is at its most vulnerable. Company cars typically undertake longer "little wear" journeys.
A company car is also more likely to have a proper service history.
Having said that I would still consider an ex-minicab if it appeared to be an exception to the above generalisation.
As for cleanliness, well there's nothing likely to have been in a minicab that won't have been in a typical family car. And as that guy said in "Christine", ..it cleans off :)

[vansboy]

The only cab styles I'd consider, would be executive transport & people carriers - carrying celebs, maybe & airport runs.

A conventional cab would have been well worked, however well it's looked after, it'll have earned its £$£$.

Not a wise choice!!

Incedently, this type of use is even a required declaration, if the vehicle is entered into BCA or Manheim Auctions sales, so as NOT to catch ouit the unwary!!

VB

[highguyuk]

secondly its probably been thrashed to death

I agree with alot of the other comments, but surely not this? To a taxi driver, his car is his tools and living. If he doesn't looked after his car and its needs money spending on it due to being thrashed around thats money he has lost for his income.

Stop/Start short journeys with god knows what down the seats, but I wouldnt have said they would be thrashed. Company/Hire cars would be, people driving them around who don't care because it isn't there car!

[blue_haddock]

A taxi may well of been run 24 hour hours a day by 2 or 3 drivers doing mainly town work with lots of stop start work and generally taxi drivers only get rid of a car when it's no longer usable as a taxi. In some area's this is due to strict council regulations on taxi's but in others it will be when it is costing money to keep on the road.

Remember that a company car for 95% of the time will just have the driver in the vehicle so the rest of the car will be tidy whereas a taxi will have had all the seats used all day every day so it will be more worn than a company car. It will also often have various holes on the dashboard and roof where taxi meters and signs have been installed.