Brand new grey import-haggle or run??

caines

Basically, we have seen the car of our dreams which is only available in one authorised Mazda garage in the country (!!) with 3 year manufactoers warranty.

Facts
Its unregistered, last of old style (new style with improvements went on sale in Japan in January), 900 miles on clock...yes, thats 900!! It has a few bits which need fixing (changing door foot plate trim which is very scuffed, few light scratches prob from bushes, glove box needs fixing so it opens without force and properly attached, few small but nopticeable inconsistancies on the interior seat material.

This to me doesnt sound like a brand new car.

The garage will fix all the fixable bits and are finding out the mileage story from the importer. They have told me most of that was probably done in km's (before the milometer was changed) and prob mileage to get to port etc at time of export. That mileage seems very high to me.

They are telling me its brand new as unregistered, but surely, even when importing cars, the mileage is lower than that?? Im finding it hard to find info on rules (whats deemed reasonable) for imports.

If we go for it and haggle, where do I start? Its listed as 20k.
On top of knocking the price down, is it usual to ask for things like extended warranty, full tank of petrol, years tax, anything else??

Any advice/ thoughts/ haggling tips wd be greatly appreciated.
Rebecca

blue_haddock

What vehicle is it?
It sounds dodgy to me as a main dealer would not touch a grey import with a big stick. The mileage sounds dodgy too - up to a hundred or so delivery miles would be ok but 900 is a lot of miles for a new unregistered vehicle. Even if its kilometres that still the best part of 600miles. Then considered a large amount of minor damage makes it smell fishier than a grimsby trawler!

Personally i'd take lots of large steps away from it.

in51der

caines wrote: »

Basically, we have seen the car of our dreams which is only available in one authorised Mazda garage in the country (!!) with 3 year manufactoers warranty.

Facts
Its unregistered, last of old style (new style with improvements went on sale in Japan in January), 900 miles on clock...yes, thats 900!! It has a few bits which need fixing (changing door foot plate trim which is very scuffed, few light scratches prob from bushes, glove box needs fixing so it opens without force and properly attached, few small but nopticeable inconsistancies on the interior seat material.

This to me doesnt sound like a brand new car.

The garage will fix all the fixable bits and are finding out the mileage story from the importer. They have told me most of that was probably done in km's (before the milometer was changed) and prob mileage to get to port etc at time of export. That mileage seems very high to me.

They are telling me its brand new as unregistered, but surely, even when importing cars, the mileage is lower than that?? Im finding it hard to find info on rules (whats deemed reasonable) for imports.

If we go for it and haggle, where do I start? Its listed as 20k.
On top of knocking the price down, is it usual to ask for things like extended warranty, full tank of petrol, years tax, anything else??

Any advice/ thoughts/ haggling tips wd be greatly appreciated.
Rebecca

I would start by getting the chassis number and find out when it was registered I have known cars registered in the UK in say 07 but a chassis check told me it was built in 05, where has the car been?, why 900 miles? It’s all a bit fishy to me, why would the garage need to find out the mileage story? now surely they should have checked that already, also get the 3yr warranty thing in writing I’ve heard horror stories of people making a claim 1 yr later to find manufacturer warranty is invalid, not saying don’t buy if its car of your dreams just be very cautious maybe spend £200 on an AA inspection at least then you get peace of mind and the dealer won’t mind if he has nothing to hide. Best of luck

piggeh

20k seems steep - is it an MPS? Given a new model is out it should be fairly heavily discounted.

Discounting the 'delivery mileage' - how did it get damage to seats? If it was one delivery then the driver would surely not have caused so much damage in the one journey.

standupguy

Run - too many iff's and but's, a shedload of money and imports crash in value compared to UK cars

caines

It is an MPV, and yes, upgraded model out Jan 2008 so wd hope for decent discount. Getting chassis number is a good idea and I have a car mate in the trade who is happy to look at it.

Its the mileage that bothers me....

So, as its not available anywhere else on the planet (or uk), where do we start with haggling. I say we wd need a serious discount on the 20k (and that excludes the 6 cd and having parking sensors etc fitted), all things considered, but what is considered too ridiculous an offer?

Hintza

The ashtray should have a date stamp on it. That will tell you. Pull it out and look underneath. (I think the seatbelts have one too)

ihatecharges

I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole to be honest! 900 miles or Km is a joke. It seems it has been used as a runabout / ferry vehicle by the dealer!

There should be a sticker on the bodywork somewhere quoting the build date, usually by the drivers door but keep looking for it!

oldagetraveller

I'd be quoting the VIN to Mazda U.K. and asking them what they know about the vehicle.
Then I'd run very quickly in the opposite direction in spite of what they might say or whether it's "the car of your dreams". Could turn out to be a nightmare. Sounds very dodgy to me!

Indout96

Dont forget your insurance will increase if they know its an import.
Where has it been imported from, my Celica is an EU import and came without the Toyota alarm (or any other alarm) If its from Japan then it will also have the speed restrictor fitted which you may want removing (they are limited to 112mph)
At £20k I would walk away TBH

cyclonebri1

You'll probably find the waranty is a year less for an import too unless the dealer honours it.

Its not true that a dealer won't sell an import car, many of them have set up a direct import arm to compete with the supermarkets, and will offer these if pushed.;)

To be honest there should be a good reason to go for an import against a used car, and I don't think it being the only one available to your spec is enough. It would need to be considerably under price for me