HELP: interested in a car on ebay but bit worried

reddy246174

Hi

I am emailing as I am very interested in bguying a certain car on ebay but I have a couple of worries; if I could get to see the car before bidding ends of course I would do that but as my wife is disabled and we do not currently have a car I cannot.

The price at this moment in time is a real bargain; however the mileage is 123,000 now I am not an expert in cars but my dad always told me never buy when a car has over 100,000 now I understand that sometimes with a 2nd hand car this isn't possible but as the car is only 5 years old is this excessive? It had it's last service 3,000 miles ago. The seller is a trader (owns a car lot) and has given a lot of info inc many photos and one thing which he mentions and shows very clear pics of is quite a large dent at the rigth side front of the car (between headlight bumper) and says this is just aesthetic -- if anyone knows about cars could they confirm taht this would be the case, or woulkd you advise nto to risk it. It is MoT'd till July 2007 and though I know this is no guarantee I think it may be ok as it has been on the forevourt since then. It ends in justover 4hrs so I would appreciate any help you could give asap.

Many thanks!!!!!!

movieman

Depends a lot on the car. Back in the 70s that was good advice, but modern cars can often go a long way past 100,000 miles if they're maintained properly.

Personally I'd be wary of a 5-year-old car with over 100,000 miles and a sizable dent, but if it's mostly motorway driving and the maintenance has been done it may be a bargain. If it's been chugging arond town as a taxi, it may not be such a good idea .

wigginsmum

DH does 18,000 miles a year commuting to work and visiting his kids, if that's any help.

soolin

I drive to work, to the shops and ocassionally long distance for visiting relatives and barely manage 6000 miles a year. When I used to commute what I thought was a long distance my company car did approx 14,000 a year and that was considered over the average mileage for insurance purposes.

shellsuit

123K in 5 years?? That's almost 25K a year.

Sounds like it was a taxi to me especially with the 'dent' on it lol

If it sounds too good to be true.....you know the rest

Mark7799

I don't think 25k pa is unreasonable nowadays (says he who is driving a 5yo Vectra with 126k on the clock) If you can see a full service history and the car is well-maintained this shouldn't be a problem.

aj3001

the "100k" rule was started when car engines would start to die after doing 100000 miles, however my dad now has a 10 year old Volvo 850 with 180k miles on it and thats fine and twice the age!

Personally if its japanesse, I wouldn't look at the mileage! Got a link to the car so we can check it out?

OverlandLandy

The issue is not the miles on the clock - its how it has been serviced.
My Landrover has 182k miles on the clock - and runs very well. It has been well serviced from new (1993) and the oil is now changed every 3k miles.

There is no hard & fast rule ...but remember:

Rough people and Rough cars go together! - What is the interior like? are the pedel rubbers worn, does the seat have any 'spring' left in it (if not you may end up with back issues).

Sports cars are driven sportily and fast cars driven fast! - check the oil (is it sweet like honey or black like treacle and smells burnt?)

Diesel Engines (generally) go on for longer than Petrol engines.

Look up some of the Buying guides on the likes of http://www.whatcar.com/

Remember:
Unless its ULTRA RARE there is always another one about to come on the market.
If your buying from a dealer - his job is to get as much profit from you as possible...and waht is 'small and easy' to him could be much larger and more costly to you. They will want you to 'listen to ho fab the stereo is' ...its nothing in the grand scheme of things....switch it off...and listen for other 'noises'...(they may even try to keep talking...again it is to distract you from potential issues!)
Due to the age and miles you will not be buying from a Franchised Dealership (which can give you a bit of extra protection).

You can also ask for a 'used car warrenty' but you may be better buying one yourself.

Good luck

rdwarr

I once bought a car with 158,000 miles on the clock (Mitsubishi Sigma Estate). It went well past 200,000 before any problems BUT it also had a full service history. That's the important thing.

nearlyrich

I do over 30000 miles a year, my last company car went back with 99000 on the clock. My current car is just over a year old and has had 3 services already, some high mileage cars are very well looked after.

Searcher

reddy246174 wrote:

The price at this moment in time is a real bargain;

Nothing to add on the advice as theres already a wealth of it up there ^^.

It might seem like a bargain now but how long is left to run on the auction? Don't forget that most bidding occurs in the last few minutes of the auction and might seem like less of a bargain by the time it closes.