Is it worth the risk?

mcweasel05

Hi all,
Had my car vandalised at New Years :mad: and my insurance company have written it off :A

So, I'm on the lookout for a used car. Really struggling to find some, as I want something newer than my old one (Y plate), but cheaper to run (1.8 Focus). Seen a few on various motoring websites, but I seem to find things wrong with them (type of lock, age, condition, too expensive etc). However, I have come across a brilliant looking 2002 Polo which I can afford

But...

It has 150k miles
Looks like it's in brilliant condition (going to view it tomorrow) VW dealership service to 120k miles and independent since then (don't know if full service history though)

What do you think? Avoid like the plague? Anyone know what to look for?

Any suggestions are welcome

Hammyman

Regularly maintained, there's no reason why you shouldn't get another 50,000 out of it.

Ebe_Scrooge

Hammyman wrote: »

Regularly maintained, there's no reason why you shouldn't get another 50,000 out of it.

Agreed. These days, high mileage is not such an issue as long as it's been serviced ( I can remember the days when you expected a car to last 100K miles then die ).

My only slight concern would be, what sort of miles are they ? The often quoted advice is that motorway miles are much less damaging than town miles - this is absolutely true. So your typical rep-mobile that's got very high mileage, but has spent all its life cruising on a motorway and been well serviced, should give you no trouble. Conversely, the small car that's had "one elderly lady owner" and has only ever popped to the shops and back, could well be knackered after 50K miles.

A Polo is not a typical company car, so that does seem quite a high mileage for that car. If you can find out a bit of history about previous owners, you should be able to make a decision based on the above.

But, overall, VW are good cars and if the service history is genuine then I would say you should be OK.

mcweasel05

Hammyman wrote: »

Regularly maintained, there's no reason why you shouldn't get another 50,000 out of it.

I did 9k miles in my Focus over 3 1/2 years so on that basis should last over 16 years

I will try to gauge the owner about the miles, but having spoken to him about the car, he's a trader and not had it long. It has 2 previous owners, so depends on what they used it for.
I'm not in a rush to get a new car, and if I feel the slightest bit wary I'll walk away.

Is there anything to look for on a Polo? Whatcar says suspension, but I have no idea how to check it's in good condition

Ebe_Scrooge

Suspension can be tricky for a DIY-er to check, unless you're pretty experienced. Some basic checks can be found here :

http://www.checkthatcar.com/suspension.asp

Also, driving the car is one of the main ways to get a clue if suspension is dodgy. Does it brake OK and go round corners OK ? If you're used to driving a car with OK suspension, then you should be able to feel that something is amiss if there's anything wrong.

Parkers is another good place to look for reviews, what to check for, etc. :

www.parkers.co.uk

( Look at the "Reviews" section on the left for the car you're interested in ).

I'm not saying this is a definitive list, but it'll give you an idea.

As with ANY car, the test drive is what will give you most information. Not just a quick trip round the block, but a decent mix of town and high-speed dual-carriageway driving ( not always practical, admittedly ). Does it handle OK at motorway speeds, does it manouver OK at low speed, do the brakes work OK, does the engine operate at the right temperature ( not too hot, not too cold ), does the gearbox work OK, etc. etc. etc. There are 1001 things you need to check, but the main thing is drive the car, and use all your senses - are there any odd smells, odd sounds, odd vibrations. Sounds daft, but it can be quite hard to do this. A lot of people drive around fairly relaxed and only notice when something is drastically wrong ( e.g. a huge squeal from the brakes ), but you need to "listen" very carefully to the car on a test drive.

Sorry if I'm teaching granny to suck eggs, but hopefully this will be helpful :-)