Car with no service history

jackthenipper

OddballJamie wrote: »

Then it would have been common sense to write it in the service book on every DIY service and keep the receipts for the oil and filters. Therefore creating a history.

If this was the case the obviously the owners never had any common sense, everyone can't be a meticulous as you Oddball.

There would be nothing wrong with buying the car now & getting it serviced straight away, after all all you need is an oil, oil filter & air filter change, unless the brakes are touching metal.

Have you test driven the car? How does it drive?

Reca5050

jackthenipper wrote: »

There would be nothing wrong with buying the car now & getting it serviced straight away, after all all you need is an oil, oil filter & air filter change, unless the brakes are touching metal.

Have you test driven the car? How does it drive?

I haven't test-driven the car yet. I emailed the seller to arrange a viewing and ask about the service history, at which point they informed me there was none. That's when I posted here, as would rather seek other's advice before making the trek over to see it and potentially making a mistake!

fivetide

Reca5050 wrote: »

Thanks for the responses. Reason I was looking at this MINI was because of the low mileage, as well as the fact it's had only 1 previous owner. I am now thinking it's better to get one with a stack of receipts and higher mileage...

I've been looking at MINI Ones for ages, and the lowest price does seem to be around £2.5k, so I'd be grateful to whoever can point me to this abundance of £2k MINI Ones on Autotrader!

I also see alot of "traders" on Autotrader who only post mobile numbers and don't fully disclose their location- from the stories I've heard (of people being sold a lemon in a layby) I'm keen to steer clear of these individuals.

The caution with low miles is it doesn't mean the engine is any better. Somewher ein the middle is good and there are a few reasons:

1. the engine oil takes a good ten minutes to get up to temperature and give proper protection. An engine that is only used to nip to the shops might be low miles but has done most of it's wear anyway. Getting up to temp and occasionally being given an Italian Tune Up (i.e. revved a bit) is good for most engines, it opens the valves up and stops rubbish building up in the system.

2. Sadly some people see servicing as a target for the miles and will do what ever is cheaper. The service book might say "20,000 miles or two years whichever comes sooner" but people will service on miles anyway. Somethign that has only done 5000 miles a year, might not have seen an oil change in four years!

As said, at this point, buy on condition as much as anything.

This one is slightly newer, same sort of price and appears to be well looked after. you could certianly hagle a bit I'd think (no idea where you ar ein the country of course)

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/mini/one/mini-mini-one-2004-low-mileage/1258652

Double the miles but definitely looks ok

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/mini/one/one-owner-mini-one-in-excellent-condition-great-specification/1242123

mattyprice4004

lazer wrote: »

I
The car is now 16 years old and still never had a service - (I give the car to my mum 6 years ago) - my cousin gives it a quick check and makes any repairs necessary including replacing the timing belt.

Servicing is a con by the industry to make you spend £100 "checking" a car every year, especially as most of the time they do nothing other than check or occassionally change the oil and clean to spark plugs.

I hope you do give it an oil change - you'd have to be clinically !!!!!! not to understand why having decent oil in an engine is important.

Oil / filter / air filter is about all the basic servicing you really need to do.

bigjl

2003 Mini would have had the Rover gearbox I think.

As already said it may have never been serviced.

The service part isn't the important bit.

Having the fluids and filters changed is.

The car you are buyin appealed to the same kind of buyers as the A Class Mercedes and BMW 1 Series.

Neither of which was particularly interested in correct maintenance.

As long as the car didn't break down during the period of the HP they were happy then they would trade the car in.

Now ten years down the line these cars can be a hand grenade with the pin pulled.

I would rather have a couple of years younger vehicle with a provable higher mileage.

The only reason people clock cars is due to people's preconceived idea that a low mileage car is always a better car.

My dad has recently given up driving and his 59 plate 207 will be a good buy for somebody.

But it has only ever been driven into town on well surfaced roads.

Never sat in traffic, never driven over potholes or bumped up kerbs.

It was also serviced annually.

And now has just over 20k on it.

That is worth paying a little extra for.

Bt think about the exact same 207 if it had been owned by a richish 17yr old in a suburb on N London.

Hammered from the lights all the at to the shopping centre and then switch ed off then an hour later hammered back home.

Revved hard at every traffic light, braked hard etc.

Treat every car on an individual basis.

If the current owner has only just bought it ask them why they are selling it.

I have seen early Minis go for well under £2k at the Auction so why not go there with a knowledgable friend and save some money.

And you get to see the cars prior to a traders wash and brush up.

And only buy those with lots of history.

Also look at the tyres.

They give away a lot about the previous ownership.

Four matched Michelins or other big name brand is a good sign.

Four Chinese or Korean cheapies not so good but not a deal breaker.

Four different tyres probably bought second hand from a used tyre place make me think it might not have been given much in the way of maintenance and the previous owners treated any spending on the. At as a distress purchase.


In other words only when needed to keep it on the road and MOTed.

A car can pass an MOT without ever having its oil changed.

Reca5050

Thanks for the advice all. I will let this one go but will keep my eye out.


fivetide - funnily enough, I'd been looking at those exact MINIs on Pistonheads earlier today! They are both quite a distance from the south east, but I am willing to travel.

That was another advantage of the MINI I found- it was only about 30 miles away.

bigjl - Good shout about the auction. Am quite close to BCA Blackbushe, but there is also another auctioneers closer to home which I frequent, so will start looking at the car section!

Problem is that they (my local auctioneer) sell all the muck that the DVLA scoop up for not having any tax- which probably means they're even less loved than the MINI in my original post...

bigbulldog

OddballJamie wrote: »

It will only tell you the what the clock was saying on the MOT day each year.

And it will tell you if the mileage is genuine .

albionrovers

Can BMW help? You could at least rule them out ....

Stooby2

Make sure the windscreen washers work - there's a known issue with the washer bottle filling with crud and stopping the pump working.

bigjl

The trick with auctions is figuring out who sells the tat through there.

I always try to buy trade ins from larger dealer networks.

C. trade Sales is WeBuyAnyCar selling off the tat that they didn't want at CarCraft or other dealers they are linked to.

Never buy anything privately entered for the same reason.

Statistically unlikely to be trouble free.

Black usher is. Large auction though.

People have been known to buy there then take the vehicle to another auction like Colchester Manhiem and try and make some money off it.

It may take. A while to find the exact car you want via auction but just don't get emotionally attached prior to bidding.

Couple of dents can be fixed easily and cheaply.

But lack of maintenance can cost you thousands in the long term.