Car with no service history

Rolandtheroadie

Used to swear by auctions, nowadays you need to check the fees first. They can turn a cheap car into one you could buy cheaper elsewhere.

I'd rather trust ebay.

OddballJamie

bigbulldog wrote: »

And it will tell you if the mileage is genuine .

No, as I said, it will tell you the mileage on MOT day each year. It does not guarantee that is the correct mileage, for all you know a previous owner could've be clocking it every year just before MOT time.

It is was less than a grand I would take a punt on it, but a £3k car with no history whatsoever. No chance. That's any car I'm going by, not just Minis.

lazer

mattyprice4004 wrote: »

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.

Honestly - I don't know how often the oil is now changed - when i had the car if was no more than once a year (prob around 12,000 miles a year)

The car is 16 years old - and the only thing wrong with it is the body is beginnning to get rusty but it gets touched up every year.

diesel_dog

If for whatever reason I was trying to sell my low mileage car without service history, then I would do my best to go through the manufacturer to see what, if any history is on there system.

Personally, I'd move onto the next advert and not buy anything without service documentation.

One owner and low mileage might sound good on an advert but in reality, I'd prefer a higher mileage car that has been serviced either yearly or on manufacturer recommended intervals. If I was to service a car myself, I would keep the receipts to back this up.

Private people selling cars can be just as bad, if not worse than some dishonest salesperson working in a garage. It's not so much what they tell you but what they don't tell you ....

colino

diesel dog your final paragraph should be gold plated and put on all traders walls as a reminder to all customers . Everyone trading in a car claims it to be excellent (fed up with the bangs and rattles), immaculate (ran out of emulsion for touch-ups) very economical (uses no fuel when on a low-loader) and with full service history (they bought a service book with pdi only off ebay).
By all means continue the daily slagging of motor traders, but remember most second hand car hidden faults are well known to the privateer who has offloaded it.

owen_money

and dont forget at about 50,000 the steering pump will go was well. £1500 at a BMW garage

System

I was looking at minis in that bracket a year or so ago - you can phone the dealer and give them the registration to see what service history they have on record and if there has been any warranty work done, watch out the the steering pump and water bottle - but the really big one is the gearbox, the gearbox in the one and cooper (of that age) is one which has a very poor record.
After working out my mileage for the year I decided to spend a wee bit more and got the cooper s with the german gearbox, it's a bit more expensive to run but at least I know the box isn't going to go and land me with a massive bill! (it's also really good to drive)

forgotmyname

Reca5050 wrote: »

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!

283 Mini's in the autotrader for less than £3000.

Bright pink one for £1300. Needs some brakes though. So add £200.

94 Mini's under 10 years old listed all under £3000.

Where is the shortage?

fivetide

forgotmyname wrote: »

283 Mini's in the autotrader for less than £3000.

Bright pink one for £1300. Needs some brakes though. So add £200.

94 Mini's under 10 years old listed all under £3000.

Where is the shortage?

You didn't say under £3k though you said this one was £1000 over priced, suggesting you could get them for £2k.

Therefore under £3k doesn't count does it?

In reality there are just three cars under that £2k limit. Several just over including a non-runner at £2200 so I would say they are hardly abundant at the price you suggested.

It seems to be 1% of the cars on offer between £2k and £3k

red_eye

Reca5050 wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a new car. Have come across a 2003 MINI One for £3,000. Has low mileage (circa 40k) but seller has had it a year and there is no service history with it. Before the seller, there was one other owner.

I've had a look through the MOT history which seems to be ok (couple of issues with tyres and headlights, but all seems to be sorted (according to latest mot)).

Should alarm bells be ringing? Or would you go for it at £3k? It's a private seller too.

Thanks!

offer £600 and walk away