Please can someone help me...

Tinkaf1

Saw a car at an independent garage. A Ford Galaxy 2004, mileage 103k. Drove it, liked it. agreed to buy it.
Handed over £300 and waited for them to sort out the tyres, do the MOT and basically change the cambelt and water pump (at cost) for our peace of mind unless it was new when they got there. Had the call to say it is ready.
Had a thought about Hpi checks, as it doesn't mention it on their website, he said they do hpi check it and it was fine, but for us to do one for our peace of mind.
So i just spent £15 with RAC... no finance or write off to panic about, it says the licence plates have changed twice (not an issue if someone stuck a private plate on it I guess) HOWEVER it lists the mileage from the DVLA as... £371k.
I actually think I am going to throw up. This figure was in 2008 too!! it also states...
"Mileage readings are from a range of sources and may be limited. Check the MOT & service history carefully to confirm."

Please can anyone throw any light on this.... could it be wrong, or do i need to run?
Will the garage give us our deposit back or have we basically been ripped off to the tune of £300 just before Christmas?

Tinkaf1

I almost didn't do a check as it is a garage and not a private sale. I feel so sick.

TeamPlum

Check out this website, should give you a run down of mileage history, from past MOT's.

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk

Tinkaf1

ok... when i enter info the MOT's start in 2007.

No mileage recorded at 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010... then the 2011 certificate shows 71k, 2012 shows 81k etc. and so on up to the 103 it is now.

Now WHY are those early ones not showing mileage? Is this normal or is this red flag central? Could this have been used as a taxi early on an managed to do 371k in 4 years, and now showing up totally fake mileage?

BykerSands

Most probably an error, I doubt it's done 250 every day for four years.

TeamPlum

So, let me get this straight:

This figure of 371 isn't quoted on the government website, your concern is that the figures that ARE quoted, are false? Am I right with that?

As for why there arn't any figures for 2007, 2008 etc, I can only assume it was perhaps before they started logging them digitally (fairly new service?).

To my mind, if it'd done 371k miles, it would be on the verge of falling to pieces, that's a hell of a lot of miles - but then again I'm not a mechanic.

Only you can decide whether to move on, but I wouldn't bank on getting your £300 back now they've re-done the cam belt.

Fletch7

Tinkaf1 wrote: »

ok... when i enter info the MOT's start in 2007.

No mileage recorded at 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010... then the 2011 certificate shows 71k, 2012 shows 81k etc. and so on up to the 103 it is now.

Now WHY are those early ones not showing mileage? Is this normal or is this red flag central? Could this have been used as a taxi early on an managed to do 371k in 4 years, and now showing up totally fake mileage?

It states at the top of the page "Mileage readings are currently only available for MOTs done from 1 August 2011"

dannyrst

Ask the dealer to see the results of their HPI check, because yours are quite strange.

Tinkaf1

I don't know what the hell to think.
It is a 7 seater, some have these cars have done high mileage when they have been used as an airport taxi. I am scared.
We have been looking so hard and I really need a car urgently. Surely if the dealer did a hpi as he said he did, he would have seen this mileage discrepancy?
It has either been to the moon and back and now all of a sudden we are seeing this more "realistic" mileage, which is fake... or the DVLA had some wrong entry somewhere.
Either way, with that record hanging over it, would anyone here STILL buy it? Surely I am lumbering myself with a tainted car?

Tinkaf1

The dealer said that they have done one but have "nothing they could show us"...???

dannyrst

You need to calm down a little here.

If the car has been clocked, it would have been picked up at the last MOT. So unless over 200,000 miles have been done since the last MOT, the mileage will be accurate.

There are many different companies that do HPI checks and, as you said yourself, they get info from a lot of different places.

Put any concerns you have to the dealer. See what they say.