2002 Kia Rio - Very low miles - worth it?

[Deleted User]

Found a 2002 Kia Rio estate for sale locally with less than 23,000 miles on the clock. Looks in decent condition apart from some age related scratches and dings but interior is very clean. MOT history seems to confirm the low mileage with it only doing 60 miles since the last MOT last December and no advisories on the previous 4 MOTs.

Is it safe to buy a car like this with such low mileage or is there a risk it could just be a heap of rust with tons of seized components due to it sitting around?

According to the DVLA the last V5 was issued in 2012 and according to the guy selling it, it belongs to an elderly lady who he's selling it for.

I had a quick look at it this afternoon but didn't take it on a test drive or check the paperwork over.

chrisw

The recent MOT is a good sign. You should be able to tell by looking whether its a heap of rust. I would guess its worth under £500 so could be worth a punt if it drives ok.

[Deleted User]

chrisw said:

The recent MOT is a good sign. You should be able to tell by looking whether its a heap of rust. I would guess its worth under £500 so could be worth a punt if it drives ok.

They have it up for sale around the £600 mark but if they come down to £500 I may take the punt.

greyteam1959

Sounds like a good cheap motor to me.

oscarward

Many years ago, 1970s, a relative bought a very low mileage Austin a40 for his wife. After a few months oil warning light came on. Turns out it had never been serviced since being registered and pensioner had done 3000k miles in 10 years. Only going to post office a few miles away. 

Turns out the oil had degraded and the big ends were blown. I rebuilt the engine for them.

GunJack

Deleted_User said:

Found a 2002 Kia Rio estate for sale locally with less than 23,000 miles on the clock. Looks in decent condition apart from some age related scratches and dings but interior is very clean. MOT history seems to confirm the low mileage with it only doing 60 miles since the last MOT last December and no advisories on the previous 4 MOTs.

Is it safe to buy a car like this with such low mileage or is there a risk it could just be a heap of rust with tons of seized components due to it sitting around?

According to the DVLA the last V5 was issued in 2012 and according to the guy selling it, it belongs to an elderly lady who he's selling it for.

I had a quick look at it this afternoon but didn't take it on a test drive or check the paperwork over.

mate of mine had one - it's just a steady a to b car, not exciting, but theirs was pretty reliable and only needed a few consumables in the 3-4 years they had it. £5-600 sounds very reasonable if it's in good enough nick  

AdrianC

23k miles on a 19yo car is not a selling point. It's probably never been fully up to temperature, it's probably got lots of age-related failures waiting to happen as soon as it gets any decent use. 

What does the MOT history show for annual mileages?

It's a 19yo car that was utterly mediocre when it was new, and is probably not easy to get parts for now. Unless there's a really compelling reason that you want a Kia Rio, I'd be avoiding it.

[Deleted User]

AdrianC said:

23k miles on a 19yo car is not a selling point. It's probably never been fully up to temperature, it's probably got lots of age-related failures waiting to happen as soon as it gets any decent use. 

What does the MOT history show for annual mileages?

It's a 19yo car that was utterly mediocre when it was new, and is probably not easy to get parts for now. Unless there's a really compelling reason that you want a Kia Rio, I'd be avoiding it.

It's done less than 2K miles a year since new although it did 10K of the 23K in it's first 3 years. It's done 60 miles since it's last MOT in December, and 111 miles between Dec 2019 & Dec 2020.

Maybe I was wise to walk away when I did but It's still for sale.

Grumpy_chap

I'd buy it - definitely worth a punt.

[Deleted User]

If it's still for sale tomorrow I think I will.