Thinking about buying a 'part ex' car from dealer. Bad idea?

GrumpyDil

Would still be worth posting a link, if only to satisfy our curiosity 😂

Oakeshott

GrumpyDil said:

Would still be worth posting a link, if only to satisfy our curiosity 😂

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209109634224?fromSavedAds=true&advertising-location=at_cars

macman

Oakeshott said:

Yep it’s definitely underpriced and the description states part ex unlike the others. And there is a section on his website saying anything labelled pry ex has no warranty! 

Best leave it. 

What kind of warranty would you expect on a 12 year old end of life car with 91K on the clock? 

angrycrow

It appears their business model is to buy up the rubbish no one else bids on at auction and then pass it off as part exchange stock £500 below market value with sale on a alleged trade basis whilst not actually doing any of the things that would make it a trade sale. 

It's them trying to bypass there obligations. 

I did drop into the site to look at a car a few years ago. Two minutes on the yard convinced me not to buy a car from them. No particular red flags other than all the cars were rough as hell. 

I also like the advert for the Kia stating no accidents when the front bumper has a big split in the bottom and the grill is wonky, what's that if not accident damage.

Grumpy_chap

Oakeshott said:

GrumpyDil said:

Would still be worth posting a link, if only to satisfy our curiosity 😂

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209109634224?fromSavedAds=true&advertising-location=at_cars

Well, it's a bit wrong that the Dealer is trying to use the phrase "PART-EX BARGAIN" as a catch-all to avoid their obligations.  Normally, I'd say that would be one I'd avoid.

However, this is an 11yo family car with 90k miles at £2.5k and the MOT history shows it has not been a wonderfully loved car.  But it is a full MOT at present.  
What would the warranty be?  A 3-month comfort-blanket that has so many exclusions that a successful claim is virtually impossible even if something goes awry.
What would the consumer rights be?  Tempered by "reasonable expectations" so really if the car starts, drives, works that's about all you can expect and there will be some thing "wrong" with it but if it keeps running and performing the basic function of A-to-B that's about all you can expect.

Compare that to a 59-plate Astra at the local Dealer down the road from me, 70k miles and £4k price tag.
That saving of £1.5k on the Kia allows for something to go wrong and pay to fix.  
The Kia could be worth a punt, but you have to do so in the knowledge it is effectively a private sale as enforcing any rights against the Trader will be easier said than done.
Far better this "PART-EX BARGAIN" than many of the similarly listed cars that do not even benefit from the lower price.

mgfvvc

macman said:

What kind of warranty would you expect on a 12 year old end of life car with 91K on the clock? 

End of life? At 12 years and 90,000 miles a well looked after modern car should have at least another 5 years or 60,000 miles. The last car I bought was 9 years and 120,000 miles. That came with a 3 month warranty.

Grumpy_chap

mgfvvc said:

a well looked after modern car

But this isn't a "well looked after" car.  Just look at the MOT history:
https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/
Failed and advisories for at least the last 4 years - this is a car that has been kept running on minimum expense.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209109634224

It is cheap, though, and still worth a punt so long as the purchaser's expectation is not unrealistically high you'd still get a car that will have a good chance of a few years motoring ahead - just it will not be luxurious motoring or necessarily fault free.

The trouble with this type of car is when someone buys a £2.5k "PART-EX BARGAIN" and then expects the car to be as good as a £25k nearly-new equivalent.

Oakeshott

Yes, I completely agree. I wouldn't expect any kind of warranty really. This is the bottom end of the market. What I would hope for though is to not knowingly be sold a lemon with absolutely no recourse, which is what I would suspect when a dealer is explicitly stating 'part ex/no warranty'. 

mgfvvc

Grumpy_chap said:

But this isn't a "well looked after" car.

True, but I was responding to the question "What kind of warranty would you expect on a 12 year old end of life car with 91K on the clock? "
At that age and mileage a dealer should be offering at least a 3 month warranty. It certainly shouldn't be an end of life car, but the MOT history suggests that it might be better to put it out of it's misery.

Herzlos

Yeah, there are definitely better cars and dealers out there, but if it was cheap enough it may be OK.

The MOT shows the bare minimum is done to it - it failed in 2021 because the ply cords on the tyre were visible which means they've been bald for a while, and the handbrake didn't work; stuff that a conscientious driver would fix immediately, or at least fix before an MOT. It failed just there with a headlight bulb but whoever took it for the MOT didn't bother changing the badly worn tyre that was only an advisory.

I wonder if it changed owner in about 2008, as it went from passing MOTs to failing every single one of them with brake/tyre/light issues which would have been cheap and easy to fix if the new owner cared. If they'll drive it was bald tyres, missing lights and binding brakes, then I don't see why they'd be worried about any other warning lights that may have come up.

WBAC are offering £1500 on that car. So if it was a trade in they paid less than that, and even at auction probably not much more given it's not a great example.

The bigger question is why was it traded in (somewhere), did the owner want something new or has something started to go wrong?

If you couldn't find anything else, then it may be worth considering this one IF you can get it for under £2000, have proof that it's actually been services, and you have a trusted local mechanic give it a look over before handing over any money. But you'd need to go into it knowing that it's not been well looked after and you're going to get zero after sales support.