Buying a car that’s not been used for 2 yrs

plumb1_2

Thanks, think I’ll get the DW to have a test drive tomorrow, it’s about £4k under forecourt price.

MikeJXE

plumb1_2 said:

MikeJXE said:

Still under manufacturers warranty so Take it too a ford dealer and get it checked out and have it serviced 

Thought fords only came with 3 years ?

If the first MOT is not till March as quoted by the OT it must be less than 3 years old

Brie

Has it been in a garage or outside exposed to the elements? 

I ask because after my vehicle being very rarely used during the first bit of the pandemic I ended up with an issue of plant debris clogging the drains under the windscreen.  Essentially when it rains and a car is parked the water will drain through small holes in the sink (or whatever you call it) under the wipers.  From there the water should drain out either side of your engine and flow away.  Because my car sat nearly under a huge tree for 6 months straight the leaf and seed bits collected in the "sink" and eventually blocked the holes behind the engine so water simply accumulated without draining away.  I hit a crunch point when there was a massive week of rain and the water then flowed into the area behind the dash and from there into the car filling the footwells. 

I was able to sort it all out (thank you Halfords!) and dry out the car eventually but it's made me cautious of leaving a car unused and stationary for a belonged time.  Mechanic chap who sorted the blockage pointed out that if I was likely to leave it again to ensure I covered at least the windscreen/sink area to prevent a reoccurance. 

plumb1_2

MikeJXE said:

plumb1_2 said:

MikeJXE said:

Still under manufacturers warranty so Take it too a ford dealer and get it checked out and have it serviced 

Thought fords only came with 3 years ?

If the first MOT is not till March as quoted by the OT it must be less than 3 years old

Reg March 2020

MikeJXE

plumb1_2 said:

MikeJXE said:

plumb1_2 said:

MikeJXE said:

Still under manufacturers warranty so Take it too a ford dealer and get it checked out and have it serviced 

Thought fords only came with 3 years ?

If the first MOT is not till March as quoted by the OT it must be less than 3 years old

Reg March 2020

Yes but like others have said not keeping to service schedules voids the warranty 

plumb1_2

MikeJXE said:

plumb1_2 said:

MikeJXE said:

plumb1_2 said:

MikeJXE said:

Still under manufacturers warranty so Take it too a ford dealer and get it checked out and have it serviced 

Thought fords only came with 3 years ?

If the first MOT is not till March as quoted by the OT it must be less than 3 years old

Reg March 2020

Yes but like others have said not keeping to service schedules voids the warranty 

Ya only 1 month left approx. Will have to make my mind up if it’s worth buying it £4k cheaper than forecourt price, or pay the extra and get one with a good warranty.

Grumpy_chap

I'd buy that Focus and then take to my local trusted independent mechanic for service, with a mention of the idle time and ask them to advise on any specific points to check.  Do that straight away, so that you can go into the MOT at the latest date (to get as much as you can as first MOT is set from date of test and not extended).

Then use the car and, if there are any issues that come to light (e.g. air con needs regassing) you can use a little bit of the £4k saving to make that good.

Herzlos

Will they let you take it to a mechanic for a once over before you commit to it?

daveyjp

Grumpy_chap said:

I'd buy that Focus and then take to my local trusted independent mechanic for service, with a mention of the idle time and ask them to advise on any specific points to check.  Do that straight away, so that you can go into the MOT at the latest date (to get as much as you can as first MOT is set from date of test and not extended).

Then use the car and, if there are any issues that come to light (e.g. air con needs regassing) you can use a little bit of the £4k saving to make that good.

No problem buying if all is OK.

Just advise the seller you want at least an hour on your own before committing to check everything, including a decent test drive.

This will give you time to test all items before you drive off and a drive to check mechanicals.

It can be things you use rarely which can give problems on low use cars such as rear wash wipe, fog lights etc so an hour checking can save a day getting them fixed.

Richard1212

After a quick look on google, I see that a low mileage Ford Focus st line 2020 plate now sells at about £19,000 ( no doubt you have already compared online) :   https://www.motors.co.uk/ford/focus/trim/st-line-x/year/2020/used-cars/

So long as you are being asked a noticeably lower price, I would say "go for it". If not, there are plenty of such low mileage models all over the internet and in garages ( that do not have the potential problems of a car neglected for 2 years).

If the above criterion is met , it still needs a "once-over" because of its history ( I don't think a 1 hour test drive is sufficient. Why not ask the purchaser if you can pay for an MOT a month earlier than the March date, as is allowed---and that should clear up any worries you may have if he is willing to allow ( after all it's only 9 days till February) ? It seems a bit unreasonable if the owner doesn't allow such a reasonable request.  Happy motoring, plumb.