Negotiating purchase of car

Altior

The MOT history tells you a lot more.

Are the MOTs consistent, always done in time, are prior advisories resolved by the next MOT, is the mileage consistent.

This is the bottom price for a vehicle really, and not really viable for a retail sale for a good dealer.

The seller might be just giving up driving.

There's not much risk at this price point to be honest, but it would be more than ideal to have someone with you who knows their way around a car. All you're really looking for at this level is that there are no obvious gotchas. If it's an old guy it is likely to have cosmetic issues, bumps scrapes etc that might not show in online photos.

Herzlos

If it's on autotrader the 'id' number in the address starts with the date.

But if it's a runner with an MOT then it's going to be a good deal. I wouldn't waste too long worrying about trying to save £50.

The only thing I'd try and verify is that it's actually a private seller and not a trader trying to get rid of a lemon. To do that you want to check you're at the address on the V5 and that they know something about the history of the car. Be wary about stuff like "I'm selling it for my brother" or "I bought it for my wife but she doesn't like the colour" type claims.

Arunmor

OP why haven't you gone to see it yet?

tom192

I usually use the app vehicle Smart, it's free although think you can pay for the pro version, it handily shows when the last V5 was created, this may give you a hint as to if this seller has had it years or not.

Agree with others things for it shouldn't be a fortune for it but lots of issues can quickly mount up. You are at the very bottom of the price range for something with an MOT.

daveyjp

Daughter's boyfriend saw a 20 year old Citroen C1 for sale for a few hundred quid. It was battered and bruised, paint fading etc, but MOT showed nothing serious, he handed over the money. Him and mates did full fluid changes, new brakes all round, new MOT nothing found, so for about £1,000 he had transport.

6 months later he has done about 5,000 miles, with no issues. No oil being burned, clutch all good. He has had a scrape on a wall, but it is a few hundred quid car, so its now a 'memory scar'! He is now of the opinion if it lets go in spectacular fashion its a £250 lump of scrap, but it has done the job.

Goudy

When you initially make contact with the seller (if you haven't already), it's best to have a list of questions ready to ask, one of which might be if they are open to a reasonable offer.

They will probably grumble a bit about being close to the asking price, but as least you know when you turn up and view the car properly, they will expect you to make a lower offer (if you want the car). They've had chance to mull the notion over a while, so it's not a shock.

I would generally put this down towards (do not at) the bottom of the list. As a seller in the past, anyone that dives straight in with this question is usually either too much hard work to deal with or not very serious about buying.

As for the car, I suspect the reports of rust on the MOT are a typical Yaris problem at this age. Although the body work is usually well protected from the factory, the rear end can rot out.

The subframe/axle is prone to rotting and the seam at the back of the floor pan rusts out. This last one is particularly relevant to ones fitted with factory sunroofs as the drain exits under the car block up, but they are all prone to it at this age.

You'd need a good look underneath and make sure the mounting points for the suspension aren't too rusty as they will scrap it. Rusty springs and the likes can be swapped cheap enough.