Seen a used car/mpv with 22,058 miles, year is 2003,service book is empty should I be worried?
I have no experience at buying cars a little help on what to ask the dealer and if I should proceed would be greatly appreciated.
Answers:
That is not bad milage for an 03. Things you can do, may sound crazy but take off the oil service cap and smell it. If it smells burnt stay away. remove the dip stick and look at the oil, if it looks new and runny then good, black and thick then bad. If engine sounds smooth no rough pinging sounds probly good. unless they just totally abused the car an 03 with 22,000 shouldn't have any problems.
I don't write my oil changes and stuff in the book - besides they can lie. I *would* however ask for receipts from all the oil changes. (that is something I keep to make sure I can prove stuff was done for warranty purposes.)
Normally they figure 12,000 to 15,000 miles a year is "normal".
be very careful. if you can find a mechanic to take with you i would suggest doing that. if you don't know a mechanic i would take someone who has some experience of buying used cars. i never go to a dealer with out back up.
Just go for it.
As it's a motor trade see what their warranty is like a Citroen dealer should be giving Citroen approved warranty of a year, if not beware.
The mileage is good for it's age they say average mileage is 10,000 to 12,000 a year. The price doesn't seem bad to me but try comparing it with others, Citroen do a used car finder on their website. Might also be worth considering that it's quite a big car and a 1.6 engine in it might be a bit lack luster.
I've just had a liitle look at citroen for you they've got a few for around £6000 with low mileage on a 2003 plate and these have Citroen approved warranty of a year.
Citroën Approved Used warranty includes:
- Pre Delivery Check
- Vehicle Mileage Certificate
- Vehicle History Certificate
- Manufacturer Warranty
- 30-day Exchange Plan
- Roadside Assistance
be careful, do what i done. I phoned the AA and explained to them, i was buying a car and that could i get someone from there to come and check the car over for me! Someone came out and the car is brilliant!
Sounds like a good buy to me, a little under maintained but worth a look for the mileage alone. check it out very thoroughly though.
Okay, what comes to my mind first is: if someone is driving a car like this, why wouldn't he go to the length of keeping the service book up to date? If you upkeep and maintain any nice Citroen, aren't you gonna do THIS? So you've got to ask if he has been maintaining it properly (regularly scheduled maintainance). I mean, the log book IS in the car usually, and easy to grab and put your receipts and papers into. I guess you're going to check out the condition of it more closely. As for the mileage, I think it seems to be half decent--it's fairly low. It's not what I'd call high, in my opinion. You have a legit question in asking him about the lack of records, if there is a lack, and you have grounds in talking him down in price a bit I'd think, because of this. Negotiating is negotiating, anyway. Try for 5000 or under. How's the body and interior, and what about options. You know how people tend to ask more if their car is loaded. But yep-- you do have a point here.
not bad mileage for a 03 but really it should of been serviced quite a few times at 22 thousand miles DONT BUY IF THERE IS NO SERVICE HISTORY (SH) but the price is not to bad i suppose but with no service history then id forget it really theres other picassos out there with service history look for fsh .. meaning full service history . or. fsch meaning .. ful citeron service history make sure its got a full fsh ok
3 year old car, lowish miles and lowish price! the 1600 model isnt the best and id want to see proof of one service a year unless thats why its cheap!
yeap don't pay full price or go else where
Check the vehicles reg plates and look for dealer stickers in the back window. Try and find out who the supplying dealer is, or is the selling dealer the supplier?
Was is sold by them brand new?
Dealerships typically keep a vehicle's service history on record. They should also be able to provide you with copy invoices of all work done on the car. Ask to see them so you know what work has been carried out and how much it cost.
The mileage is good for the year. As for the price, offer £5000.00 and see how much gets knocked off the £5700 they asked for.
If in doubt about anything, tell them. See if they can validate what they're telling you.
If you're still not happy, WALK AWAY. There are plenty of Xsara Picassos out there to choose from.
Best of luck.
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