Be cautious buying a used car!

Blackjack Davy · 3 Jul 2023 at 15:25

Its why I never a used car from anything other than main dealers they may cost a packet but they aren't going to let a deathtrap out on the road. Private buyers at least they're cheaper so if you do need to spend money theres a cushion. Honest John's Motors are the worst of both worlds knowledgeable enough to bodge it to get it out the door and not be noticed until its too late

theone8181 · 4 Jul 2023 at 07:32

Nasher said:
The reversing ones were the ones people used to struggle with, so it's a bit crazy they took them out as they were a good test of car control. I bet the amount of bumps in carparks etc have risen since :/

It's obvious when you look at parked cars, the amount that can't reverse into a spot and have to pull in forwards is unreal.

Nasher · 4 Jul 2023 at 08:30

theone8181 said:
It's obvious when you look at parked cars, the amount that can't reverse into a spot and have to pull in forwards is unreal.

And broken bollards, fences etc where people have hit them reversing in. Someone mowed down a charging point near me too.

I find a lot more cars used with dents on the rear as well now, even quite new ones.

Failing to reverse safely was a failure on the test (and a lot of people failed on it), but now it's not even properly tested.

ShiWarrior · 4 Jul 2023 at 08:35

Can we get back on topic please, if you wish to discuss bad driving habits, see here

Your bad driving encounters/irritations

I thought there was another recent thread like this but couldn’t find it. Mods please merge if there is one. So post your encounters with dodgy drivers in here. Today I saw three people jump different red lights within the space of about 10 minutes. Also had the usual experiences of people...

forums.overclockers.co.uk

theone8181 · 4 Jul 2023 at 11:14

ShiWarrior said:
Can we get back on topic please, if you wish to discuss bad driving habits, see here

Your bad driving encounters/irritations

I thought there was another recent thread like this but couldn’t find it. Mods please merge if there is one. So post your encounters with dodgy drivers in here. Today I saw three people jump different red lights within the space of about 10 minutes. Also had the usual experiences of people...

forums.overclockers.co.uk

Tbh I did initially think I'd posted there

. I'm more interested on used cars that have chipped/flashed/whatever the current lingo is. How are you meant to know that if no-one mentions it.

Jay85 · 4 Jul 2023 at 16:16

Need to name and shame the dealer so we can all steer well clear of them. I inspect all the cars i buy, usually take someone with me thats mechanically minded to get a second opinion on stuff as well.

that is utterly diabolical, that poor lady! It's a miracle the wheels didn't fall off and caused a serious accident. It's criminal and certainly would be manslaughter if someone had died due to negligence.

Tykey · 4 Jul 2023 at 16:58

theone8181 said:
Tbh I did initially think I'd posted there . I'm more interested on used cars that have chipped/flashed/whatever the current lingo is. How are you meant to know that if no-one mentions it.

Test its performance with something like a dragy gizmo, if it's significantly faster than manufacturer claims then good chance it'll have a modified ecu. That's what i did anyway.

theone8181 · 4 Jul 2023 at 20:35

tyke_ said:
Test its performance with something like a dragy gizmo, if it's significantly faster than manufacturer claims then good chance it'll have a modified ecu. That's what i did anyway.

That's fair, but it it's one of those ones were you get say 20hp it's kind of in the noise really. I've never had one done before so not sure what a normal value is, I just guessed at a number. Are GPS drag unit quite expensive though as cheap ones log too slow.

Tykey · 5 Jul 2023 at 09:34

theone8181 said:
That's fair, but it it's one of those ones were you get say 20hp it's kind of in the noise really. I've never had one done before so not sure what a normal value is, I just guessed at a number. Are GPS drag unit quite expensive though as cheap ones log too slow.

They're not cheap iirc i paid about £130 for mine.

theone8181 · 5 Jul 2023 at 10:52

tyke_ said:
They're not cheap iirc i paid about £130 for mine.

Dies it log every second or 10hz? When I looked a while ago, the ones that were worth it seemed about 600 quid, but I can't remember the brand.

Tykey · 5 Jul 2023 at 11:07

theone8181 said:
Dies it log every second or 10hz? When I looked a while ago, the ones that were worth it seemed about 600 quid, but I can't remember the brand.

I'm not sure of the exact timings but they have good independent reviews online and a good reputation amongst car tuners etc for accuracy and are used a lot by modders to gauge the effectiveness of the mods they've done. i've only used it once as i don't want to blow up my car but recorded 4.02secs 0-60mph which seems about right. when i bought my car the seller said it had a "stage 1" upgrade but had no receipts and i even contacted the company the seller said had done the upgrade but they had no record of it but said this didn't mean it hadn't been modded by them, it's definitely been modded going by the 0-60.

JonRGV250 · 7 Jul 2023 at 18:56

Anyhooo, back on topic.

The 208 that had the less than held on wheel came back in today as it was running like a terminally sick dog.
The rocker cover gasket had decided that it didn't want to do it's job anymore, and as a consequence the coil pack bores were full of oil, but that wasn't the issue.
A quick compression test showed..

Almost zero compression on cyl 4, so probably a valve issue, but that's as far as we went ref diag.
The dealer that sold the car had paid for the new hub/bearing and our labour to sort the wayward wheel, but I think it's time for the owner to reject the vehicle and get his hard earned back.

ShiWarrior · 7 Jul 2023 at 19:55

I like an honest MOT tester who does a though job, good work Jon !

tom_e · 7 Jul 2023 at 19:58

JonRGV250 said:
Anyhooo, back on topic.

The 208 that had the less than held on wheel came back in today as it was running like a terminally sick dog.
The rocker cover gasket had decided that it didn't want to do it's job anymore, and as a consequence the coil pack bores were full of oil, but that wasn't the issue.
A quick compression test showed..

Almost zero compression on cyl 4, so probably a valve issue, but that's as far as we went ref diag.
The dealer that sold the car had paid for the new hub/bearing and our labour to sort the wayward wheel, but I think it's time for the owner to reject the vehicle and get his hard earned back.

Can't believe they didn't send it straight back after finding out they'd sold it to them with 3 wheels!