Comp test cars before buying? What is an immaculate car?

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MR2 is low with a low nose, the windscreen is much more in the line of fire from debris being kicked up off the road. Things that hit the bumper on a "normal" car will bounce off the bonnet and onto the screen in the MR2. I used the car for commuting for 4 years and a new windscreen was almost a yearly occurence.

I've even had a new rear window because a stone flicked up while I had the roof off / windows down and it went through the rear window like a bullet. These things happen!
 
Caporegime
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MR2 is low with a low nose, the windscreen is much more in the line of fire from debris being kicked up off the road. Things that hit the bumper on a "normal" car will bounce off the bonnet and onto the screen in the MR2. I used the car for commuting for 4 years and a new windscreen was almost a yearly occurence.

I've even had a new rear window because a stone flicked up while I had the roof off / windows down and it went through the rear window like a bullet. These things happen!

Crikey I mean I used to commute 30 miles a day in my mr2 on the motorway but dudnt have that.

Looked up the mot history on that grey one, considering it was off the road for 10 years:


Screenshot-20200629-114536-Chrome.jpg
 
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A list of pretty minor / easily fixed issues from an MOT 18 months ago that have since been fixed... Would you rather have original suspension on it that's way past its best but not bad enough to fail an MOT yet?
 
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Oh no sorry thats fine i meant the offside rear inner structure corrosion is that bad?

Depends on what part was actually corroded.

There are two support bars on either side which are notorious for rusting out (commonly refered to as "cancer bars"), its an MOT fail and that is the rule it would fail under. Problem is you don't know if it was specifically that which is a non issue and a set of replacement stainless steel bars are about £60 a pair and take 10 minutes to fit including tea break, or if it was something actually scructural. The fact it says "assembly" suggests it was those bars.
 
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Depends on what part was actually corroded.

There are two support bars on either side which are notorious for rusting out (commonly refered to as "cancer bars"), its an MOT fail and that is the rule it would fail under. Problem is you don't know if it was specifically that which is a non issue and a set of replacement stainless steel bars are about £60 a pair and take 10 minutes to fit including tea break, or if it was something actually scructural. The fact it says "assembly" suggests it was those bars.

Yeah i remember getting those replaced on mine through process or just doing preventative things. Hm
 
Soldato
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Surely you’re realistic enough to realise that you’re not buying a brand new car with a warranty so it’s going to have issues... even if you buy a garage queen.
 
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Surely you’re realistic enough to realise that you’re not buying a brand new car with a warranty so it’s going to have issues... even if you buy a garage queen.

Of course, as I say I could have dealt with the rust on the sill and door, the rubbed paint on the rear wheel arch, the odd thing on the paintwork etc. I also knew i would likely have to do the cambelt in the near future too @ £400 or so.

Despite being told it was immaculate with no rust.

But the front bumper issue is what stopped me. Knowing a car has been in a front ender but not really being able to check the extent (impossible without a bumper off), its off-putting for me.
 
Soldato
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Of course, as I say I could have dealt with the rust on the sill and door, the rubbed paint on the rear wheel arch, the odd thing on the paintwork etc. I also knew i would likely have to do the cambelt in the near future too @ £400 or so.

Despite being told it was immaculate with no rust.

But the front bumper issue is what stopped me. Knowing a car has been in a front ender but not really being able to check the extent (impossible without a bumper off), its off-putting for me.

Yeah, I’ve seen that on numerous occasions on owners club forums. Cars sold as ‘rust free‘ when they’re known to rust. So either the owner is unaware, lying or the car has been dry stored. The later being quite a rare thing.
 
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Buyer is entitled to set whatever criteria / issue threshold they want for purchasing, and if a car is sold as "immaculate" then there can be no accusations of tyre-kicking. It also sets the mind racing; if the seller hasn't mentioned problem A then are there other problems B, C and D that they've neglected to mention that you just haven't spotted yourself yet? Even if they are not outright lying and simply unaware of issues, that in itself may not be a great sign as it could call into question the standard of care the car has received under their ownership. They've failed to spot something in X time period of owning the car, yet you've spotted it in 10mins?
 
Caporegime
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Yeah, I’ve seen that on numerous occasions on owners club forums. Cars sold as ‘rust free‘ when they’re known to rust. So either the owner is unaware, lying or the car has been dry stored. The later being quite a rare thing.

In this instance I genuinely think it was dry stored till the current owner bought it 2 years ago and has left it outside but mostly with a car cover on it. But those 2 years were enough for a spot on the sill/door.

I could have fixed that for a couple hundred though.

Whats annoying is that looking at the original Newera advert, they are either blind, lying or just incompetent as they claimed the light reflects different off the panel but that its grade 4.5

Screenshot-20200629-161115-Chrome.jpg


The reason the bumper looks slightly different is because its been reprayed. If they had done a physical hand/touch along the bumper to the front wing they would have noted its out by 1mm or so indicating its been off, painted hence no stone chips and the colour discrepancy...
 
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I will say even the OEM paint match on the metallic colours isn't always perfect due to the mismatch of materials (metal vs plastic and their different thermal properties) and 90's paint processes. Misalignment, overspray etc are another thing entirely of course, but it is not uncommon for the bumpers on an MR2 to be a very slightly different shade, and that is more apparent in direct sunlight due to the metallic flake.
 
Caporegime
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I will say even the OEM paint match on the metallic colours isn't always perfect due to the mismatch of materials (metal vs plastic and their different thermal properties) and 90's paint processes. Misalignment, overspray etc are another thing entirely of course, but it is not uncommon for the bumpers on an MR2 to be a very slightly different shade, and that is more apparent in direct sunlight due to the metallic flake.

But in this instance if the paint had been flaking on it on the inside where the bonnet closes and some paint had rubbed off on the bumper to wing joint showing yellowy colour underneath it then I truly believe its because its been reprayed for a reason I don't actually know.
 
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But in this instance if the paint had been flaking on it on the inside where the bonnet closes and some paint had rubbed off on the bumper to wing joint showing yellowy colour underneath it then I truly believe its because its been reprayed for a reason I don't actually know.
Yeah that's more of an indicator for sure!
 
Caporegime
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update.


My mate actually bought the car yesterday and I went round to view it.

It is a nice car but after spending an hour going over it in the sunshine.

The front wing is off on alignment on the door by a millimeter or so. Its also off on the alignments to the windiw cowling especially compared to the other side

There are minor marks inside the wing that let me believe its had a full front 1/4 impact at some point so it might even have been pulled straight...


Newera sold this as auctuon grade 4.5 and stated no mismatched paint. Absolute jokers.
 
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Soldato
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As a seller I also wouldn't particularly want some random coming in and taking tools to something they haven't bought yet as you've got no idea if they have any clue about what they're doing or if they just got some instructions from a mate and they're hoping it all goes to plan.

If they wanted to pay for a specialist garage to test while seller and buyer observed, that’d be fine.

No way I’m going to let Joe Random rock up and start disassembling a vehicle they don’t own yet.
 
Caporegime
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If they wanted to pay for a specialist garage to test while seller and buyer observed, that’d be fine.

No way I’m going to let Joe Random rock up and start disassembling a vehicle they don’t own yet.

Its understandable. I tried to get a mobile mechanic booked but with short notice and covid etc I only found 1 and he wanted £120-140 quid do do a comp test.

So I left it
 
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