Just went to view a car, have a few questions...

cleanbluesky · 27 Jan 2007 at 20:21

Okay, I'm looking at 98' A3 1.8T and I've checked out pretty much everything about this car and model from reviews and with my insurance company, so I know all the issues...

I really like the car, but I have a few concerns that I thought I would draw on the OcUK knowledgebase to answer...

1) The guy is a mechanical engineer and has done many services himself (timing belt was garage). There are receipts, but this is still a gap in the service history... would this be a serious concern when I came to sell this car on, and could I demand a significant drop in price due to this?

2) The car has been garaged for up to 10 weeks. He had started the car before we got there but otherwise it ran excellently. Is there anything to be concerned about due to the amount of time it was garaged?

AtreuS · 27 Jan 2007 at 20:25

cleanbluesky said:
Okay, I'm looking at 98' A3 1.8T and I've checked out pretty much everything about this car and model from reviews and with my insurance company, so I know all the issues...

I really like the car, but I have a few concerns that I thought I would draw on the OcUK knowledgebase to answer...

1) The guy is a mechanical engineer and has done many services himself (timing belt was garage). There are receipts, but this is still a gap in the service history... would this be a serious concern when I came to sell this car on, and could I demand a significant drop in price due to this?

2) The car has been garaged for up to 10 weeks. He had started the car before we got there but otherwise it ran excellently. Is there anything to be concerned about due to the amount of time it was garaged?

Would YOU be happy buying a car with a gap in its service history? no.. and neither would most people. If you intend to drive it into the ground then you dont have to worry so much.

Tesla · 27 Jan 2007 at 20:28

What is the current mileage being displayed?

cleanbluesky · 27 Jan 2007 at 20:29

Tesla said:
What is the current mileage being displayed?

75k, just under average - bear in mind that the guy doesn't seem shifty and the car drives excellently

MNuTz · 27 Jan 2007 at 21:28

If i was buying a newish car then id only really be worried if the car has been properly looked after by the last one or two owners and how long they had it.

If you intend to have the car serviced and stamped as the car requires then when you sell it on the next person can see youve looked after and that there are no major problems.

sigma · 27 Jan 2007 at 22:03

Has he kept reciepts for everything ? If you can tell that he has looked after it very well then the chances are that he would have serviced with more care than any spanner monkey would IMO.

If you are quite paranoid about it then you could always ask to see his certification to see how good a mechanical engineer he is.

I'm a trainee engineer and I service my cars myself (as do some of my colleagues) 90% of the time as I do not trust any mechanics around my local area. I have kept all the reciepts for all of the work done on my cars too.

I personally would have no issues with buying a car from someone who has not had it serviced at a garage but has shown that they have put a lot of effort into keeping the car to a high standard. If the owner has kept a full diary of everything that has been done ( dates, maybe even some photos etc ) then I would go for it ( but then again i would have no issues with working on it myself if problems were to arise).

AtreuS said:
Would YOU be happy buying a car with a gap in its service history? no.. and neither would most people. If you intend to drive it into the ground then you dont have to worry so much.

I wouldn't think of it as a 'gap' as you should still have the reciepts to prove that the work was done, I suppose i'm not 'most' people though. Why would you want to drive ( what seems to be ) a perfectly reasonable car ' into the ground ' ? A car with a service history from a car mechanic can still be shoddy.

cleanbluesky · 27 Jan 2007 at 22:29

silane said:
If you are quite paranoid about it then you could always ask to see his certification to see how good a mechanical engineer he is.

Tell me more about this, if he has some certification I could ask for a photocopy and use it to ofset some of the devaluation?

Also, anyone got any idea how much it would knock off the value of a car to have a partial service history?

Spie · 27 Jan 2007 at 22:34

A3>Vitara that's for sure. More manly too.

sigma · 27 Jan 2007 at 22:35

Well it all depends on what route he has taken to become an engineer. You have an HNC ( Higer BTEC national certificate) which is the minimum that is required for someone to attain the engineer status. Yo u then have a HND (higher national diploma)which is an additional year on top of the HNC.After that you can skip the 1st year of a degree and go to uni.

Either that or he would have done a-levels and gone straight to uni. I'm not sure exactly what other certifications he might have aquired ( i'm doing electrical myself) but someone else on this site who is an engineer might be able to tell you.

As I said i am only a trainee at the moment so someone with more experience/knowledge may be able to shed some more light and correct me if i am wrong.

tonyyeb · 27 Jan 2007 at 22:36

What's he asking for it?

cleanbluesky · 27 Jan 2007 at 22:43

tonyyeb said:
What's he asking for it?

£4,395 but I wouldn't pay that for it, he's said that he would budge a few hundred so far (it was far, so I checked my position on this before hand)

1998 AUDI A3 1.8 T Sport 3dr Hatchback (private)

75,000 miles
GREEN
Petrol
3 Door Hatchback
Manual, 75,000 miles, Green. ABS, Alarm, Remote Central Locking, Climate Control, Alloy Wheels, MP3 Head Unit (JVC), ABS, Electric Mirror/Windows, Front Airbags, Full Service History, Tax & MOT, Very Good

It's in fair condition outside visible scrape on the back rear, little corrosion on the back alloy. Inside its immaculate.

Very nice drive.

The audio system is pretty much pre-pimped so all I would have to do is replaced the head unit, speakers and take the sub out of the boot to make myself happy (as opposed to sodding with wiring and fittings etc...

Jaap74 · 27 Jan 2007 at 22:44

cleanbluesky said:
bear in mind that the guy doesn't seem shifty

Ted Bundy didn't look shifty either...................

Guybrush · 27 Jan 2007 at 22:50

silane said:
Well it all depends on what route he has taken to become an engineer. You have an HNC ( Higer BTEC national certificate) which is the minimum that is required for someone to attain the engineer status.

This made me laugh. 'Engineer' is not protected title like 'doctor' and so on.

That's why every man and his dog calls himself an 'engineer' of some kind.

The guy who comes round to fix your washing machine or install your satellite TV will likely be referred to as an engineer.

Big pet hate of mine.

anyway.... at higher milage, judge on condition, not necessarily history. Like someone said, a car with FSH can still be a shed, and one with no service history can be well sorted.

cleanbluesky · 27 Jan 2007 at 22:55

Guybrush said:
The guy who comes round to fix your washing machine or install your satellite TV will likely be referred to as an engineer.

There are chartered engineers and there are general engineers I believe... also, there are many types of 'doctors'

anyway.... at higher milage, judge on condition, not necessarily history. Like someone said, a car with FSH can still be a shed, and one with no service history can be well sorted.

The condition of the car isn't my concern, the potential resale value is.

I think the car is lovely. Cosmetic problems on outside, absolutely solid drive, excellent inside.

MNuTz · 27 Jan 2007 at 23:03

cleanbluesky said:
The condition of the car isn't my concern, the potential resale value is.

People who want the 1.8T will be more concerned about regular turbo maintenance than service history, the car is coming up on 9 years old now, FSH doesnt make that much difference to resale value, if any.

sigma · 27 Jan 2007 at 23:08

Guybrush said:
This made me laugh. 'Engineer' is not protected title like 'doctor' and so on.

That's why every man and his dog calls himself an 'engineer' of some kind.

The guy who comes round to fix your washing machine or install your satellite TV will likely be referred to as an engineer.

Big pet hate of mine.

anyway.... at higher milage, judge on condition, not necessarily history. Like someone said, a car with FSH can still be a shed, and one with no service history can be well sorted.

I agree with what you are saying and you are right, many people to like class themselves as 'engineers', but ask anyone in the profession and they will tell you similar to what I have said. To get a job in industry for the position of an engineer, not an 'installation engineer' you will need a minimum of a HNC/HND with years of on the job experience to back it up.

In this case, if he is a mechanical engineer then he should have some sort of qualification (possibly with some other certificates too) as I mentioned in a previous post, this will show if he is one of those that calls himself an 'engineer' but isn't a qualified engineer, that is precisely the reason why I said to ask.

cleanbluesky · 27 Jan 2007 at 23:14

MNuTz said:
People who want the 1.8T will be more concerned about regular turbo maintenance than service history, the car is coming up on 9 years old now, FSH doesnt make that much difference to resale value, if any.

What does regular turbo maintenance take the form of?

sigma · 27 Jan 2007 at 23:15

cleanbluesky said:
What does regular turbo maintenance take the form of?

Frequent oil changes are vital. Also worth while checking if the turbo has been reconditioned or changed for a new item, he might also have changed the oil feed to the turbo for a braided hose, if the standard ones are prone to splitting ( i'd assume that wouldn't be the case with Audi though).

ZG002 · 27 Jan 2007 at 23:15

cleanbluesky said:
The condition of the car isn't my concern, the potential resale value is.

How long you planning on keeping it?...

You seem to be trying to talk yourself out of it..... go look on auto trader and ebay etc at a3's about that age with no FSH and check prices out.. its not hard to do

D.Roberts · 27 Jan 2007 at 23:17

you say he is a machanic whats to say he aint got reciepts from where he works for things like cambelts,oil,filters etc.

not trying to say he may have done just my point of view.

did all the recent reciepts come from same garage if so that may be where he works or may just be where he prefers to get the parts from.

sorry just read that timing belt was done at garage.

Just went to view a car, have a few questions...

Godfather