Buying from private seller - covid19

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Ive seen a car from a private seller that is ideal. If i examine it without getting in the car, just check it externally, get them to start engine and hear it running, and take their word for it it drives well, am i taking much of a mechanical risk? Could there be derious mechanical faults only detected by driving? Its an 08 petrol polo match

If i buy it if they agree to drive it to my home where I leave it for 3 days so any viruses die before I use it.

The reason behind this is im a carer for vulnerable relations and trying to avoid too much risk of contracting covid.
 
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I certainly sympathise with your situation here, but unfortunately only a test drive will show up such things like clutch faults, gear selection and brake performance - not to mention suspension knocks or whatever.......although a recent MOT should point the latter out.
If I'm driving other motors its a clean boiler suit, sprayed mechanics gloves and a mask - and off I go. Ditch the gloves on return, spray everything with Dettol spray - that's about all you can do.
John :)
 
Can't you get someone to go look and buy for you? It's probably worth £150 just to get its looked at then driven back buy local mobile mechanic.
 
Can't you get someone to go look and buy for you? It's probably worth £150 just to get its looked at then driven back buy local mobile mechanic.
What type of mechanic should i look for? Any pointers as i wouldn't know where to start.
 
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The AA still do inspections, at a price....all to their own criteria.
I've only had experience of one such test but it was very thorough.
John :)
 
Just Google local mobile mechanic. Facebook and other local social media will have a few. Then make contact and explain and see what they say. Guess you can meet them there and stand back while they give it the once over. Hopefully they will with think of you as potential future customer
 
I think anyone who inspected the car will have some indemnity against any recommendation that went wrong.....an 08 plate car isn't exactly in it's first flush of youth but it could be ok if it's had a mature caring owner and hasn't been to the moon and back.
It could be worth while looking up its past MOT history.
Lift the boot carpet - if it's had a shunt up its ass it'll show there.
John :)
 
Look at the owner and reason for sale as much as the car.

Avoid driveway dealers, cars with "minor" faults that often conceal more serious ones (eg - "airbag light is on, it's probably just a loose wire"), anything with recent major repair work - it's really not a selling point.

Avoid Vauxhall Vectra's!

Pay a few £ for a basic HPI check.

Unless it's especially cheap and/or you're able to fix things yourself then consider a local dealer with a good reputation and a bit of warranty. It's rare, but perfectly possible for a car that is well maintained and running perfectly to fail catastrophically and without warning literally minutes into your ownership.
 
Avoid Vauxhall Vectra's!

I can agree with the other points you made, but not this one as it stands. If you had added " diesel Vectras and other diesels", then I would agree*. This assumes you are talking about reliability, but I also have no complaints about comfort or drivability.

I have driven six manual petrol Vectras over nearly 30 years ( including the A model which was a Vectra outside UK / Cavalier in UK) covering very great total distances, and the only break-down or non-standard repairs have been one water-pump, one hydraulic strut for the hatch, two suspension-springs and a corroded earth for the petrol-pump that stopped everything - very fortunately at home. I did wreck a gearbox, but that was my fault for repeatedly driving a trailer loaded with 500 kg of sand/ballast up a 1 000m mountain.

I have limited my choice to either Ford or GM models because of their price/availability and design policy i.e. they are not ( generally ) seeking to be first-movers with new cutting-edge technology. In the same vein I would never buy any new model within three years of its initial introduction because I am wary of unproven developments e.g. the dual-mass flywheel or VW DSG gearbox where problems often do not manifest themselves until 40 000+ miles.

It astonishes me that this kind of major fault still happens: the amount of testing that is done must throw up so many examples of this that the fault is well documented and the reputational damage apparent, and yet it goes ahead.

* This is obviously just my opinion and -perhaps - contentious, but for the past 15 years or so, I have felt that the emissions technology added has made the diesel engine much more expensive to maintain and completely unsuitable for many peoples' life-styles.
 
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Could I ask on peoples thoughts on the following cars?; apologies for a long post.


A pols in Middlesbrough area, but not keen on the alloy wheels, im told they can be less reliable than steel wheels
https://www.gumtree.com/p/volkswage...-5d-68-bhp-hatchback-petrol-manual/1382749815

https://www.gumtree.com/p/volkswagen/2008-volkswagen-polo/1386496188

this polo is about 110 miles away from where I live (Sunderland) in Bradford.
Is it a bad idea to travel so far? Id ask to see if they could deliver after going to see it, i could call them and ask;
https://www.gumtree.com/p/volkswage...-60ps-2009-e-full-service-history-/1387278776

Then there's the Ford Fiestas, which i understand will likely need a timing belt fitted;
https://www.gumtree.com/p/ford/ford-fiesta-1.25-82ps-2010-style/1388022532
https://www.gumtree.com/p/ford/ford-fiesta-zetec-/1387469633
https://www.gumtree.com/p/ford/ford...ice-history-1-owner-mot-27-01-2021/1387464451

help appriciated as i know a bit but not too confident., especially buying privately. I also dont have too much savings to dip into. I could spend a little less and keep whats left to do repairs.

I have tried a few cars out including the corsa but didnt like the feel of them.
I tried The Hyundai i10 classic which was ok, but didnt feel protected .

My last car was an 08 polo and was trying to find something similar as many cars make me feel queezy when driving them.
 
Anything with a V6 turbo engine should serve you well.

Oh, and stay well away from a Vectra with a Fiat engine :ROFLMAO:
 
As for alloy wheels, I think I have only had a problem with very wide wheels with very low profile tyres. Because the rim is so close to the road, and has little tyre thickness to absorb shocks, and the inner rim is so far from the spokes and has little support, they tend to get bent if you hit a pothole or brick in the road. Old and scuffed wheels may be corroded at the edge and this can lead to air leakage.

Manufacturers original wheels should be pretty good, and designed for the car.

Racer boy wheels added later often seem to have less metal in them, built to a price, and may not be as good, or correctly matched to the car. You can get alloy wheels repaired and resprayed, but IME it is better value to buy a second hand set from a breaker, and inspect them very thoroughly for damage.

I've found Toyotas to be the most reliable, but there will be other opinions.
 
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