Buying A Car From A Dodgy Garage?

[ukanonymous]

I went for a test drive today at a local garage. It was a 2011 Honda Crv with 14 k on the clock. It had one owner from new and the guy said ' he doesn't know where the car comes from'
Does this not sound dodgy to you. Possibly it came from an auction but why or how would a car like that end up in an auction?

[bert_h]

We've bought cars like that a couple of times, but they'd been "Motability" vehicles, therefore not used much, and the dealer knew where they'd come from. Surely the registration document should show the previous owner? Ours certainly did.

[ukanonymous]

Yes it did but why did he say he doesn't know where he got it from?

[bert_h]

I suppose he doesn't know any more than what it says on the document. If the garage is part of a chain, or the actual owner is someone different from the guy selling it, maybe the cars are brought in to be sold and he really doesn't know any more about it, because it wasn't him who brought the car in.

But one of the motoring organisations will vet the car for you, including any ownership issues, for a fee.

[arwyn]

After we bought a "only 1 owner" car we found the one owner had been B.S.M driving school..

[Mamyalynne]

Check V5 before buying next time.

[chas2008]

it just maybe that he does not want to share the information, especially if it did come from an auction, not many people want to hear that although the vehicle can be 100% perfect.
Auction can be motability or even ex lease which often have to be disposed of by this way , as part of a large dealer group we have a guy whos sole job is purchasing vehicles from auctions, common practice.

[chas2008]

mamyalynne,
Checking the V5 doesnt always work a lot of these companies like BSM,Hertz,BT etc. often have the vehicles purchased under a different name/company so they show up differently on the V5, makes them easier to sell.

[Hopkirk]

Is an ex hire car such a bad investment?

At least it will have had its oil level checked very regularly.

Rev limiters mean it is hard to abuse an engine these days, and most people hiring a car would not want to return it damaged due to the possible cost.

[Mamyalynne]

Chas, fair enough but when we have bought cars at Auction , then if it is registered to a company it makes sense that it has likely received slightly more use than if owned by 'Fred Bloggs' say.

Many good cars go to Auction as said, the only odd point here is the Garage claiming not to know it's origin, unless as stated this is not the owner of the establishment.

[Answerprancer]

Make sure you get it HPI checked before you go any further.

[TWR]

Get the car checked for a possible crash damage, you can do this by checking the Gap between the doors & the wings, the boot and the rear Quarters, pull back the rear screen window rubbers to see if there is any over-spray, check the tyres Front / Rear/ are the threads Even on the tyre?? If the car has been owned by an elderly person ( I'm not knocking the elderly) check the Clutch cable for adjustment, ( The clutch might have been ridden) Leaving their left foot resting on the clutch pedal. check the service book ( If it has one for its service history.

[Cmitchell]

Bells are ringing already - don't let your heart rule your head.

Mitchell

[ukanonymous]

Checked everything and it was all good. I got it for 17k and in the Honda garage it would have been 18.5 I think I did ok. But that's thanks to the answers on here too. THANKS!