Car Buying Red Flags
Discussion
Red Flag: No name tyres that are balder than Duncan Goodhew (one for the teenagers)
Orange Flag: Brand new Chinese tyres (spending the bare minimum to pass MoT)
Green Flag: household name tyres - my current car came on expensive but rubbish Pirelli Cinturatos which showed that the owner wasn't shy about opening their wallet.
(You could probably do a similar tier ranking for service history - Red/Orange Flags for Kwik-Fit or Halfords.)
Orange Flag: Brand new Chinese tyres (spending the bare minimum to pass MoT)
Green Flag: household name tyres - my current car came on expensive but rubbish Pirelli Cinturatos which showed that the owner wasn't shy about opening their wallet.
(You could probably do a similar tier ranking for service history - Red/Orange Flags for Kwik-Fit or Halfords.)
- Any modifications at all.
- Air fresheners - what smell are they trying to mask?
- MOT history which suggests the car has been run on a shoestring.
- Things simply not adding up. For example, a while back I saw a BMW 440i for sale - five or so years old, only 8,000 miles and had had four owners. I can understand one owner possibly being a light user, but four separate owners, all of whom hardly used the car?
If the number plate is obscured then I immediately dismiss it as I cannot check the MOT History.
At MOT history of failing every year and then passing with a long list of advisories.
Photos showing the car is filthy and full of rubbish. If they cannot be bothered to even clean it for the photos and this is how the car is treated then I don't want it.
Any modifications at all
At MOT history of failing every year and then passing with a long list of advisories.
Photos showing the car is filthy and full of rubbish. If they cannot be bothered to even clean it for the photos and this is how the car is treated then I don't want it.
Any modifications at all
MitchT said:
* Any modifications at all.
This, plus:- Air fresheners - what smell are they trying to mask?
- MOT history which suggests the car has been run on a shoestring.
- Things simply not adding up. For example, a while back I saw a BMW 440i for sale - five or so years old, only 8,000 miles and had had four owners. I can understand one owner possibly being a light user, but four separate owners, all of whom hardly used the car?
- any Halfords bolt on boy racer bling.
- lack of properly kept paperwork and history (no "Serviced it myself, so know it is good").
- hidden number plate.
For me, an advert that omits detail is a red flag. For example "full service history". From experience that might mean anything - one car I enquired about hadn't been serviced in six years, but had had annual MOT's. "Yeah, like I said, full service history" said the seller. Now, if the seller details each service, or includes an image of the service book (better still, invoices) then I may still be interested.
Some will say I'm too fussy, but my experience is that the sort of owner I'd buy from won't skimp on the details. If you can't be bothered or are trying to hide something then I'll look elsewhere, thanks.
Some will say I'm too fussy, but my experience is that the sort of owner I'd buy from won't skimp on the details. If you can't be bothered or are trying to hide something then I'll look elsewhere, thanks.
sunnyb13 said:
if its from Birmingham or Bradford
More of an orange flag for me, much like a car from London. Generally I've found city cars (in my experience at least) have had a harder life, lots of short journeys, parked in tight car parks etc. As a result despite being lower miles, the doors are dinged, the wheels are curbed and the engine has spent a lot of time idling and doing short journeys. Red flags:
Short MOT (impending doom?)
Mis-matched or cheap tyres. If they cant fork out for tyres what else have they half arsed?
Dirty or messy car. If they cant be bothered to clean it, can they be bothered to service it?
Body kits, Wraps, Windscreen tints etc.
Enthusiasts punting 'specialist' vehicles on owner's forums and FB, but with minimal details, no decent pics or even an asking price, dangling the carrot but putting little on the plate.
Had on one recently, early 80's jap muscle bike very rare now and quite sought after, in Scotland. Lots of initial interest met with 'not had time to photograph' and 'need to have a think about price' etc. Quite arrogant it seemed and I lost interest really fast but it was on for months, likely still available now...
Mismatched tyres. If you have 3 Pirelli Scorpion who fits a Nankang? Only a cheapskate, what else did they cheap out on?
Non ‘brand’ tyres. Stuff like Falken or Khumo is okay but nothing cheaper.
Worn wiper blades.
Universal floor mats.
Missing interior trim.
Cosmetic modifications.
Worn out spare tyre.
Missing tools or books.
Black wheels (unless an original option).
Tow bar (I may choose to fit one but I don’t want to buy a car with one as I have no idea how hard it’s worked).
Conversely things that don’t bother me:
Incomplete history, if all the other signs are good & there is evidence of owner servicing such as receipts for Genuine Parts.
Minor scuffs as quite often a well maintained car may have been scraped on a county lane or by a 3rd party.
Not everyone is anally retentive about cars.
This will often not cost much to put right & makes an excellent bargaining chip.
My Range Rover had a stained headrest & a shallow dent. Both were rectified cheaply & easily despite the Dealer’s valeter & body guy not being able to sort it.
Major single point mechanical failure (caveat, if the car is cost effective to resolve), such as a TDV6 Jaguar, where the car is only being sold because the engine is kaput, but the rest is immaculate & well maintained & I know that a short engine from Jaguar is £3k, plus my time.
The vendor may not have the skills & friends I have, so they sell as it’s too much for them to cope with and they probably got quoted £10k to repair a £12k car.
A very good way into a looked after car for a lot less if you can.
Non ‘brand’ tyres. Stuff like Falken or Khumo is okay but nothing cheaper.
Worn wiper blades.
Universal floor mats.
Missing interior trim.
Cosmetic modifications.
Worn out spare tyre.
Missing tools or books.
Black wheels (unless an original option).
Tow bar (I may choose to fit one but I don’t want to buy a car with one as I have no idea how hard it’s worked).
Conversely things that don’t bother me:
Incomplete history, if all the other signs are good & there is evidence of owner servicing such as receipts for Genuine Parts.
Minor scuffs as quite often a well maintained car may have been scraped on a county lane or by a 3rd party.
Not everyone is anally retentive about cars.
This will often not cost much to put right & makes an excellent bargaining chip.
My Range Rover had a stained headrest & a shallow dent. Both were rectified cheaply & easily despite the Dealer’s valeter & body guy not being able to sort it.
Major single point mechanical failure (caveat, if the car is cost effective to resolve), such as a TDV6 Jaguar, where the car is only being sold because the engine is kaput, but the rest is immaculate & well maintained & I know that a short engine from Jaguar is £3k, plus my time.
The vendor may not have the skills & friends I have, so they sell as it’s too much for them to cope with and they probably got quoted £10k to repair a £12k car.
A very good way into a looked after car for a lot less if you can.
So many people choose cheap tyres on their cars these days, I don't think I could dismiss a car just for that, especially if it was a basic runaround car. On something fancy, or nearly-new, then I yes would expect decent brand tyres.
Cheap tyres are more of an orange flag for me.
But an absent service history would be a dealbreaker on just about any car.
Green flags (rare to find, but nice to have):
Cheap tyres are more of an orange flag for me.
But an absent service history would be a dealbreaker on just about any car.
Green flags (rare to find, but nice to have):
- Older/retired seller
- Long ownership period for current owner
- Thoroughly valeted - boot, engine compartment, every nook and cranny all gleaming.
- Touch-up paint included
- Full documentation including original sales invoice, and paperwork for everything - services, MOTs, tyres etc
Crudeoink said:
More of an orange flag for me, much like a car from London. Generally I've found city cars (in my experience at least) have had a harder life, lots of short journeys, parked in tight car parks etc. As a result despite being lower miles, the doors are dinged, the wheels are curbed and the engine has spent a lot of time idling and doing short journeys.
Red flags:
Short MOT (impending doom?)
Mis-matched or cheap tyres. If they cant fork out for tyres what else have they half arsed?
Dirty or messy car. If they cant be bothered to clean it, can they be bothered to service it?
Body kits, Wraps, Windscreen tints etc.
I agree with all of these but my old Yaris used to have mismatched ditchfinders on it (now on Michelin CCs), and is filthy inside and out. It has however been religiously serviced.Red flags:
Short MOT (impending doom?)
Mis-matched or cheap tyres. If they cant fork out for tyres what else have they half arsed?
Dirty or messy car. If they cant be bothered to clean it, can they be bothered to service it?
Body kits, Wraps, Windscreen tints etc.
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