Sanity check before buying car (help)

[Univold]

Finally seriously looking at buying a new car again since someone totalled my previous one. I'm pretty clueless about cars though so would appreciate some expert opinions on this before I bite the bullet

Looking into a Mazda 6 Takuya Hatchback 2.0L 2010 petrol with 86k mileage for around £4.5k from a dealership. Went to see it with my dad last Saturday and it seems like it's in pretty good condition - clean and well maintained interior, clean looking engine and only two previous owners the most recent one had it for 9 years. MOT looks good and the dealership had really good reviews on Autotrader too. I've got a vcheck here if anyone wants to take a look: https://www.vcheck.uk/report/BV60YBO-ZLLO5I1 . The ad isn't on autotrader anymore as they took it down when I paid for a refundable deposit but here's a screenshot of the description if anyone's interested http://prntscr.com/PZ8lSd0jX77d .

I'm planning on popping in later today with my uncle to test drive it and make a final decision. The only snag is that there doesn't seem to be any service history (although this may be online). But I'm still very tempted to go for it as from researching as these Mazdas are pretty reliable and the dealership said they'd do a fresh MOT + fresh service and fix any issues that crop up. They also said they'd give a warranty and a years AA coverage. This, along with the fact I do kinda need a car sooner rather then later makes me want to go for it.

Thoughts?

[Edible Roadkill]

How’s there no service history ? Have you asked the dealer ?

Always a gamble buying a 13yr old car really is a chance. Even more so if you can’t confirm it’s service record. Is there any proof of timing belt/tensioner being done when it’s meant
to?

[valiant]

Isn’t Mazda service history all electronic these days as in you don’t get to see a stamped service book?

Might be worth a quick call to a Mazda dealership to see what they know.

[Edible Roadkill]

Yep, previous owner of 9yrs has either cared for it miraculously or it’s been driven to the wall.

Try and find the service records before committing

[Nickp82]

valiant said:

Isn’t Mazda service history all electronic these days as in you don’t get to see a stamped service book?

Might be worth a quick call to a Mazda dealership to see what they know.

This is is correct, however I have just had a look at the car in question and there is no service history stored at all beyond a PDI when new.

[undred orse]

Don’t know if the op will be back but thank you Nick for being prepared to help so much. Great thing about these threads - sometimes.

The ad say’s fantastic service history so I’d ask a bit more of the dealer.

[defblade]

I'd be slightly careful on this one... that SH needs finding in some way... there's a number of MOT fails for worn tyres, which says to be me that the one owner didn't believe in preventative maintenance and I would worry that would extend to when(if) it was serviced, especially once out of warranty.

I speak from being married to this person... I keep an eye on her tyres for her, but she'll do bugger all else unless something breaks.

[trevalvole]

As Mazda aren't known for their rustproofing (see https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-features-sheds... has anyone checked the likes of the wheel arches and the underside for rust? I'd be less concerned about it the further south it has been and you are, as there tends to be more salt on the roads up north and in Scotland.

[hiccy18]

The garage sounds like it could be decent for an indy, but I wouldn't buy a car with that kind of MOT history: it reads like it's been run on as close to zero expenditure as possible, so I would be expecting regular significant bills as time and mileage catches up with it.

[Univold]

Edible Roadkill said:

How’s there no service history ? Have you asked the dealer ?

Always a gamble buying a 13yr old car really is a chance. Even more so if you can’t confirm it’s service record. Is there any proof of timing belt/tensioner being done when it’s meant
to?

Yeah I asked the dealer and he didn't have and records. The Mazda6 has a timing chain which doesn't need changing from my understand so all good on that front.

undred orse said:

Don’t know if the op will be back but thank you Nick for being prepared to help so much. Great thing about these threads - sometimes.

The ad say’s fantastic service history so I’d ask a bit more of the dealer.

Thanks Nick for looking into it - appreciate it. The dealer did say they'd do a fresh service and fix any issues - also if they're willing to knock off a bit off the price too due to the lack of service history then it makes it slightly more appealing.


Appreciate the replies everyone, I'll try and keep an open mind when going to see it today. Because it's a dealer and not a private seller I think I'm more willing to take a punt as you do get some protections at least if the car ends up being a dud or something.

[Univold]

Decided to give it a miss. The clutch had a very weird feel to it and there were a few minor issues I noticed. Combined with the no service history I thought I'd better pass on this one.

[defblade]

Univold said:

Decided to give it a miss. The clutch had a very weird feel to it and there were a few minor issues I noticed. Combined with the no service history I thought I'd better pass on this one.

Well done
It's all too easy to get caught up in the excitement, and dealers are, obviously and fair enough, keen to sell you the car they've got.
They don't like people remembering that (in most cases) the manufacturers made another 100,000 of them, so there'll be another one along in a minute.

[QJumper]

Univold said:

Decided to give it a miss. The clutch had a very weird feel to it and there were a few minor issues I noticed. Combined with the no service history I thought I'd better pass on this one.

Sounds like a good move.