Condition of car when buying?

[metatron]

We are having a debate [argument] here, the question is simple when you go to buy a car from a dealer do you want it absolutely spotless [meaning under the bonnet and properly detailed over all the bodywork] or do you prefer to just have it washed and clean?

We are not talking about 'motorhead' cars we are talking about all cars, detailed finish or a quick wash and brush up?

The other question is do you like the see the area under the bonnet cleaned or 'as is'.

In summary

1. Detailed or not?
2. Engine bay clean or not?

[Gizmo!]

Very well washed and polished, interior valeted. Engine bay cleaned but not steam-cleaned sparkly - that just makes me suspicious.

Detailing's going a bit far for 'normal' cars but if I was buying an expensive or newish car (£15k +) I'd expect nothing less.

[Flanders.]

metatron]We are having a debate [argument said:

here, the question is simple when you go to buy a car from a dealer do you want it absolutely spotless [meaning under the bonnet and properly detailed over all the bodywork] or do you prefer to just have it washed and clean?

We are not talking about 'motorhead' cars we are talking about all cars, detailed finish or a quick wash and brush up?

The other question is do you like the see the area under the bonnet cleaned or 'as is'.

In summary

1. Detailed or not?
2. Engine bay clean or not?

I want the car to be fully cleaned before I go and see it. Otherwise it tells me the dealer can't be assed. I'm not to keen on the Under bonnet detail stuff, they could be trying to hide oil leaks or something.

[bazking69]

Exterior and interior I would expect to be prepped and spotless. I will even live with the nasty tyre dressing that will soon wear off, but there is no excuse for a retail car to be anything other than spotless.

The only part I expect uncleaned is the engine bay. A bit of trim shine on the engine cover is acceptable but an engine that has blatently been jetwashed says that there is something to hide.

[metatron]

Not the engine cleaned, just the bay itself, the strut tops and anything that is the cars body coloured, engine bay not engine.

Cheers!

[funwithrevs]

If anything under the bonnet has been cleaned, I walk away. There is a lot of delicate stuff under there, and it isn't designed to be washed let alone steamed.

[TOPTON]

I took a female friend to view second hand cars at some dealers last week. Looked at an 03 mondeo 2.0 TDCI, price seemed OK but bodywork needed lots of TLC. Dealer said "Oh that will be done if you buy the car". We started the engine and a rumble could be heard, dealer said "Common problem to all these, £30 fix. That will be done if you buy the car"

Time to walk away, if they couldn't be bothered to fix and make nice before anyone viewed.

[s.m.h.]

Car clean but not steam-cleaned. If theres any oil leaks etc its a dead giveaway, not so easy if blasted clean. A bit of dirt is acceptable but not caked in mud though....

[Matt UK]

TOPTON said:

I took a female friend to view second hand cars at some dealers last week. Looked at an 03 mondeo 2.0 TDCI, price seemed OK but bodywork needed lots of TLC. Dealer said "Oh that will be done if you buy the car". We started the engine and a rumble could be heard, dealer said "Common problem to all these, £30 fix. That will be done if you buy the car"

Time to walk away, if they couldn't be bothered to fix and make nice before anyone viewed.

Totally agree with this. When I was looking for my car last year I went to a local small dealer who had what I wanted. The car was a mess inside and out. He then offered to valet if I put down a deposit and when I asked about the warranty he said he'd have a look online and see who was doing good deals.

I asked him to clarify the benefit of paying dealer prices as opposed to buying private. Bottom line is he got arsey about it and I went off and bought a far nicer car from an enthusiast for less money.

Some dealers are just a bit strange. Or maybe I'm not their typical customer. But my experiences just make it easier for me to justify buying and selling privately.

[snuffle]

I dont care what condition its in if I'm just viewing,
In fact if its uncleaned then at least you can gain some idea of how the car has been treated by its former owner.
but if I decided to buy the car I'd expect it to be clean inside and out,and any faults rectified.

[MK4 Slowride]

If your buying new then the car must be spotless. If your buying used then it depends on how much your spending & how new or used the vehicle is. If your after a low cost purchase then you can expect the car to have worn in a way that's consistent with the age & mileage.

[MitchT]

I was going to start a thread on engine bay condition when buying a used car, but I found this one so will resurrect it instead...

Two BMW 4 Series, both roughly four years old, both about 24k miles, both in great cosmetic condition externally and internally. However, as can be clearly seen from the engine bays, one's pristine and the other is quite grubby. Would either be a red flag? Clean one - what are they trying to hide? Grubby one - hasn't it been looked after? Etc.