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Rousseau argued that we are inherently good, but we become corrupted by the evils of society. However if Jean-Jacques had been faced with the task of purchasing a secondhand car he may have had an alternative view point. There are normally three options available to a person looking for a secondhand car; a franchised dealer, a small garage and buying private. Buying from a franchised dealer usually entails buying a reasonably new car, and for the most part is a safe bet. A warranty is normally provided and at times this may be underwritten by the manufacturer itself. Older cars are often sold in smaller backstreet garage. Buyers in such places would do well to inform themselves of the reputation of individual garages. Most people are familiar with the Arthur Daley type shady used car salesmen making impossible promises of jaded cars. For the most part however such smaller garages offer reasonable value and good vehicles.
Buying private has always been a pursuit of the brave. Savings are there to be had. However there is generally little or no comeback with cars “sold as seen” and legislative protection is somewhere between minimal and non-existent. Furthermore since the recession there has been a surge in people buying and selling privately, particularly using various websites such as eBay, Gumtree and Donedeal.
Late last year when using the Navan exit from the M50 I was involved in a “single vehicle collision”. I was not hurt, but my Focus diesel was. The car was towed away and subsequently written off as being economically unviable to repair, often referred to as a “Category C” write off. As is usual in such situations where the driver has comprehensive insurance an assessor put a pre accident value of on my car. The remnants of it were auctioned online for which I got €700 and the balance of the pre accident value was paid by the insurer. The troika may believe the Legal profession to be sheltered from the recession, but I can assure you it is not; I was now looking for a cheap secondhand car, and I was hoping for diesel again.
The first interesting thing happened less than a month after the crash. 03-C-1135 appeared on the popular website Donedeal. Glistening. The ad proudly announced “03 Ford Focus 1.8 TDCI Diesel. 2 Keys, one owner, NCT01/13, Tax 01/12, Alloys CD Player, Remote Central Locking, Full Service History, 130,000 miles, Lovely Clean Straight Car.” There was no mention of the fact it was far from straight with the engine dislodged from its mountings less than two weeks previously. It is unclear why the advert said one owner given I bought the car at thee years old and was the second owner. The mileage was also understated somewhat. Perhaps all was disclosed in a fit of honesty to prospective purchasers, however a phone call made to the seller would suggest this was unlikely.
Liking Ford Focii, as many do, a lovely 2006 TDCi model caught my eye in Kerry. It looked well in the pictures, mileage seemed fair, and the price appeared to be right. Before wasting time and petrol on a journey to see the car I decided it might be worth spending €20 on an online history check. It had a secret. It was written off in the UK when it was barely 2 years old. Of course there was no mention of this in the advert.
My next effort was an “immaculate” 2006 Ford Mondeo. I met the vendor at a service station in Cork. The car was priced OK, I was promised it had a recent flywheel change but it juddered on acceleration, it was also generally dirty and looked a little unkempt. I passed it up, but the price was right to be fair and was sold later that evening; only to appear back on sale a few days later at a higher price.
My next effort took me to Mitchelstown where I enquired about a 2003 Toyota Avensis. Again the car looked well and the seller seemed a nice sort. The miles however seemed particularly low. I was again positively tempted having been assured the car was never used as a taxi like so many of its brethren, was never crashed, and was bought two years previous from an elderly couple up the country. Again rather than waste an evening I produced my credit card and got a history check. The unfortunate Avensis was a retiree from a career as a hackney and was written off and clocked in the process. It still sold quickly though.
I realised trying to find a straight clean diesel for sensible money was going to be hard. Everyone seemed to want one and most seemed to represent spectacularly bad value for money. Modern diesels have got wonderfully economical and powerful, but this has come at the price of the potential for huge repair bills where the car is of unknown provenance. Getting over the mental block of going petrol opened the door to far more decent cars, although the number that had still had their odometer adjusted to a more favourable number was striking.
Finally I found a car I liked, even if an oddball choice for someone accustomed to Ford and Toyota Diesels since the age of 17. It was a 2002 Toyota Celica. Although a model known for burning oil, this one seemed good, it had an impeccable service history from new and was in perfect cosmetic order. The price was fair for a 10 year old car, and aside from a judder which would indicate a buckled alloy or tracking it drove extremely well. It also had a cork reg, (not that that mattered!). The story I got was that the vendor was selling it for his partner who was the registered owner since 2007 when it came from England. I had no reason to doubt the story, and before making a decision I went home and put the number into Cartell.ie. Everything came up clear. So far so good. Due diligence required I ring the mechanic who had serviced the car of late next, and he confirmed the car was a good one. So far so good. Being inquisitive, I started probing around the internet, low and behold the same car had been sold 5 days earlier for €300 or so less than the price I agreed. Interesting.
It was time to block the phone number and make calls. The person who had sold the car less than 5 days earlier was less than helpful; I was told that the car was sold so there was nothing to discuss. I was ready to ring the present vendor and tell him a few home truths, but inquisitiveness got the better of me, I needed to know the full story. Back to the mechanic seemed the obvious thing and the mechanic suggested I ring the registered owner, or her husband who regularly brought the car to him for service. Their number was in the phone book.
The full story of the car emerged when I got to speak to the people who actually owned the car from 2007. It was given as a part exchange for a newer car some weeks earlier which itself had latent defects. The Celica then appears to have been flipped on to the person claiming to be a partner of the vendor. To cut a long story short, I bought the car anyway. Stephen in Alan's tyres got the alloy straightened, and so far things are good.
The recession appears to have given rise to a large number of individuals buying and selling secondhand cars with the hope of making a profit and trying to pass themselves off as private sellers. Buying a car privately is no longer just about someone wanting to sell their family transport in the classifieds for a few quid more than offered in part exchange. The internet in particular has opened a virtual garage for anyone who wants to dabble, and many appear to claim to be selling as individuals so they can avoid recourse.
The lack of legal protection for people buying secondhand cars is well documented. Clocking is known to be prevalent. What is unfortunate is it seems that that the Data Protection Acts are being interpreted in such as way as to make buying a car even more difficult. Prior NCT records are not available for inspection for anyone but the registered owner and the disclosure of privately collected mileage information is hobbled. Given the narrow interpretation that Irish Courts have so far given the “personal information”, it is difficult to see how the mileage of an inanimate object can fall to be considered as personal to anyone.
For now people buying privately secondhand should assume the worst in everything they see, particularly where the seller and car are unknown. Judging the character selling is often as important as looking the car, although that is not to say having the car mechanically inspected isn’t vital. But most important of all do your homework, check the service history of the car and don’t be afraid to ring around. While not infallible, websites such as motorcheck.ie and cartell.ie are also a help and are worth the cost. And if it all goes wrong, then by all means come to a solicitor!
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