Sytner

[st4]

I always mention stone chips when enquiring about a used car(they are to be expected with age but are a good bargaining tool if left untreated)

Problem is to cover up stone chips they resprayed my car as cheaply as possible leading to all sorts of paint issues. A more honest car isn't a bad thing. It's second hand, used, it was someone else's car before. A few chips isn't too bad really. Only way to get a perfect example is to buy a brand new car and bite the bullet on depreciation.

Crockers, wasn't aware until well after the transaction and the same re the service history. I asked if it had a FSH. He said yes, ages later I was looking through the book and discover it went two years and 22k miles before its first service. I'm now much more skeptical of so called approved used cars. So should everyone be.

 

[steve333]

Problem is to cover up stone chips they resprayed my car as cheaply as possible leading to all sorts of paint issues. A more honest car isn't a bad thing. It's second hand, used, it was someone else's car before. A few chips isn't too bad really. Only way to get a perfect example is to buy a brand new car and bite the bullet on depreciation.

Crockers, wasn't aware until well after the transaction and the same re the service history. I asked if it had a FSH. He said yes, ages later I was looking through the book and discover it went two years and 22k miles before its first service. I'm now much more skeptical of so called approved used cars. So should everyone be.

Agree re stone chips(in fairness no dealer has ever picked up on/mentioned them when i've part exchanged in the past & being higher up ml's would be less prone i would imagine,you'd be suprised how many mb's i've viewed that have full mb history but when you scrutinise the service book/receipts some of them are carried out way beyond the time/mileage due.

 

[st4]

Agree re stone chips(in fairness no dealer has ever picked up on/mentioned them when i've part exchanged in the past & being higher up ml's would be less prone i would imagine,you'd be suprised how many mb's i've viewed that have full mb history but when you scrutinise the service book/receipts some of them are carried out way beyond the time/mileage due.

My first MB was not prepared so well but was a good honest car with the required history. The shed was prepared impeccably and you'd think it was 6 month old 4k miles. Turns out it was a basket case. I'll repair the door myself later this week.

ML wise it's the boot lid that is the issue or will be the body work issue

 

[steve333]

My first MB was not prepared so well but was a good honest car with the required history. The shed was prepared impeccably and you'd think it was 6 month old 4k miles. Turns out it was a basket case. I'll repair the door myself later this week.

ML wise it's the boot lid that is the issue or will be the body work issue

Unless your an expert it's hard to tell when a cars had the prep treatment(i'm no expert),others have told me the tailgate is a weak spot on the ml's-anything specific/signs to look for?

 

[st4]

Unless your an expert it's hard to tell when a cars had the prep treatment(i'm no expert),others have told me the tailgate is a weak spot on the ml's-anything specific/signs to look for?

A complete absence of marks would be my starting point. 25k mile cars do have chips/minor scratches.

 

[Alps]

as i said in my thread there were man marks on paint and scratches which i had to visit several times before i finally accepted the car, their valet guy should also be sacked!

 

[Dieselman]

as i said in my thread there were man marks on paint

Had it been to a Bluewater meet...?

 

[steve333]

as i said in my thread there were man marks on paint and scratches which i had to visit several times before i finally accepted the car, their valet guy should also be sacked!

^ Which dealership was that Alps?

 

[Alps]

^ Which dealership was that Alps?

Steve, not the one your looking at mate, still part of the same group, so make sure you check every little detail.

 

[steve333]

Steve, not the one your looking at mate, still part of the same group, so make sure you check every little detail.

Ok- thanks for the heads up!

 

[C240Sport97]

Sytner is a very large group selling all sorts of brands .. US owned too.

Bought my Boxster new from a Sytner dealer, who were excellent.

 

[steve333]

Sytner is a very large group selling all sorts of brands .. US owned too.

Bought my Boxster new from a Sytner dealer, who were excellent.

^ Good to hear

 

[steve333]

After getting details of the cars history earlier i rang the mb dealership that had done most of the servicing only to find that the atf service(due at 37500) was declined/not carried out by the previous owner,with the car now at 65k miles i wasn't happy to go ahead with the planned viewing saturday so i cancelled my appointment with sytner-the search continues!

 

[John]

Mine wasn't done until I bought it and had it done as a precaution (on 49,000 miles I think) and the ATF was in good shape.

I would have thought that issue would be a sensible bartering tool to get money off and the ATF done into the bargain...

Or they may just wait for someone who doesn't know as much and fob them off.

 

[steve333]

Mine wasn't done until I bought it and had it done as a precaution (on 49,000 miles I think) and the ATF was in good shape.

I would have thought that issue would be a sensible bartering tool to get money off and the ATF done into the bargain...

Or they may just wait for someone who doesn't know as much and fob them off.

I would never have been comfortable knowing that a previous owner had skimped on something as important as an atf/filter change(what else other than scheduled servicing would they have declined if flagged?),to be fair,when i mentioned it to the sytner salesman i was dealing with he didn't appear to know that the car should have had the atf service done(they don't just specialise in mb's) & he was very honest/helpful in everything i had asked about the car,lucky i picked up on the absent atf service as like you said someone else will view the car/see the history & buy it without knowing.

 

[John]

I understand where you are coming from but there has been a time in recent history where gearboxes were 'sealed for life' but which meant the life was quite short compared to what it should be (including on Jags which used MB boxes).

Does the car not fall into that time period where MB were stating 'sealed for life' until (I believe) common sense prevailed and they reverted back to the previous 40,000 mile schedule?

 

[steve333]

I understand where you are coming from but there has been a time in recent history where gearboxes were 'sealed for life' but which meant the life was quite short compared to what it should be (including on Jags which used MB boxes).

Does the car not fall into that time period where MB were stating 'sealed for life' until (I believe) common sense prevailed and they reverted back to the previous 40,000 mile schedule?

^I checked the car on ess & the atf/filter change came up at 37,500/4 years,i can imagine that most warranty companys would flag this up if there was a problem with the autobox effectively leaving a big £££ repair bill.