I am not 'properly' looking for a new car at the moment, however if a bargain catches my eye then......

I was in the vicinity of a large used car warehouse and had a look around.

57 Plate Nov 07 HSE Stornoway, black leather, auto, no dings, 37400 miles, no options other than roof rails and priced £18499. Clearly a bargain price. Upon asking for more info all they say there are no 'books' with it - price reflects this (as they went on the way they put it they were leaving it to my imagination to believe it may had a service in its 2 years, dewy eyed purchaser may well be drawn in type thing)

I rang LR to see if the remaining 11 months warranty would stand in respect of this. They say that unless a fault can be directed at not being properly serviced then they would honour it. Suspension, corrosion, fittings etc were all mentioned as probably still fine for cover. I asked about Engine turbo and gearbox and they said it would be dependant upon the case.

I tell the salesman I am not interested any more, I would like to spend a little more on a car with some history and start to leave. He shouts after me (verging upon inapproriate tone) and says "well buy our AA warranty then" then sneers. He keeps on at me as I exit the door "Youre going to pay more elsewhere, pay more here for the warranty and job done"
My Question is DID I DO THE THE RIGHT THING!? would others take their check and the AA warranty to put their mind at ease and go for it if the salesman did not happen to be a C**K?

Do you not have the possibility to ask the previous owner about the vehicles history
Here in Norway it is possible to easily check who the last owner was and if there if the vehicle has been used as insurance against a loan and if this has been paid off. This is possible via the vehicle registration number either from a particular website or by sending an SMS - saves tears later
Failing this, we can check at a Land Rover service centre/dealer, the vehicles service and repair record as this is available on the national database - if it is not, no sensible person would touch a second hand car here.

However, I think you did the right thing to walk away - nobody gives anything away without a reason  2007 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Manual with Premium Pack & Moonroof.
Stornoway Grey with Ebony Black Pleather, Clear Indicators, Body Side Mouldings etc.

With a cock of a sales person walk away

Nothing to compare to but used HSE worth what there askin? With no service history I don't think so

but if your thinking that you might have missed out, speak to Kam100 over on RRSport he has just launched a extended warranty package and might be able to talk you through the cover  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

He seems desperate to sell, go back in a few days and beat the price down. In the mean time check with LR about the servicing..I am assuming you know the reg number  At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

DaveS,
If it were me I would not touch it. It may turn out to be ok but think on a couple of years when you want to sell it on, the next potential buyer may also run a mile and then you may be faced with an even bigger loss than expected at the time.
John.

I guess it depends on how long Dave intends to keep the car, keep it a few years and missing service history becomes less important esp if he collects a few service stamps in that time. At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

Thanks for your replies. I fear contacting the previous owner as Andy suggested as it seems to smell of repossesion, given the current climate I would not be surprised.

LR said they couldnt give me service details when I rang them earlier.

The history missing issue may not be a long term issue as I do not change cars frequently and as CG said, my stamps will suffice by the time the car becomes worth 5-6K ish.

Due to the price, I will contact CHPR to see if they can give me info on any services. If its had them I may return to the dealer with an offer, as pointed out they seem keen to sell. If its not had them then I will not want it. I may not even bother doing anything after I have slept on it. Plenty Freelander HSE around just not as cheap.

My mates Merc has a minus counter for days over his service in the same way as you get the countdown. Do LR have this (never missed a service to know) Mind you, a service counter could have been cleared.

Got an Aug 08 XS with the Style Pack with 16k on the clock and FSH if you're still looking!

£17500 for a good home. I'm only selling so cheap as I'm deploying to Afghan and none of the dealers are buying at the moment.

57 plate with similar mileage but without the style pack is going for £18995 on LR website.

See my post in For sal eif you are interested.  09MY FL2 Td4 XS, Style Pack, Privacy Glass, Martinique Blue.. oh so very blue..

Nice car Frobious but I am after an Auto HSE

Frobious its lucky the avatar is a brown car not the blue one your selling  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

I would not touch that car as you will have problems when trying to sell and claiming under warranty.Do not believe a word that Land Rover says about warranty claims as they will not honour it if it has not been serviced.Try and contact the previous owner if you really want to buy it-I am sure he will not mind.It all sounds a bit dodgy to me because if I was a dealer who had bought the car I would be trying to find any previous history and would try to contact the previous owner.It is much easier for someone in the trade to get service information from dealers as opposed to the man in the street.I once bought a BMW and rang the local dealer where I knew the car had been serviced to get some previous history.They told me they had no record of it.So I asked a friend in the trade and he got me a computer print out from the dealer for 5 years of servicing. Stornaway grey SE auto with 18" alloys

Agreed dont buy unless you can see a history, but the lack of a physical book in the glove box isnt a reason to avoid.


There a few tractors for sale in the farming press at present, repossessed machines sold with no warranty as they have been repaired after sand was poured in to the engines and gear boxes by the disgruntled ex-owner...food for thought  At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

I'd probably give it a miss Dave too. Unfortunately LR do not have a shared system that displays service history, however with the reg number I can tell you where it has been for warranty and recall work. PM me if you'd like me to do this for you?

Personally I'd spend a bit more on an HSE with a good provinance or spend the same money on an XS/SE. I have a 58 plate SE Auto in Stornoway with 12k miles which I could sell you for £2500 more if bought before 31st Dec (it's a VAT qualifying vehicle).

James

chicken george wrote:

There a few tractors for sale in the farming press at present, repossessed machines sold with no warranty as they have been repaired after sand was poured in to the engines and gear boxes by the disgruntled ex-owner...food for thought

CG, if they are finance repossesions then I wonder it that could constitute criminal damage as technically the finance company owns it.

James

There not much difference between a SE and HSE, if your wanting leather you could do it aftermarket, stereo is just as good, but not 5.1 surround.

It's cost more but is also newer. Food for thought  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis