Hellooooo- new to forum- question about buying without service history

C

carlsworth

New member
I am after a wrx type r v limited v3/v4

went to see one at the weekend a 10 hour round trip, and was somewhat disappointed as it had ZERO
service history- not a single receipt

Looked like a straight car, but had some issues (bodywork and wheels)
guy has owned it 8 years, and has done the maintenance himself- thats fine, but had to walk away when there were zero receipts, and almost no evidence for low mileage

Coming from Uk, I have learnt that everyone selling a car is a lier, or trying to hide something- cynical yes, but I know so many people that have been burnt-
A long time ago I, bought an Escort Rs turbo which was taken from me by the police, as it turned out to be a ringer- so you can say I am pretty cautious now
I know that keeping an extensive history isnt that common here in Ireland, but still- better safe than sorry right


In that position, what would you lot do
 
Try and buy from a member on here, at least them you have some piece of mind

I recently traded my P1 in England, I have every receipt regardless of price and written down in book
Mileage,date and work carried out. Dealer was very happy with the history from here as well its English history
 
Good points above.

Id add to do paid reg checks and post any potential purchases on forums, most lads would be knowledgeable about many cars up for sale.

Always be prepared to walk away from a car, your gut is usually right. Unfortunately theres a lot of sh*te on the roads.
 
Yep-

Old me would have bought it-

It was hard to walk away- the excitement was telling me "ah feck it, it will be fine"
but the other side was- "you'll buy it and it will set on fire/explode/turn out to be a bad of spanners"

shame- cause I got the feeling it was an "honest" car- but the guy said it had SOME BUT NOT A LOT of history- which is why I chanced the massive round trip - got there and he had 3 previous nct's - and NOTHING else


gutted :(


Oh- btw, I did reg checks, and car came back clean-
but- because of the issues/no history/price it wasnt worth the risk
 
Welcome along :thumbsup: finally logged in :smile::icon_grin::thumbsup: . A few things . I wouldn't let lack of history put me off a car someone had owned for 8 years . Yes I know he should have receipts for some stuff but being honest Not many lads do . On the flip side. I'v bought cars with stack of receipts and half of them weren't for the car at all :facepalm: no reg no date wrong tyre size fitted the list goes on .

Post up any of the cars your thinking of as there's a good chance someone knows it somewhere :thumbsup:. Best of luck with the search
 
Thanks Joe, got there in the end :)


Yeah- I have had people tell me that, but been burned in the past, and really dont want to risk the money and then find out it used to be a Nissan Micra that someone has re-shelled hahaha
 
welcome along.
the way I see it its always brain vs. heart and you are right, better to be safe although calculated risk is an option
This said I bought my car with my heart only and no service history and few bad bits but now I have her over 2 years and never cause me any major hassle. And Im happy I took the bite
Lets face it: we all have to be a bit mad to be buying subaru :thumbsup:
 
If it is something that will always be in the back of your mind then I would walk away. As mentioned post some details up of the car and see if anyone knows it.

If you still want to go ahead, should be easy to confirm how long he has owned it with a scan of the logbook, you can see the last date of change of ownership, plus it will have his name and address. After that if you think the car is sound, and you are not a mechanic you can get a garage or someone with experience to check it for you, could ask here who to recommend. Or even the AA will do a check on it for you. Also do a history check on line to see if there is anything else to worry about. That may show skipping tax, which I would worry about (car tax is expensive here, so some lads may skip it for a month or two) but if something else shows up then worth checking. This will cost you a bit but worth it for peace of mind.
 
Oh boy, remember when i bit the bullet and parted with 13000k for a scooby with no service history what so ever,i took a risk and bought with my heart,i remember driving away from your mans house thinking I AM ****ED,what have i done....never forget it,luckily near 14 years later the cars still flying,i dont think a service history would put me off buying one,many dont have them,i would be thinking that most lads that have these cars are more then likely the same as me,garage tinkers ****ing around DIYing out in the shed by themselves doing all the service work themselves,from oil changes to clutches etc,maybe im wrong i dont know,what i would say is what ever you do bring some one,or pay someone with subaru experience to have a look,a receipt doesnt mean she aint gna blow driving home,essentially if the cars had a rebuild and or mapped,then receipts and WHO done the work is definitely something i would want to know.
 
Welcome along

Best advice as above if your looking at a car post it here high chance someone here will know it.

Zero Receipts for 8 years ownership dissapointing alright can understand your feelings on that.

Best of luck with search ????????



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carlsworth said:
I am after a wrx type r v limited v3/v4

went to see one at the weekend a 10 hour round trip, and was somewhat disappointed as it had ZERO
service history- not a single receipt

Looked like a straight car, but had some issues (bodywork and wheels)
guy has owned it 8 years, and has done the maintenance himself- thats fine, but had to walk away when there were zero receipts, and almost no evidence for low mileage

Coming from Uk, I have learnt that everyone selling a car is a lier, or trying to hide something- cynical yes, but I know so many people that have been burnt-
A long time ago I, bought an Escort Rs turbo which was taken from me by the police, as it turned out to be a ringer- so you can say I am pretty cautious now
I know that keeping an extensive history isnt that common here in Ireland, but still- better safe than sorry right


In that position, what would you lot do
Click to expand...

welcome along

your looking to buy a car that was never sold on this island from new, its also going to be 18 or 19 years old, its a performance car, imo your looking for something that cant be found forsale.

I bought a v5 1998 type r in 2006, no history from japan like 99% of cars from there and no history in the one year it was in Ireland, you just have to inspect the car for condition and get a good feeling from the seller, other wise walk away.

I hope you get what your looking for but I think youll find it hard, if I was in your postion there would be only two options,

1. the cheapest car you can get and rebuild so you know what you got.

2. something mint from one of the lads here but very few will come up

option numbers 3 is a no go area, the 8-10k type r that needs everything, looks ok but its middle of the road and has nothing done to it, no map, no rebuild, needs wheels and tyres and a new belt, also could do with a few panels painted to freshen it up, imo that's a total restoration car just like no.1 but you have paid 8 grand for, youll spend 15/20 grand on that car no problem on top of your 8-10k grand.
 
I think it's unrealistic to expect a v3 v4 Wrx to have a service history. the fact he has had the car for 8yrs says a lot in my opinion.. I would base my decision on how the car presented and drove... I know if I was selling a wrx that was nearly 20yrs old and you asked me for a service history I would tell you to go buy a new car that way you could have all the service history your heart desires.
 
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Service history means fook all really coz it just shows that yer man spent a bit of cash on it, you buy one with a full history and all the belts done e.t.c and the balls could be driven off it and the arse fall out of if within 2 weeks after you buying it,but a car with no history could be the best thing ever......it's all a gamble. ..
 
I am at a bit of a loss with the last 2 comments-

Johhny T- that could be ANY car- having full history with a car does not mean it has been driven well-
But put it this way- Would you buy a car that's been thrashed with full history and looked after, over a car that has been thrashed with no history/proof of care taken

KENC - You're not in the car trade I hope- telling a potential buyer to jog on if they ask for service history :/


I wasn't looking for a full history, just SOMETHING that could back up the claimed low mileage

You cant put a price on peace of mind- even if the car is a bag of spanners, it can be sorted-
but a car that has been crashed/stolen/clocked/re-shelled etc etc will be almost impossible to sell in the future
 
I spent 20K on a type r back in the day with no history and it's still going strong it's for sale on dd as we speak great car and the one before a v1 sti was the same
The last 2 have had folders full of stuff
Get someone good to look over it and under it lol
Best of luck
 
Thanks Keith- yep, saw that- the grey one that is featured on this site?

Lovey car, but I want one in blue-



Its funny the difference between the Uk and Ireland forum

I posted the same question on Uk Scoobynet, and all but 1 person said walk away-
But the Irish, seem a bit more trusting I think - I would think its because there are soooo many bad cars in Uk and so many people there trying to step on the next just to make a couple of pound

thanks to all that have commented- Its actually made me wonder if I did the right thing by walking away

Actually, you know what- I am actually wanting a Mk1 Focus RS, but there never seems any for sale in Ireland which is why I am looking at the Type R wrx - so if anyone hears of one for sale, I would be grateful for the info :)
 
Thanks Paddy-
yeah, I have tried the rsoc, but they only seem to have a fb page- that is hardly ever used :/

Ah well, something will come up
 
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