I stopped at a dealer on my way home from work yesterday to have a serious conversation about a car. I'd spoken to the salesman in the morning about a small but significant feature I'd expect to find in a 2009 car that this one seemed not to have.
To his credit, when I got there he'd dug out the full original build record for the car, and although it was registered on a 58 plate in January 2009, it had actually been built in April 2008, then waited at a Belgian port until October before being shipped to the UK.
The missing feature is actually the only material difference between 2008 and 2009 models, but it's important to us and it would cost a few hundred pounds to retro-fit. But my question here is: what difference do you feel it makes to a deal on a three-year-old car if the vehicle itself turns out to be nearly four years old - about 20% older than I thought?
The salesman and I couldn't agree on a price and I went home. The age of the car wasn't the only factor but I felt the concession he was prepared to make on price wasn't enough to close the gap between what was presented and what the car actually was. Did I overreact?
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It is often very easy to find actual build date by decoding VIN.
Everything like warranty, MOT etc starts from registration date so I don't think it really matters.
Last edited by: movilogo on Sat 24 Mar 12 at 08:48
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What matters more is that it was sat alongside the sea for 6 months unused, with the potential deterioration from salt-laden air. Make sure the anti-corrosion warranty has been kept up to date with the appropriate dealer inspections.
Moving on to the deal, I assume you introduced the retrofitting of the feature you particularly wanted as part of the deal? When you come to sell it on in a couple of years, perhaps the potential purchasers will spot that it's a 2008 model and use this as a bargaining point to push their offer down, so I think you're quite right to get the price down to a level that you are happy with, and this is obviously only one of the considerations.
I'm curious, what is the feature - parking sensors?
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>> What matters more is that it was sat alongside the sea for 6 months unused,
>> with the potential deterioration from salt-laden air. >>
Or up to its axles in mud on a disused airfield for several months, (not in the hosepipe banned south of course).
My car was built in January and delivered in mid March on the requested date. Transit would only have taken a week, where it was for the rest of the time I have no idea but it was in the UK when I ordered it in early February.
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You don't want to buy a two year old brand new, the rubber bits will have the wear of a two year old car.
I think I have the record on this entire site for the newest car received, was built on the 30th of April and I was driving it by the 11th of May :).
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Well youve certainly got me guessing: what is this important (to you) difference?
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Cruise control? It would be important for me.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sat 24 Mar 12 at 11:17
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I left it out on purpose because I wanted to concentrate on the principle, not the specifics. Now we've had some useful, to-the-point answers, I'll let you in on the secret. It's an...
Internet connection lost
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>> I left it out on purpose because I wanted to concentrate on the principle, not
>> the specifics. Now we've had some useful, to-the-point answers, I'll let you in on the
>> secret. It's an...
>>
well, so we know that it begins with a vowel!
Rules out reverse sensors, cruise control, heated windscreen, smokers pack,............
How about automatic lights? although why you would want that feature unless your eyesight is failing:)
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If it's VAG aren't they sealed at the factory in some plastic wrap type thing ?
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>> If it's VAG aren't they sealed at the factory in some plastic wrap type thing
>> ?
So is bread but I still got a mouldy one in Sainsbury
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Lost you say? Must be the built in sat nav
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Production changes are made continually, so I think having one significantly older could have earlier revisions of parts etc...
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...so we know it begins with a vowel.
Home now, connection restored. It's an...
'eated rear bumper, just the thing for those chilly point-to-points.
Er, no, it's an iPod input - or, more precisely, just a 3.5mm jack socket in the glove compartment and a corresponding input on the head unit. Not a simple job to retro-fit, either - needs an expensive interface or a replacement head unit.
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>> Er, no, it's an iPod input - or, more precisely, just a 3.5mm jack socket
>> in the glove compartment and a corresponding input on the head unit. Not a simple
>> job to retro-fit, either - needs an expensive interface or a replacement head unit.
If its a 3.5mm jack plug, its not even an iPod input, just a bog standard MP3 input.
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>> If it's VAG aren't they sealed at the factory in some plastic wrap type thing
>> ?
>>
Think it depends on the model, but I know my A4 Cab was shrink wrapped when it arrived at the dealership.
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>> You don't want to buy a two year old brand new, the rubber bits will
>> have the wear of a two year old car.
>>
>> I think I have the record on this entire site for the newest car received,
>> was built on the 30th of April and I was driving it by the 11th
>> of May :).
>>
The C5 was only about 2 weeks old when I got it. Citroen sent me a letter to tell me it was built and being shipped from the factory, and I think I had it about 2 weeks later. 1 week for transit to the UK and another for dealer prep I guess.
One of the advantages of ticking a few option's on the order form is it makes it a factory build, although the new Volvo is a standard car, but is still not going to be in the UK until next month.
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Irrespective of the final build date of the car,the components used to build it may be much older;this is particularly true of RHD cars and also of cars built to a unique spec..
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>> Irrespective of the final build date of the car,the components used to build it may
>> be much older;this is particularly true of RHD cars and also of cars built to
>> a unique spec..
>>
Excllent point, jc2!
* Applause *
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I agree. iPodability is a very nice function to have in a car and a factory fit is far superior to those useless radio transmitters (in London anyway). I would hold out for it unless the retro-fit is as good.
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The retro-fit would have been fine, BB - arguably better than the factory alternative - but it added significantly to the cost of the deal on a car that I already felt was priced too high, and which had been represented as being of an age that should have had the input as standard.
The dealer - after some tooth-sucking and phone-calling - made some ground towards my offer but only about a third of what I felt was required. He has another buyer waiting to see it at another branch, so that's where it's gone today. (I got the impression he was reluctant to let it go, with quarter-end looming.) That buyer may be prepared to pay a 2009 price for a 2008 car, in which case that's the end of this chapter; if not, I've told him he knows where to find me and I'll be pleased to hear from him.
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Plenty more fish in the sea, WdB, as I'm sure you don't need me to remind you. I presume it was a Volvo, being parked up dockside in Belgium?
With the twice-yearly plate change in the UK I guess it must be quite easy to disguise an older car with a newer registration, such as 09 on a 58, and dupe a few punters.
IMHO build date isn't that relevant if it's 6-9 months long. Most of us only keep a car 4-8 years and I'd expect them to last 10 years. What's a few months parked up somewhere compared with, say, 4 months of salt and crud on the UK roads most winters?!
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I'm currently looking for a replacement used car - a petrol BMW 5 series. In March 2007 there was a facelift (or LCI - Life Cycle Impulse - as BMW snappily call it).
The details are subtle but substantial and definitely worth having but difficult to identify from the exterior. Nevertheless, I have come across several old models with a post 07 reg and even a few 09s which means they were sitting around for up to 2 years prior to registration!
The changes include engines, gearboxes, internal controls and design but the trade sellers aren't offering any noticeable discount - asides from the problems of having the cars originally laid up somewhere.
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Of course it doesn't matter. They will all be scrapped in 10 years time anyway.
Next time you see a load of crushed cars going by on a lorry, reflect that every one of them was once someone's expensive "latest build date".
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Build date: does it matter? - movilogo
