Buying car from forum ... good idea?

[TANNER]

Agree with the above replies, there are some seriously loved cars on here, I wish I would have held out for one on the forum than buying mine to be honest due to a few small niggles like paint condition etc.

A forum user is most likely to have all receipts from services and replacement parts that gives you a life story of the car.
I bought my lupo Gti from a guy on club lupo a few years back and it was immaculate. The guy even had excel sheets that he updated with his weekly fuel consumption!!

Use your head and don't rush into anything and you will find the right motor.

[ashley]

You have to judge each car on its merits.

Single elderly owner can either be a real gem or dogs.

....*cough* Single elderly (65yo OAP) owner - That's me but my beloved 102k-miler ain't for sale!

It is as you say, you have to judge each car on its merits but you have to do that wherever you buy.

Don't touch a car that a guy called Sammy (now banned/left) has though!

There is always an exception to the rule lol. That wasnt meant for you RR. Your not exactly the traditional 65yo owner

[MC71]

Oops, sorry!

Think I just opened a can of worms!

However I'm still a bit cautious about a re-map. Why have one if you weren't satisfied with the stock performance?   

the car was designed to run in a variety of markets, hot/cold/wet/icy plus satisfy the emissions laws of different countries. you remap it because you want to gain the maximum performance that your car can, which VW couldn't provide
you modify your car for the same reason. VW built the car to appeal to a variety of people so it would sell. you modify it to make it more of what you want for yourself/your driving style/your needs

^^^^ this! Could not agree more.  

Would have no problem buying from this forum, after a while you will get to know the peeps and their cars and if you see a car for sale by a forum member, have a good look through all their prevoius posts and you will probably see all that they have done to their cars and when. Peeps will pretty much post everything they do to and with their cars.

  

[david25]

Always get a HPI check!

[h4rdy]

And make sure you pay the £25+ for the full dogs danglies one not a cheap £2.99.

On a £10k plus car its a small price to pay.

And get someone with VCDS to scan it if you can.

If they don't let you walk away there is thousands more, unless its a Pirelli!

[RobH]

Aslong as its not sammy's car you should be fine

That car will be on its 3rd engine by now and probably 3 wheel drive after sammy attemps a haldex conversion.

[sub39h]

Aslong as its not sammy's car you should be fine

That car will be on its 3rd engine by now and probably 3 wheel drive after sammy attemps a haldex conversion.

 

[Mk5 GTian]

enthusiasts are more likely to be able to diagnose problems with their car early and get them sorted before they cause any serious damage

a lot of members on here also service their car more often than recommended, with the correct oil/filters etc. and by people who know what they're doing. the cars are generally better cared for

the paint is also likely to be in better condition because enthusiasts either clean their car with better equipment or have them detailed regularly

you'll also save money buying a car that's already modified over one that needs work

just my 2p.

  Could not put it better myself. If there had been a laser blue with sunroof , modded, on here from a member, I'd have bitten their arm off.

[stu_no_1]

The only thing that stops me buying from a forum member is finance so i had to go to a dealer but im paying the price for that my car is in for a full respray fixing all the little stonechips and bits of laquer peel on the quarter panel but you never know my car might be up for sale on this forum and i cant see the work im putting in getting ignored because of a remap or any mods. There is nothing wrong with a remap as long as it is a reputable tuner who has mapped the car and the car is serviced when it should be

[damoegan]

And make sure you pay the £25+ for the full dogs danglies one not a cheap £2.99.

On a £10k plus car its a small price to pay.

And get someone with VCDS to scan it if you can.

If they don't let you walk away there is thousands more, unless its a Pirelli!

This ^^^

I did the same thing when I got my ED30 and one of the cars I was looking at turned out to be a CAT D...

Ended up getting mine from a member on here 

[Llew]

I wish I had known about this forum b4 I bought my car from a dealer The cars on here seem well looked after and much cheaper than elsewhere even with all the mods so looking at the prices on here I think probably paid 25% more than I need to and I still have to put in the mods after that so IMO here is a great place to buy cars and parts and accessories not to mention all the helpful advice on here which has saved me tons of money and cut out. Costly mistakes

[Moz]

I can do a full free HPI check for you. If you're a regular resident of MK5GTI....

[Gene Hunt]

Aslong as its not sammy's car you should be fine

That car will be on its 3rd engine by now and probably 3 wheel drive after sammy attemps a haldex conversion.

...........what ever happened to him?   .

[zabba]

Buying a used car is always a bit of a lottery, there are good and bad cars out there, both on forums and other sellers.

Just make sure you do normal checks, go through service history with a fine tooth comb, get an hpi check, get a AA/RAC inspection for piece of mind.  Also check bodywork thoroughly as hpi only shows accidents that causeda  write off.  Don't take anyones word, get it checked if unsure about something.

There are plenty of enthusiasts on forums who look after their cars, but then I have also seen some pretty dodgy examples on forums.

I bought a car off a forum member and so far so good 

[patrickcullen87]

personally i would rather buy a car from a forum member than off a dealer....when you buy off a forum member you know you are getting a well looked after car, most cases you can view the members posts to see the history off the car and how well it it looked after.

buy from a dealer and the history of the car is a grey area, you get a salesman who probably knows very little about the car telling you its very well looked after even though he most likely has no idea of the history, they will tell you anything to get the car sold.

its your choice at the end of the day but i know what i would prefer

as for the remap..just because it has been remapped doesnt mean the car has been thrashed. i got mines mapped purely because the car performs miles better, easier to overtake, more responsive and you dont need to rev the tits of the engine build up speed