Buy a car without seeing it

[obi_waynne]

Have you ever bought a car without actually seeing it?

What about buying car without a test drive?

Both are pretty mad things to do but I have certainly done both, and wasn't too happy with the end results. Never trust a friend who "knows a man."

What is the minumum test drive you would take a car on?

 

[pgarner]

bought the fiesta without driving it, dad did however as i didnt have a license at the time.
wouldnt buy a car without seeing it and at least a 20min drive on different roads. ohh the car would also have to be cold when i started it

 

[dpsubaru]

Used to buy a lot of cars from the auction, of course they wont let you test drive them so its a bit like buying them blind. Have a good look over but you cant really tell if the steering or bushes need done.
pg: i bought a 1.9gti pug after test driving it, the prob was the guys wouldnt take the price so we went away, 10mins later they were on the phone and accepting so we went back down and forked over the cash. Then they were off quick (had already done a HPI check) and the bugger wouldnt start - it had a prob with hot starts not cold!

 

[pgarner]

not so much not starting at cold but it lets you see if its burning oil as everything hasnt fully expanded. most will also have rattle etc that are there when its cold but go away once the oil gets hotter and a little thinner.
then again when i bought the prelude it had sat unused for 6 months, fired up 1st time but with alot of smoke. was fine after that however

 

[2fast2catch]

never bought a car without seeing or driving it....... however, the lad who bought the scoob off me was unable to come and look at it for himself so he sent his mam, dad, 2 siblings and 3 dogs from Portsmouth (approx 6 hr drive) to get it for him, they werent interested in a test drive as such, just handed over the money and near enough went straight away, back down to Portsmouth.

got a text off the lad 2 days later which simply said 'this car is awesome cheers' lol

 

[weber44idf]

yes i have made the cardinal sin of purchasing without seeing any more than photos , spent a long time sweating over what would turn up , the car had to be transported across australia . turned out to be better than i expected but wouldnt recommend doing it again .

 

[turbonutter69]

I sold a Rover 200 on Fleabay last year and the lad didn't test drive it or nothing. He'd not even passed his test. He came with his brother who just handed me the cash and drove away.

 

[HDi fun]

Never done either. Even with new cars you need to know what you're getting. 10 minutes behind the wheel in a traffic queue is not enough.

I'm going to be buying a used car fairly soon ( I hope) to replace my now deceased 406 GTX.

I am very sceptical about descriptions of used cars.

So many people, including traders, seem to think that anything that just about starts and runs can be described as 'drives like new'. I'm in a quandary here, my 406 was serviced and maintained up to the teeth whilst in my care for five years. You'd never spot the 129,000 miles on it apart from the odometer and the fistful of documentation to back up the mileage and the prescriptive servicing it received whilst I had it.

OK, it's smashed to bits now thanks to the recent RTA in which I was, sadly, involved.

I've driven the odd supposed 'low mileage, one-lady-owner' car that has, frankly, scared me as to what the owner(s) have done to the thing. Ask for documents - not forthcoming. perhaps a kwik fit invoice for an oil change - that's it. And that's a FULL SERVICE HISTORY? I think not.

I am p...ed off about having to find another car - I was fond of the 406 and planned to keep it another 4 or 5 years with it's mixture of quick, quiet and comfortable driving.

 

[thexav]

Never have & never will.

 

[Prince]

Never have & never will.

Agreed. It's just asking for trouble.

 

[prevtec]

i bought a 92 honda civic shuttle without test driving it, i didnt even pop the hood,
for 100 euro, why would you

your man told me the timing belt was done at xmas so i thought drive on,
it lasted me 6 weeks and then it snapped, ah well, theres a sohc vtec going into it now

moral of the story, always check a car out, i dont care how cheap your getting it for