# £5k for the wife’s new (dog) carrying car......



## kingswood (Jun 23, 2016)

*£5k for the wife's car......AND IVE BEEN DONE!*

Wife has had company cars for the last 10 years and is now leaving for a new company. With no car. We've had a 208, to small now, a skoda octavia estate - brilliant, and a Ford Focus hatchback - rubbish

Skoda









Current focus









So we now need a new 'main' car. When I say main I mean the one we'll use for airport runs, going away with the dog, taking the dog places, me to use when she's not. Ie, any reason to keep miles off my golf 










And I've also just bought a new toy 









So I've set the budget at £5k. No pcp etc as like to own my cars. I'm weird.

Front runner is another skoda. But open to curve balls. Just has to be reliable and have confidence in running it up and down the motorways.

Any ideas?!

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## cole_scirocco (Mar 5, 2012)

Beemer 3 Series? Not a bad budget for a decent E91 there.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

If reliability is the thing then I wouldn't recommend any VW group car around 5k If you want something reliable, comfortable and big enough for a dog then you need a Toyota Avensis estate with 1.8 petrol engine.


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## President Swirl (Oct 23, 2011)

The R32 is spectacular mate. My first car was a 205. Not as nice as yours though! Would an Accord estate suit your needs? Sorry to be obvious, but Japanese and petrol usually improves the odds of an easier life. Good luck.


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## Lexus-is250 (Feb 4, 2017)

Mazda 6? If you have the hounds they are within or near budget. Very reliable engines and quite a bit of kit on them.









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## Caledoniandream (Oct 9, 2009)

Toyota Auris Sports tourer, reliable enough to take to the moon and back.
Not very exciting, but it does everything what you want and more.


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## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

If it is for dog carrying and general abuse, why not spend less on something like a 2.2d X-type estate? -
http://affordprestigecars.co.uk/2020/01/24/jaguar-x-type-2008-2-2-d-dpf-se-5dr/

Cheers,

Chris


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## mikechesterman (May 25, 2013)

Subaru Legacy Estate


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## bonelorry (Nov 11, 2009)

kingswood said:


> No pcp etc as like to own my cars. I'm weird.


You are not weird at all I am exactly the same, If I cannot afford to buy something I wont buy it and I get great pleasure in knowing my Car/Bike is mine that I have worked hard and saved up for :thumb:

Onto the Car, I would go for an Octavia personally.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Sounds like you just want a workhorse - I'd look no further than an Avensis estate, deeply unglamorous but will take endless abuse and just keep on going


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## JoeyJoeJo (Jan 3, 2014)

Friend of mine has a banger of a Honda CRV as his family wagon, swears by it.
Buggies, golf clubs, ikea/airport runs, throws everything at it.
Gets treated like crap and just keeps going.

5k should get a decent one.


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## Lexus-is250 (Feb 4, 2017)

JoeyJoeJo said:


> Friend of mine has a banger of a Honda CRV as his family wagon, swears by it.
> Buggies, golf clubs, ikea/airport runs, throws everything at it.
> Gets treated like crap and just keeps going.
> 
> 5k should get a decent one.


Great shout that

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## Sport Driver (Aug 5, 2014)

2.0 Dci Renault Laguna III is great work horse, such a reliable car and it must be cheap in UK.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)




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## kingswood (Jun 23, 2016)

Thanks for all the replies. The Mazda and Honda where ones we hadn’t considered. And she veto’d the Toyota as been an ‘old persons’ car! 

Think we’ll shortlist the ones mentioned and see what comes up in area. 

Want a private sale off someone who’s looked after it and selling as upgrading. Try and stay away from dealers 


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## cole_scirocco (Mar 5, 2012)

Mazda 6 Estate:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classi...AZDA&price-to=5000&seller-type=private&page=1

BMW E91 as a curveball:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classi...nesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&page=1


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## percymon (Jun 27, 2007)

Without knowing how big the dogs are its a bit difficult to say, but Mazda 6 estate if you need that much room, for smaller dog(s) then the Nissan Juke can be had in budget - reliable, quite fun to drive, women seem to like them and pretty cheap to run if you buy the 1.5dci


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

I'd be going for something SUV-ish but that is just me. Subaru Legacy estate be good but Subaru are known for rust. Parts are also quite expensive.

If only an occasional car you might find a meaty petrol car dirt cheap to buy.

I would not buy a Nissan if it was me. Toyota and Honda, fine. Big old Volvo maybe?


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## kingswood (Jun 23, 2016)

Bought this today. 62 plate vrs. It's done 133k but the service history is fantastic, serviced every 9k new dual mass clutch, timing chain done, dsg done.

To be fair will need the belt doin again at 140k but paid less than £4k so very happy! Pulls like a train too!


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## bonelorry (Nov 11, 2009)

kingswood said:


> Bought this today. 62 plate vrs. It's done 133k but the service history is fantastic, serviced every 9k new dual mass clutch, timing chain done, dsg done.
> 
> To be fair will need the belt doin again at 140k but paid less than £4k so very happy! Pulls like a train too!


Smart looking Car, I looked for nearly 6 Months for a sub 60K Mile Minter but was after the 170 BHP CR TDI 2010-2012 Model as a Daily Driver to replace the Fabia VRS. I gave up in the end as all the Lower Mileage Cars where average at best with sketchy Service History's.

Hope it serves you well, The TSI Petrol is prone for Timing Chain Tensioner Failures so glad to here is had the Timing Chain done.

DSG Services should be every 40K, They where on my Golf R anyway.


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

kingswood said:


> Bought this today. 62 plate vrs. It's done 133k but the service history is fantastic, serviced every 9k new dual mass clutch, timing chain done, dsg done.
> 
> To be fair will need the belt doin again at 140k but paid less than £4k so very happy! Pulls like a train too!


Very nice. Enjoy :thumb:

Looking forward to your updates ...


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## SarahAnn (Apr 6, 2011)

Summit Detailing said:


> If it is for dog carrying and general abuse, why not spend less on something like a 2.2d X-type estate? -
> http://affordprestigecars.co.uk/2020/01/24/jaguar-x-type-2008-2-2-d-dpf-se-5dr/
> 
> Cheers,
> ...


I had the same model, same paint and same interior. Felt very posh at the time. I loved it. Traded it in to get a new xtype in 2009 before they stopped making them. Really loved the xtypes


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## kingswood (Jun 23, 2016)

So an update......car was running great but when at temperature and stationary it would blow cold air, even when on hot. Driving and revving the engine caused it to go hot again.

We noticed this the day after buying it. During the test drive it was ok as it was been driven.

Took it to a garage I use and they said it was thermostat. I needed the belt and pump doin anyway so I said are they sure and they said yes. I insisted they did a sniffer test to rule it out and they said they did and it was ok. I said if it ends up been the gasket what would happen and they said they'd lol after me.

So thermostat, pump and belt done at £620. When I picked it up it was still doin the same, alas a little better but the drop in temp was still there. The garage said it may be the heater matrix been a little blocked and the new pump may push it round.

Looking online they do suffer with heater matrix issues but I wasn't convinced so ordered a sniffer test myself and it came today and confirmed my fears


















I've rang the garage and it's Goin back in Monday. The mechanic still isn't convinced as his machine said no gasses in the coolant. He said he'd get a price to me then. In my head I'm think the difference between what I've paid and what it should have been for a gasket, belt and pump, around £850. So £200.

I've also contacted the kid I bought it off and he's saying it was fine. It clearly wasn't. He's replied to my messages but distancing himself from any recourse. I'd expect some contribution, I don't believe he didn't know it had an issue but then I don't want to think he clearly ripped me off :-/

Will keep you updated. To say I'm annoyed is an understatement

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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

Sorry, what gasket need changing? The head gasket? The car has only done 130,000 miles?


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## robertdon777 (Nov 3, 2005)

kingswood said:


> So an update......car was running great but when at temperature and stationary it would blow cold air, even when on hot. Driving and revving the engine caused it to go hot again.
> 
> We noticed this the day after buying it. During the test drive it was ok as it was been driven.
> 
> ...


Is it using Coolant?, try a longer run at 70mph for 1hr. If the gasket is going you'll be low on coolant.

Those testing kits can be gash.


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## AndyN01 (Feb 16, 2016)

kingswood said:


> .......
> 
> I've also contacted the kid I bought it off and he's saying it was fine. It clearly wasn't. He's replied to my messages but distancing himself from any recourse. I'd expect some contribution, I don't believe he didn't know it had an issue but then I don't want to think he clearly ripped me off :-/.........


Sorry to hear you've got problems on what looked like a really good purchase.

As far as I know if it was a private sale then it's a case of buyer beware.

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/the-second-hand-car-i-bought-has-a-problem-what-are-my-rights

".....You have fewer rights when buying from a private seller because parts of the Consumer Rights Act don't apply. But, the seller must:

(1) accurately describe the car. For example, an ad must not say 'one owner' when its had several

(2) not misrepresent the car. For example, tell you something which isn't true, such as telling you it hasn't been in an accident when it has.

Unfortunately, enforcing your rights in this instance can be a real challenge, if the seller isn't willing to budge it may be that you're only route to resolving the problem is going to be via the courts......."

Hope it all gets sorted quickly and pain free.

Good Luck.

Andy.


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

Oh no, sorry to hear this.

I've never had a false reading from a sniffer, not saying it doesn't happen though.

Is this a Diesel? If so what engine is in it? Does it have an EGR Cooler? They can corrode internally and present with exhaust gases in the coolant giving you that sniff test result.

Any contamination in the coolant or oil? (Gunk under oil filler/in dipstick/thin oil/milky oil).... Scum in the coolant (might be difficult if they flushed and put new in for the thermostat).

With engine running is the coolant from the return coming out with lots of little bubbles in it?

None of it is good news really, whether it's Matrix, EGR Cooler, mixture of both of them or Head Gasket.

Trouble with a private sale unfortunately there seem to be more chancers every day these days. 

Don't go kicking yourself though, as you said, it was warm when you were test driving it!


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## kingswood (Jun 23, 2016)

Starbuck88 said:


> Oh no, sorry to hear this.
> 
> I've never had a false reading from a sniffer, not saying it doesn't happen though.
> 
> ...


cheers for the replies

ive answered the above.

i argee its buyer beware and theres little i can do. with the evidence available i'll be taking it to the small claims court and hope the judge has been ripped off in the past by a dodgy car seller and sides with me!


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

You can normally blank an EGR but not the coolant if it's a cooled one.

Yes a little bit of pressure is normal, the pressure helps control coolant temp.

The bubbles would need to see to make a judgement. I had an EGR coolant let go on a previous car and it was using coolant and the bubbles were like it was fizzing, when I changed the cooler it was a clear steady stream.

The return on the BMW now is a steady stream too no bubbles.


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

My guess would be something other than the head gasket has gone. Check the state of the engine oil.


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## Ctreanor13 (May 1, 2019)

Starbuck88 said:


> You can normally blank an EGR but not the coolant if it's a cooled one.
> 
> Yes a little bit of pressure is normal, the pressure helps control coolant temp.
> 
> ...


Check out Darkside Developments. They do an EGR / cooler blank kit for 1.6Tdi (that I know of) they may offer one for yours


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## kingswood (Jun 23, 2016)

Update.....

So after the garage getting another sniff test it showed up as exhaust gases in the coolant. 

As the sniff test the garage uses was faulty they went back to their supplies and some toing and throwing preceded. Long story short is they paid half the labour between them and got the head done for £630

So I’m £1250 out of pocket. (Well £700, as the pump and belt needed doing soon) I’ve messaged the seller who despite some replying last time has now gone straight with the blocking.

I’ve contacted piston heads who’ve sent me a copy of the advert and it clearly says ‘no major faults’

I’m tempted to go down the small claims court. I understand if I lose the judge can make me pay their costs but only if they ask and then judge agrees. 

I think in the circumstances it’s perfectly clear he knew the car was on its way out and mis-sold it to me. Why he didn’t just px I don’t know. Why sell a duff car. And I’m kicking myself for not seeing through it :-/

Or shall I just suck it up? I’m torn. I don’t want to be mugged off and another £80 to go through the courts isn’t much considering I’m £1250 in


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## BJM (Oct 30, 2005)

I'd just suck it up. As said, with a private sale it's buyer beware. You seem to now have a sorted car which will be capable of doing many more miles, hopefully without big bills now and just regular servicing. 

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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

I would like to see you go down the court route just to see how it pans out but that would be selfish of me to say so.

In all honesty, if it was me, I would be forgetting about it all and now enjoy your very well sorted car. You now know for a fact it's been done along with new pump and belt. Enjoy it, Enjoy your 205.


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## mar00 (Jun 24, 2018)

Personaly I'd go to court but it would be difficult to prove seller knew, if he gets a court letter he may offer a contribution not to go to court, first if you have his address or email just send a letter saying what you want from him and say you're prepared to go to court

do you have any previous invoices or paper work with garages that may have seen it recently, you could contact them to ask what they did or didn't do,


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## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

I can't see how you'd benefit going to court. You'd have to prove he knew about the fault which you don't have.
He put no major faults in the advert but he'll just argue he wasn't aware of it.
You said in 1st post about the car about it's service history etc, now you've had this work done take it on the chin, don't dwell on it, move on and enjoy the car for years to come hopefully with no other issues.


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## bonelorry (Nov 11, 2009)

It is a 130000 Mile, Used Car. These can sell for upto £8000 in the right condition and Mileage and you paid less than £4000 for yours. Its a gamble which I personally would not have taken but that doesn't help you.

I wouldn't go down the Court Route either, You have already said the Car has been very well Maintained every 9000 Miles and can do all your homework, Take a professional to view the Car and go through everything but the Engine and Ancillaries are Mechanical Items that can potentially fail at any time regardless of how well they have been Maintained and the Previous Owner might genuinely not have had any clue of any issues with the Car and to expect some contribution from him is a bit much in my opinion.

The Previous Owner to the best of their Honesty who stated "_No Major Faults_" in the advert could have been genuine, You have said earlier in this Thread that there was...

_no oil in water or mayo under the cap - did check for this_

_yeah, tiny little bubbles and a little pressure build up when you unscrew. garage did say this was normal when i took it in. theres no water usage at all_

So non of the obvious signs of a Head Gasket Failure, A garage has said to you that a Pressure Build up is Normal which it is as the Coolant Temp rises! The Cooling System has to be pressurised as it increases the Boiling Point.

So how can you be 100% sure that previous Owner Knew it was on its way out and that is assuming they knew anything about Cars in the first place?

I am not in any way a dodgy seller, I have sold over 50 Performance Cars to many owners club members over the Years. I do all my homework before buying the Car in the first place, Maintain the Car to the highest standard during my ownership and I am totally honest when selling but if a Car I had sold developed a Fault and the New Keeper began contacting me Complaining, Threatening me with Court Action and Seeking a Financial Contribution I would also Block them too.

The Fact they answered the Phone or replied to an Email in the first instance tells me they are not suspicious, They would have watched you drive off the Street and wash their hands of you completely if they had any clue.

No body likes to be out of Pocket, I feel your frustration and it is a crappy situation to be in but unless you buy the Car from a Decent Garage that has given you a proper Warranty buying any used Car privately is a Gamble.

Think yourself lucky its not the DSG Gearbox that has packed in!!!

Just to add, I am not having a pop at you. I feel sorry that it has happened to you but looking for someone to blame isn't the best option to me.


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## AndyN01 (Feb 16, 2016)

kingswood said:


> Update.....
> 
> I think in the circumstances it's perfectly clear he knew the car was on its way out and mis-sold it to me........


Before going down the Court route consider how you are going to evidence (NOT opinion) that ".... he knew the car was on its way out...."

Is he a mechanic? A garage proprietor? A qualified engineer or have any other experience/qualifications etc. etc. that you can prove show that it's reasonable to believe that he knew the car was faulty?

I hate to say it but if he's a general member of the public I'd doubt that you'd get that he "knew the car was on its way out (had major faults)" faults past a Judge.

If he's got 10K posts on Pistonheads etc. then that's a different matter.

Good luck and enjoy your now sorted car.

Andy.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

I can't see how you would have an argument. There is no way of proving that he did know. 

There is a lot of threads kicking about with buyers claiming off private sellers. Some are blatantly obvious. This one isn't at all. The guy looks like he's spent good money on maintenance and there was nothing obviously major wrong. 

Some of the threads make me rather nervous. I've always has a rule that I would never sell a car to someone I know. That's not because I'm likely to sell a dodgy car, I just know cars randomly go wrong. I don't want any awkwardness or animosity. 

Now if a private buyer can make a claim against me it makes it even worse.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

kingswood said:


> Update.....
> 
> I think in the circumstances it's perfectly clear he knew the car was on its way out and mis-sold it to me. Why he didn't just px I don't know. Why sell a duff car.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Maybe he didn't know, but let's just say he did and he px'd, the same thing could have still happened but then a trader who the internet classes as greedy and should never make a profit on a car would have been liable for it and would have had to suffer the costs and get called all sorts

Everyone wants a brand new car these days for used car money and feels hard done by when things go wrong. If (and this isn't aimed at the op) people want something reliable then they won't find it in a 10 year vag group car


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## kingswood (Jun 23, 2016)

thanks for the replies, ive written to him with a copy of the invocies and our correspondance. in one message he does say he would contribute if we had paid the list price (£4500).

ive asked for a contribution of half the extra we've paid to fix the HG - £300. 

see if he gets back in touch. at this threshhold the small claims court fee is £25

appreciate the difficulty in proving the fault but like wise on the balance of probability someone who takes as much care in their car maintaince will notice a cold idle.

im no way a chancer trying to get money off after buying a (knackered @ 8yr old as some people say) car. it was bought in good faith at a resonable price.

on the contrary i paid the same price, £4k, for the 205 Gti that was sold with an obvious water leak. i assumed it was the water pump leaking, that ended up being the HG with a £850 bill. as i bought it knowing about the leak i was happy with this and remain on good terms with the seller. 

PX'ing it to a garage they reflect in the price any faults and have the garage back up to fix them. to be fair a HG gasket repair is cheap in parts. its the labour that costs.

my main point is what if someone else had worked and saved hard to buy that car and then couldnt lay their hands on £1250 to fix it? they'd be stuck with a broken car worth half what they paid the day before.


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## President Swirl (Oct 23, 2011)

He'd contribute if you'd paid 'list-price.' Are you sure it was a private sale? Sounds like trader spiel to me. Hope you get it sorted. Feel gutted for the farce you're going through.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

kingswood said:


> thanks for the replies, ive written to him with a copy of the invocies and our correspondance. in one message he does say he would contribute if we had paid the list price (£4500).
> 
> appreciate the difficulty in proving the fault but like wise on the balance of probability someone who takes as much care in their car maintaince will notice a cold idle.
> 
> ...


You've haggled him down from £4500 to under £4000. I can see his point. Garages often do similar if the car has issues that are going to cost money. They'll repair them and not discount the car.

A garage does price their cars at their value plus a margin for profit and repairs. You bought the car privately for private sale money.

The labour isn't free at garages. It's not just the cost of parts to them. I'm sure even at main dealers the sales team have to effectively pay the garage for their time.

Everyone knows there is far more risk to a private sale. You're buying a car for a cheaper price as you are taking a bigger risk. If people want protection they know buying from a dealer goes some way of covering the risk.

I still can't see how you can prove he knew the fault.


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

I don't see how this is going to work in a small claims court either. Unless I'd had the thing to bits recently or there was seriously contaminated engine oil present there is no way most of us would know it was fudged.


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## kingswood (Jun 23, 2016)

So an update. In all that's going on we've decided to leave it. So we're £600 out of pocket, in a way we've had work done which will benefit in the long run I suppose, and we're lucky enough that it's not caused us any hardship.

Cars running well and decided to wash and polish it now I'm friends with it again. Hadn't touched it inside or out since we bought it in Feb!

Bought some bilt cleaner polish and double speed wax so decided to use that.

Washed then clayed, de-tar'd, machine polish with orange hexi, 2 coats of double speed by hand.

Under the bonnet de-greased and dressed with 303. Don't think under there had even been done in 100k!











































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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Looking good :thumb: 

Good to hear things all sorted with it now...


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## Izzy (Oct 31, 2008)

I looked around for a 'dog mobile'. The criteria was:
Good on gas
Reliable
Plenty of space
Cheap running costs

I chose a 0.9 TCE Dacia Logan MCV. I put a K9 metal kennel crate in the back. The VED is £30.00 pa, servicing is cheap and it does 50mpg on average. It is now six years old and the only extra cost was a set of front discs and pads last year. I use it to take the dogs for a run (not at present) and go on holidays, easily taking dogs and luggage. It seems to have held it's price as well.


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