Motors Vehicle Inspections are they worth it?

I am looking into buy a mitsubishi fto, sadly the car is in Kent so i am unable to view it. the owner seem a nice guy he has said he would bring it up of the cost of fuel and a return ticket, he claims has tried to tell/list every fault with the car. but i wanted to see if i could get a Vehicle Inspection. reading about them on-line there seems to be mixed views, has anyone had one done? if so what do you think?


or do you think i should risk not having one?


the cars ad http://www.ftooc.org/forum/showthread.php/71705-1997-FTO-GX-(facelift)-Icecelle-Blue-Kent-area

 

Don't bother, that looks like a fine car to buy unseen. Being an enthusiast ad, and with all that detail/pics, I'd just do it. Budget for 4 tyres and a new cambelt, you're quids in!

Where are you btw?

 

witney just outside oxford


i also joined there club/forums at my expense of £18 a year! 0.0 and it seems like he has a good name on the site.

 

It's only a couple of hours to go and see the car from you - get down and have a look! Go on the train/public transport, if it looks good then buy it and have a great drive home.

 

find someone with a bit of mechanical knowledge to take with you if you're worried. that said, from the forum post it looks like a winner. phone the magazine to check for ********, but it looks like win, apart from the colour

 

I think i am going to risk it. its not alot of money for what it is. sadly i don't have the time get down there to view it but the feedback about him seems good,

 

I was about to warn you off thinking this was a Pistonheads Zero car at one point, but I checked on that and it was in fact the 3000GT. I say go and give it the once over if it's only a couple of hours from you, it can't hurt..

On a side note, you have no idea how fortunate you are in that regard. Assuming (quite rightly so) that there is nothing over here worth buying at the time, I will have to take ferry journeys to view cars when I start seriously looking for a 'Four to buy! That, or have a trustworthy member of an owner's club go and view it on my behalf.

 

Well if you need a hand with anything within 100 miles of me Uni, just ask.

 

Awesome, thanks

 

For what it's worth, I'd be happy to do the same thing, Uni, but I'm not the best critic of used cars.

But let us know how everything turns out cookie!

 

Thanks EC, great to know there is help at hand if and when I need it

 

make sure you check the engine light still has the bulb behind it, it seems common practice these days to rip the bulb out from behind the dash. dont know what its like on the FTO's

I always make sure i take my code reader with me to view cars and make the owner drive a couple of miles incase any codes have just been wiped.

just my 2cents

 

If I were you I'd pay for the inspection, there could be problems that even the owner don't know about.

 

Is much better to look over it yourself or take someone who is mechanically minded.

Having dealt with an absolute moron from RAC recently I wouldn't trust anyone from AA/RAC to know anymore than the check sheet in front of them tells them!

 

Just remeber when buying privatley if the car goes wrong 10 miles down the road the seller is not legally obliged to offer assistance - really is sold as seen, so as long as the car matches it's description and the seller has the legal right to sell the car (i.e not got a log bookloan on the car)

Get a HPI check report carried out, for the sake of £20 (I think) and thats only a few beer tokens.

 

HPI is worth it to check for previously written-off status, but nothing more on a £1200 car that's been in a keeper's hands for more than a couple of years.

 

I've always wanted a Mitsubishi FTO. I hope you have a lot of fun with it

 

hay guy just a little update after talking to the fto club i decided it would most likely be best to meet the seller at jdmodified basingstoke. hopefully they will be able to do a quick inspection. and then it's ok i will book them in for some work such as undersealing and cambelt. and I think it goes without saying h p i check should be done on any car, when buying

fizz I will give you some feedback after having it for a while.

 

Sounds like this guy is going the extra mile to make a sale - slogging to the other side of the M25 from home is pretty dedicated on a £1200 car!

 

no i will be giving him £100 on top as he will be driving and giving me his spares. anyway we will hopefully be meeting at jdmodified so they can inspect it before i buy, then i will get them to carry out some work