Looking at the dark side!

[macabethiel]

here are good ones you need to be patient !

The Limited has full leather trim as standard the only place they tend to wear is on the drivers base due to entry and exit from trouser back pocket buttons! Easily repairable by seat trimmers. The window trims do tend to rust under the rubber finish, there are aftermarket replacements at around £35 a window if they are really bad.

Personally I would only buy with FSH as a must or at the very least substantial part history with probably a couple of gaps, likewise crash free history and not more than 3 owners from new.

It's a shame some dealers can't be more honest specially if you are travelling any distance. When we bought our WJ there was one at a dealers in Town that was £1500 cheaper than the one we ended up buying but it was a right shed! I got ours from a local out of town internet 4x4 seller based in Fauld - we were desperate as the Santa Fe was a write off. It helped that I had dealt with the firm before.

With the WK again I looked at loads of adverts and saw quite a few sheds that had had a hard life. In the end I set a distance limit of within 35 miles. It took me 3 months to find our WK I was assured that the drivers seat squab was not split. When we got to look at it the base was split. To our surprise he got it repaired as good as new as part of the deal.

As I have got older I have a lot of anxiety / stress when I buy a used car especially when I drive it for the first few weeks, my days of buying private have long gone though there are some honest private sellers.

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

The Limited has full leather trim as standard the only place they tend to wear is on the drivers base due to entry and exit from trouser back pocket buttons! Easily repairable by seat trimmers. The window trims do tend to rust under the rubber finish, there are aftermarket replacements at around £35 a window if they are really bad.

Personally I would only buy with FSH as a must or at the very least substantial part history with probably a couple of gaps, likewise crash free history and not more than 3 owners from new.

It's a shame some dealers can't be more honest specially if you are travelling any distance. When we bought our WJ there was one at a dealers in Town that was £1500 cheaper than the one we ended up buying but it was a right shed! I got ours from a local out of town internet 4x4 seller based in Fauld - we were desperate as the Santa Fe was a write off. It helped that I had dealt with the firm before.

With the WK again I looked at loads of adverts and saw quite a few sheds that had had a hard life. In the end I set a distance limit of within 35 miles. It took me 3 months to find our WK I was assured that the drivers seat squab was not split. When we got to look at it the base was split. To our surprise he got it repaired as good as new as part of the deal.

As I have got older I have a lot of anxiety / stress when I buy a used car especially when I drive it for the first few weeks, my days of buying private have long gone though there are some honest private sellers.

I can understand the stress... It's horrible, you get to the stage you don't trust anyone selling anything.:doh

They had another Jeep there, but I discounted it as it was the 3.0, it's only since I got home, I realised it was the same as yours, and a 2005, but I would not buy from them now.

I think the distance limit is a good idea, but unfortunately we do not live in a good area for older second hand cars. In Sevenoaks, even the au-pairs don't have anything older than 2 years, and they get to take them back to Poland at 4 years! :augie:lol

 

[macabethiel]

Used Car Trade

I can understand the stress... It's horrible, you get to the stage you don't trust anyone selling anything.:doh

They had another Jeep there, but I discounted it as it was the 3.0, it's only since I got home, I realised it was the same as yours, and a 2005, but I would not buy from them now.

I think the distance limit is a good idea, but unfortunately we do not live in a good area for older second hand cars. In Sevenoaks, even the au-pairs don't have anything older than 2 years, and they get to take them back to Poland at 4 years! :augie:lol

Not familiar with the demographics of Sevenoaks, never thought about it before but being in Derby there is quite a spread of fair sized towns & used car dealers. Burton on Trent, Uttoxeter, Nottingham (I avoid Nottm), Long Eaton, Ilkeston, Ripley & Chesterfield etc.

What seems to have happened in the car trade since the explosion of PLP schemes is that most local franchised outlets only sell very late model used cars 3 years old max.

Car supermarkets have taken on the 2-5 year old market. Older cars 6 years plus have ended up in either "Arthur Daley" forecourts with a Portacabin Office, or if you are lucky there are a few specialist dealers concentrating on brands such as older Skoda/VW/Audi.
Sports car specialists & in some rural areas 4x4 specialists.

A lot of the family owned type used outlets with a good reputation have pretty much disappeared for a variety of reasons. There are quite a few solo traders on the internet posing as private sellers or being very economical with the truth.