SRSport

While I’m not looking to purchase a Subaru, I’m guessing this question is just as relevant to someone who is.

Im actually looking at a 2018 BMW X1 with 13000 miles and full BMW history. In the summer Autotrader stated that this was their fastest selling car, selling in an average of 11 day. The car is being sold by a Ford main dealer so was reassured that there would be certain standards met. I’ve just found out they’ve had it since July. The price is certainly on the low side now but I don’t know what the initial asking price was. Would this cause alarm bells to ring? Main concern is that there is an issue that has out people off that I may miss.

Would you walk away?
Would you proceed with caution?
Would you see it as irrelevant?

JdmSti2006

Maybe damaged/ repaired but not recorded

TheVoices

iTrader: (5)

I work for a Jaguar / Land Rover main dealer, cars can be in stock for a long time for various reasons.

Colour / trim / spec
Condition
Wrongly priced in the first place

In the case of a BMW for sale at a Ford dealership, probably not the first place people would look for one ?

Compare the price to other similar vehicles, have a look at it if it is local, ask for a detailed walk around video if not.

Cars can sometimes be in stock for 12 months or more !

If the car seems legit, priced correctly and what you want, don't worry about how long it has been for sale ?

SRSport

Thanks. The X1 is the copper orange/red which I don’t imagine is the first choice of colour when it comes to BMWs. They generally seem a bit cheaper over the blacks/greys/blues.
I’ve just discovered that you can see when sellers place cars for sale on autotrader and to be fair, this sort of length of time is quite common. I’ll go and see it in the flesh and go from there. It was priced around £1500 lower than others with higher mileage which I would have thought would have made it stand out as a preferred purchase…maybe not as much as I thought.

SRSport

Unfortunately, I have found out why it was still there.

The description from the salesman when I contacted them was that it was in “absolutely excellent condition”. I received a video of the car from another who said it had some light scratches, nothing that wouldn’t polish out.

When I arrived I was in disbelief. There was a very apparent large scratch down the bonnet along with other scuffs and scrapes. Almost every panel had dents and not just your usual door dings either. There were a few light scratches but they were too deep for a quick polish. A touch up pen would have been needed. For 12,000 miles I have no idea how the previous owner has managed this and I have never been to buy a car that was so poorly presented.

The car could also have done with a clean, it was left quite dusty, I suspect to mask other marks that I may have overlooked. Inside was a similar story. It just needed a good clean.

Taking it on a test drive the car drove very well. Mechanically it seemed sound but occasionally there was a very noticeable clonk when accelerating or braking that could be felt in the footwell.

I guess it comes as no surprise that I rejected the car. The body work needed some serious work and in some areas a respray. The sales lady was really nice, not using your usual sales techniques, however, I think she felt a bit embarrassed to be honest. I feel sorry for her that Evans Halshaw task her with trying to sell something like that. From a main dealer I would have expected better, much better. Lesson learnt and there it will sit I imagine until they decide to put some work in and present it in a condition that people would expect.

JdmSti2006

Yes accidently landed in a bush hance few scratches,common with bmw.

Flat4x4-again

iTrader: (1)

I bought an Audi from an Evans Halshaw Ford dealer. Very well priced and condition was fair to good for the money.
Don't expect franchise dealer standards of preparation - the two new tyres were the cheapest possible and the warranty was bare bones basic. I went for knowing that I would probably need to spend some money on it, which I did.

The flip side? They had forgotten to mention £7k of non-standard kit (optional extras). I started looking around the car after the salesman couldn't slam shut the tailgate (it had a button...) And quietly found a Digital TV and Bose surround sound in the menu!

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SRSport

I agree, standards wouldn’t always be to approved used standards however, I do expect honesty. A car that’s been peppered should not be described as absolutely excellent condition and should not have any faults. While I could understand a fault that they may have been missed, describing it as “absolutely excellent condition” was, in my mind, dishonest, especially as when I signed the test drive forms I pointed out the dents and scratches they said, “we know about them”. I lost confidence in their honesty and there’s no coming back from that.

I can see why it was priced low and had they disclosed the damage before driving to see it then I may well have accepted it and trusted them to sort out the fault. As it was they didn’t, consequently all sorts of possibilities crossed my mind. Would they try and hide the noise, would they bodge the repair, fit substandard parts, pretend it wasn’t a fault etc.