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Cars: Does # Of Previous Owners Matter?


ferlaytio

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Personally I would avoid. High number of previous owners could mean a few things, all bad. Probably persistent problem and poor maintenance I.e run the car until it needs an MOT or service then get rid. Look for 1 - 3 owners and always check what sort of tyres have been used

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Personally I would avoid. High number of previous owners could mean a few things, all bad. Probably persistent problem and poor maintenance I.e run the car until it needs an MOT or service then get rid. Look for 1 - 3 owners and always check what sort of tyres have been used

It has Michelins on it. Alloys are spotless. Am i right in thinking the dealers are sometimes registered keepers? Also if it was originally a lease purchase car this can add to the number of previous owners?

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Review what facts you have, before making a decision.

 

What does the car maintenance log book say? Has the car been serviced regularly; how many stamps are there in the log book; does the mileage written at each stamp makes sense with regard to its adjacent figures and the current odometer reading; are there financial receipts to substantiate the service stamps, or for other work on the car?

 

Does condition of the body work and interior trim of the car tally with the current odometer reading?

 

If the service and maintenance evidence is substantial and credible, then you need not worry - esp on a German car.

 

Check with the DVLA - I think they can provide a record of MOT dates vs mileage, so you can confirm or deny the odometer reading.

 

Check the vintage of the model of tyres, does this make sense wrt the odeometer mileage?

 

I might be wrong, but tbh I always associate a high number of owners on a car (esp a desirable performance car, like a Golf GTI) with some people underestimating the running costs and so finding it too expensive in practice; not with crime or poor condition.

 

(eg my "rep mobile" 2008 vectra 1.9 cdti gets me 50 mpg on diesel, but if I bought a fancy petrol Vectra VXR of similar vintage, Id be getting just 20 mpg; of course, a Golf GTI is much better than any vectra ever built!)

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I bought a Mk5 GTI 2005 last year, as long as the timing belts done and they are serviced regularly they are very reliable and high mileage is the norm, mine was on 97K!

VW have a very good warranty on their bodywork, There was a problem with rust around MK5 wings on the wheel arch, I got 2 new wings replaced on a 10 year old car FOC and went halves on quarter panel and tailgate rust repairs. So dont let a bit of rust put you off.

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depends...

 

The first owner could've been the garage it was bought from. Just been looking at a Fiat 500x today for the missus, 13 miles, 1 previous owner (the garage), £7k cheaper than new new.

 

That could take it down to 5 over 8 years which isnt so bad.

 

You've got to do your homework with any private sale though, plenty of interweb tools out there these days to help your hunting though.

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On newer cars the number of owners shouldn't really matter too much if there's decent service history. Rental cars sometimes have 3 registered owners before they are sold on to private owners. Initial garage, rental company, then the garage they are sold onto.

 

For that age of VW that isn't that high a mileage anyway, 12k a year is a decent average and VW should do easily twice round the clock

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