28-07-23, 01:40 AM
So the RAC guy inspected the car I put a deposit down on and...
... he didn't even road test it!
One of the brakes was binding, the brake fluid was contaminated, a hose in the engine had been taped up, there was too much oil and too little coolant... :eek
When I spoke to him on the phone he said "I can't tell you whether to buy it or not, but I'd err on the side of caution!" (Translation: Don't touch this one with a barge pole unless you want to spend a lot of dosh getting it properly roadworthy...)
The good news is that there's another Fabia (2012) that's only done 80k miles (the previous one had done nearly 120k) and is in much better nick.
When I test drove it, there was a creaking or clunking from the back right and, after chatting to a garage owner/ mechanic a friend recommended and doing some checking, it might simply be a bushing that needs a bit of lubrication or it might be a sign of something more serious.
The dealer's going to send it to a garage where they get MOTs done and have them look at it then call me and let me know what the issue is.
If it's not serious or the dealer will get it fixed, I'm probably going to go with this one.
... he didn't even road test it!
One of the brakes was binding, the brake fluid was contaminated, a hose in the engine had been taped up, there was too much oil and too little coolant... :eek
When I spoke to him on the phone he said "I can't tell you whether to buy it or not, but I'd err on the side of caution!" (Translation: Don't touch this one with a barge pole unless you want to spend a lot of dosh getting it properly roadworthy...)
The good news is that there's another Fabia (2012) that's only done 80k miles (the previous one had done nearly 120k) and is in much better nick.
When I test drove it, there was a creaking or clunking from the back right and, after chatting to a garage owner/ mechanic a friend recommended and doing some checking, it might simply be a bushing that needs a bit of lubrication or it might be a sign of something more serious.
The dealer's going to send it to a garage where they get MOTs done and have them look at it then call me and let me know what the issue is.
If it's not serious or the dealer will get it fixed, I'm probably going to go with this one.