I have looked at a number of Coops recently that have been advertised as "showroom condition"... "one owner".... "best example" all low milers


Well... I was shocked.

Rust, accident damage, bodged repairs, poor re-spray. Can it be that difficult to find a genuine car that has been chrished from the day it was registered? Apparently not.

High mileage is definately not an issue and I have to agree with CarlT.

There are far better examples with high mileage than these so-called "low milers"

Don't get me wrong, if the right car came up and I mean "right car" not some clocked piece of tat, I would buy it "regardless of price"

I'm just throughly pi**ed at travelling all over the country to look at something that is not correctly described in the ad or on the phone.

I expect something near concours given the descriptions.

You have to look hard though, seen one stunning coop with the back end re-built in fibreglass.... very cunningly disguised.

Rant over

It's so bl**dy frustrating I know. It took me 6 months last year to find my car - a genuine low mileage "mint" example.

Its even more frustrating still if you decide that you want leather, aircon and all wrapped up in the colour of your choice (for me it was sprint blue, portofino blue, silver or black).

I live in Manchester and that time I must have looked at almost 20 cars from as far away as Bournemouth and Croydon, all the way across to Derby, and as far north as Carlisle. In the end it got really disheartening and I nearly ended up settling for the sensible and boring option (don't slate me here) - an S3 Audi.

Cars advertised as "mint" often had incomplete service history, strange clunks and squeaks when driving, had been smoked in, and sometimes dodgy chromed non-fiat exhausts that stuck out about 2 foot behind the bumper.

One "mint" example (being sold by a garage) had no oil on the dipstick, no evidence of any oil in the gearbox, and no red key. Far from "mint" really, and when I asked about the red key the guy from the garage says - "they never made them with a red key mate".

Another coupe, a lovely late sprint blue, again from a garage and advertised as "concourse condition" had a bl**dy big dent in the side of the door that looked like it had been charged at full speed by a rhinoserous. That was the one in Croyden, and man i was pi**ed off.

Came to the conclusion that anyone can stick the word "mint" in an advert, and in gernral the ones being sold by garages were far less "mint" than those being sold in private sales.

I guess the key is to phone ahead first and give the owner a real interogation - Gestapo style before setting off on a 400 mile round trip.

I guess that there are very few truly "mint" coupe's left - either that or they don't come up for sale very often. Don't give up the search though as very occasionally a real gem will turn up.

Mileage means nothing.

Sadly people buy by the mileage and they get into trouble.

Clocking is so easy remember, a 30squid set of clocks from me, or dangerous dave mileage correction for 50 squids.

Dvla etc dont track mileage, only relay the data to the likes of the national mileage register, who again wont do anything.

Ive got a very mint R-reg 20vt Ink Black, 72k.

Thats proper mint, not the lowest ive miles, but its realistic and has been used but cared for. Will be 4k.

Surely if you clock a car the service history and MOT certificates won't be supplied? I know which I'd rather have. Mine has done nearly 120K miles and it's still on the original engine, turbo and clutch.

Don't forget that for 99% of the population a coupe is just another 7-11 year car. 7+ year old cars don't normally attract the 'quality' dealerships unless the car is very unusual / expensive. Our pride and joys are now going for beer money and often sold by beer money retailers: petrol station forecourts and what used to be called 'bomb site' dealers. These guys have to make a fast buck to stay in business and will try anything to sell. Buyer beware.

I've also been in the service dept of a Ford main dealer when a guy arrived to ask what they'd taken in in trade. Opened his briefcase and produced service books for the new trade ins..Service dept junior then had the job of matching pages and retro-stamping the books.

Jayzee- My very,very nice plus is for sale, have a look in the for sale section

It took me months to find it.

mine wasnt mint, but was very tidy on 86k,..... untill some t***er dragged a key down the side..

Had a look at a 20v near me just under 2k. I know it wasnt going to be perfect but was described as 'excellent condition' Yeah right! I didnt even bother sitting in it.

I know where you're coming from. I had exactly the same carry-on and its soooo frustrating, especially when travelling the length of the country to view.

I guess I was very lucky. It was only the 2nd one I looked at, only 1 hour away, genuine low mileage, loads of service and tlc.

Mind you the first would have won Crufts.

When I was 1st looking it took about a yr to find something decent. Again, misleading descriptions and bl88dy liars at every turn - I travelled far and wide - what a waste of time and money.

One ad sounded fantastic, spoke to the woman on the phone and she reiterated the ad so I made the journey (only 50 odd miles in this case) - when I got there it could well have been a different car, glaringly bad, obvious to even a first time car buyer. Blatant 2nd hand dealer from home who when I pulled him up on the state of it and the 'misleading' description had the brass b6lls to tell me that 'in his opinion it was immaculate' and that was that.

Whoever you buy from and whatever you buy remember - 'buyer beware'!!!

I totally agree.

I spent months looking for a decent Coop.

Saw lots of rough low milers and finally settled on a 70k miles one that was really well cared for.

In fact, I am selling it due to a change in work circumstances - I'm gutted :-(

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?V...spagename=STRK%
3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1

Maybe one day I will get another one...

Chaser.