Had a lucky escape at w/e. The mrs has been looking at a replacement for her Jeep GC as its a bit thirsty. Saw a nice Honda CRV in Luton, private seller, low miles, history etc. On paper it looked a bit cheap for the miles but I thought it was worth a look (2.5 hours away). Did a HPI check before I left and all ok (just needed to enter the V5 serial no. and MOT no. to complete the check).
Arrived and waited for the guy. Straight away I knew it wasnt a private seller and he admitted he was a trader who buys and sells a few cars. thought ok, he prob got it cheap and is selling cheap so everyones a winner. All looked good, genuine history all in place, etc. One slight concern was that the numbers on the gear stick had worn away. Engine immaculate (more than just a steam clean). Agreed on a price and left a small £200 deposit.
Before I left I noted down the MOT no., V5 serial no. etc. Got home and entered them on my HPI check and MOT site.................the car which was advertised as having 64k had in fact covered 155k!!!!! Even tho it was 5-years old it didnt look like it had covered that amount.
Now I know this is common practice but never had this happen to me before. Basically all the history and clocks had been changed.
Was peed off at the thought of wasting my day and losing £200 but could have been worse (altho I always do HPI, etc checks). Saying that last time I bought my Vec it wasnt as widely available to be able to check mileages so easily.
I phoned the 'trader' and he denied all knowledge, but to my amazement he deposited the £200 back in my account!!! Result. It could have been my stern words but I thought he would hang up and that would be that!!. He may be an innocent party, but it doesnt half make you suspicious when looking at second hand cars.
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