AA or RAC check.......worth it?

[n33712]

Hi

Probably going to be buying a Vecta 1.8i Design. It's a 07 plate with 20,000 miles for £8,495.
Am i right in saying that it will still have a manufactures warranty for another 2 years?
The place i am buying it on also give a warranty for a year!

Is it worth me getting the AA or RAC to check the vehicle over?

Cheers for any advice

Matt

[plasma]

AA or RAC will probably just do visual checks but they physically wont be able to do a thorough investigation without putting it on ramps and checking it all over. Your best bet is if you dont know a mechanic to check it over then an AA or RAC inspection will check the basics. Check with them to see if they guarantee vehicle authenticity ie VIN plates mate and engine numbers etc etc, but you bet your bottom dollar they guarantee it

And yes you should have 2 more years Vx warranty as long as its been serviced by the dealers or by garages using genuine Vx parts.

[Leviathan]

Not worth it imo, they check for visual damage, oil, water and electricals - thats my experience of having an RAC inspection anyway.

[m8internet]

Probably going to be buying a Vecta 1.8i Design. It's a 07 plate with 20,000 miles for £8,495.
Am i right in saying that it will still have a manufactures warranty for another 2 years?
The place i am buying it on also give a warranty for a year!

Presumably, not a franchise or dealership then
Ask them if the warranty commences when the vehicle is delivered, or when the manufacturers warranty expires

The original warranty is :
1st year unlimited mileage
2nd year 60K mile limit

Is it worth me getting the AA or RAC to check the vehicle over?

Check the vehicle over yourself, looking at the tyres and brakes for unusual wear
Also ask for the V5 documents BEFORE you sign anything, again check these against the vehicle
If the dealership declines or they are not available, then you can either add it into the terms of sale or walk away
Contact the previous owner to confirm the mileage and any damage when they disposed of it, and if they were a private owner ask them why they sold or disposed of it
Perform a road test on the car, check every switch, the clutch, and so on
When you check the rear lights, get the salesman to sit in the drivers seat, don't take their word for it that the lights work!
Keep the radio switched off until the end of the roadtest, as you need to concentrate and listen for unusual noises

Within a week of the sale, have a MoT carried out
If it fails on ANY point, take it straight back along with the failure certificate
They should rectify the fault for FREE
However, since the car is under manufacturers warranty, it would be best to take it straight to a VX dealership and they will do it FREE

What's the service history like?
At 20K miles it should have one stamp

[videodoctor]

The clutch has an inherant fault on the 1.8 vvti's. After taking it for a long test drive,set off in first but don't rev the engine high.Let out the clutch slowly and if you feel any type of judder then its one of those affected.They will replace the clutch under the manufacturers warranty but do you really want to buy a car that then has to have its guts ripped out to replace the clutch?.

I had mine replaced at 3000 miles and it really spoilt the feeling of owning a brand new car.The clutch is now fine since having it replaced but its just a thought.

[Ste]

They will replace the clutch under the manufacturers warranty but do you really want to buy a car that then has to have its guts ripped out to replace the clutch?.

This is a bonus if they change the clutch. You then get a brand new clutch and don't have to worry about the stick it got before you owned it.


RAC / AA check is so basic that it is almost worthless - you can do the same checks for free even if you don't know much about cars

[n33712]

Thank you all for your advice, really appreciate it. Thought for £200 the AA/RAC would check everything, good to know that i do not need to spend the extra money.
The garage i am buying it from service the cars when they get them so i would imagine that the warranty with them could be from the service date but i will check.

Cheers for the tip about the clutch, i will definately check it out.

Thanks again

[Nidge]

Back in 2003 I had my VEC B 2.6 Sri stolen off of the driveway. The following day it was involved in a Police persuit and was trashed in the centre of Bradford. Because the car was relatively low milage the insurance company would not class it as a rightoff, so I insisted they take it to my prefered dealership, a Vauxhall repair centre. However the following day they lost the car and couldn't find it until a week later when it turned up in a backstreet salvage centre, completely stripped and being bodged up. The original assessor was took a backhander to give the salvage centre the repair job.

Anyway five weeks later I get a call to say the car is ready, I'd already arranged for the AA to inspect the car but didn't tell the insurance company or the salvage centre. The AA inspector found so many faults with the car that he said it was not fit for the road. I told the insurance company that I was refusing the car , they said I was being picky until I told them I had an AA report which listed seven pages of severe issues with the repair, and that I was forwarding this onto the insurance ombudsman.

Eventually the car was taken to a Vauxhall repair centre where it spent another 4 weeks being rebuilt with genuine VX parts (an additional estimated 12K cost to the insurance company according to VX).

I personally believe that if it hadn't been for the AA report the insurance company would have closed their doors on me. To me that AA report was worth exponentially more than it's weight in gold.

Regards

Nidge.

[lilangel]

Back in 2003 I had my VEC B 2.6 Sri stolen off of the driveway. The following day it was involved in a Police persuit and was trashed in the centre of Bradford. Because the car was relatively low milage the insurance company would not class it as a rightoff, so I insisted they take it to my prefered dealership, a Vauxhall repair centre. However the following day they lost the car and couldn't find it until a week later when it turned up in a backstreet salvage centre, completely stripped and being bodged up. The original assessor was took a backhander to give the salvage centre the repair job.

Anyway five weeks later I get a call to say the car is ready, I'd already arranged for the AA to inspect the car but didn't tell the insurance company or the salvage centre. The AA inspector found so many faults with the car that he said it was not fit for the road. I told the insurance company that I was refusing the car , they said I was being picky until I told them I had an AA report which listed seven pages of severe issues with the repair, and that I was forwarding this onto the insurance ombudsman.

Eventually the car was taken to a Vauxhall repair centre where it spent another 4 weeks being rebuilt with genuine VX parts (an additional estimated 12K cost to the insurance company according to VX).

I personally believe that if it hadn't been for the AA report the insurance company would have closed their doors on me. To me that AA report was worth exponentially more than it's weight in gold.

Regards


Nidge.

thats unbelievable!

[m8internet]

Yes, that is the point at which an external report is useful

If the insurance company isn't doing what you are asking, then clearly there is something wrong, and in most cases it is best to refer the matter straight to the Financial Ombudsman Service

I myself have made a few claims but I make it very clear that I will only accept repairs at an agent of my choosing and to include a courtesy car with no excess
I had an argy-bargy with NCRC about this, but after a few telephone calls my insurance company paid the excess then reclaimed it from the other party