New vehicle inspection

[Mickthegas]

I'm doing a test drive and inspect soon on a car I've put a deposit on, is there any of you knowledgeable Stag experts fancy helping me to do a check over. Happy to pay for your time and lunch for you. Berkshire, Oxfordshire area, I live in Sandhurst car in Oxfordshire.

[mole42]

That's a really good idea. I'm in Bristol and I've done one or two similar inspections. I'd be happy to come over but it's a bit of a stretch for me so I'm hoping one of the more local members can help.

[Goldstar]

Hi Mick,

I can help with that. I need to go to Bracknell one day next week so easy to combine the 2. If you want to pm me your number we can have a chat.

cheers
paul

[jbuckl]

A thorough ( very informed about stags) inspection is worth it weight in stag gold.

imho has to include a compression check.

imho has to include a coolant pressure check.

few buyers and sellers want to pay / allow for those.

speaking from experience in 2023 on a quite spendy car. (About £25k)

my costs were not fully covered.

the car was a good example.

the buyer went ahead.

Later decided to pass on without enjoying the car…


but later needed assistance, which I stepped in to provide….

again costs not fully covered.

hey ho.

[Goldstar]

A thorough ( very informed about stags) inspection is worth it weight in stag gold.

imho has to include a compression check.

imho has to include a coolant pressure check.

few buyers and sellers want to pay / allow for those.

speaking from experience in 2023 on a quite spendy car. (About £25k)

my costs were not fully covered.

the car was a good example.

the buyer went ahead.

Later decided to pass on without enjoying the car…


but later needed assistance, which I stepped in to provide….

again costs not fully covered.

hey ho.

Agreed. Amazing what you can uncover with a few basic tests. Bike pump and a bit of tube with a a header valve is a great bit of kit

[richardthestag]

A thorough ( very informed about stags) inspection is worth it weight in stag gold.

imho has to include a compression check.

imho has to include a coolant pressure check.

few buyers and sellers want to pay / allow for those.

speaking from experience in 2023 on a quite spendy car. (About £25k)

my costs were not fully covered.

the car was a good example.

the buyer went ahead.

Later decided to pass on without enjoying the car…


but later needed assistance, which I stepped in to provide….

again costs not fully covered.

hey ho.

spot on sir

From personal experience, maybe be cautious of a mainstream, predominantly roadside recovery, related 5* surveys. A load of money that more or less tell you "it's an old car". nowt wrong with that and 100% accurate but not necessarily what a prospective buyer is looking for

[MikeParker]

I agree with everything before, but would add that bodywork is probably the key thing that will dent your bank account if the car is not up to scratch. You can fix a lot of mechanical issues for 5-10K, but even moderate bodywork could easily set you back 20K or more. In my 45 years of ownership I have spent nothing on garage bills for mechanical issues but 14K on fairly limited body repairs.

[Paul Kelley]

As well as the car itself I recommend checking the paperwork. A good stack of old MOTs and receipts for work done generally indicates that POs have looked after the car. Equally a lack of paperwork suggests the opposite. I agree with Mike above about bodywork, so take your magnet with you and see how much filler is around. (Think you may have been paying top prices for your bodywork Mike!). Lower seam between door and rear wheel arch is one of several known rust spots. Good luck and walk away if unsure, plenty of Stags out there.

[marshman]

Good luck and walk away if unsure, plenty of Stags out there.

That is probably the best advice of all. There are always loads of Stags for sale, at a wide range of prices and a wide range of conditions. Paying a higher price in no way guarantees a "better" car and same applies to buying from a dealer, the only thing there is you may have some comeback if there are issues.

Body more important than mechanicals, though engine should be checked over thoroughly as they can be expensive to put right, especially if you have to pay someone to do it.

Paperwork can be useful but should not be relied upon. I have had cars in the past with £'000's in invoices from so called specialists only to find bodge upon bodge which the so called specialists have done, all hidden and only discovered when cars have been stripped for a full resto - not all on a Stag - but the same advice applies.

[MikeParker]

As well as the car itself I recommend checking the paperwork. A good stack of old MOTs and receipts for work done generally indicates that POs have looked after the car. Equally a lack of paperwork suggests the opposite. I agree with Mike above about bodywork, so take your magnet with you and see how much filler is around. (Think you may have been paying top prices for your bodywork Mike!). Lower seam between door and rear wheel arch is one of several known rust spots. Good luck and walk away if unsure, plenty of Stags out there.

Paul, It didn't start out at 14K. The initial quote was around 4K for new front wings. When those were off I was called in to look at inner wings, cills, front floor pans, outriggers and the base of windscreen surround, all of which it "made sense" to do at the same time. When the cills were off, it was found that the the rear wings were in need of half panels. Having changed all that (and the front valence and top panel - in front of the bonnet) it then made sense to re-spray the car. At least the doors, boot and bonnet needed no welding, so it could have cost more. The work was done at Wards and carried out to a good standard. It was well documented with many photos, so overall I do feel that I got value for money.

I am coming to the end of a major, 2 year house refurb and it is amazing how easy it is to get through 14K in the construction world. That has helped put it in perspective somewhat!

[jbuckl]

Paul, It didn't start out at 14K. The initial quote was around 4K for new front wings. When those were off I was called in to look at inner wings, cills, front floor pans, outriggers and the base of windscreen surround, all of which it "made sense" to do at the same time. When the cills were off, it was found that the the rear wings were in need of half panels. Having changed all that (and the front valence and top panel - in front of the bonnet) it then made sense to re-spray the car. At least the doors, boot and bonnet needed no welding, so it could have cost more. The work was done at Wards and carried out to a good standard. It was well documented with many photos, so overall I do feel that I got value for money.

I am coming to the end of a major, 2 year house refurb and it is amazing how easy it is to get through 14K in the construction world. That has helped put it in perspective somewhat!

seems to be about £14k for a cardboard kitchen refit with a 12month
warranty!!!

[Mickthegas]

Wow thanks everyone, what a friendly group, so looking forward to meeting up. It's had a massive resto and 8k engine rebuild 5000 miles ago (albeit that was 10 yrs ago). MOT being done on Friday, I'm tempted to do a 2 yr warranty on it but need to get reviews about company who provide this as I'm sure you guys are aware some are not worth the paper they're written on. As soon as I get a date for getting there and taking it out I'll give you another shout, be good to see a few of you at my first outing, guess I'll be in the Thames Valley group.