I've spotted a 1.4 tsi se estate for sale at my local dealer. I'm very tempted to part chop my yeti but I'm wondering why would a car only be ran for a year before being put up for sale. A few years ago I bought a year old top spec mondeo from motorpoint only to find out a year later that the car was an ex rental and after taking it to a body shop to repair peeling paint which Ford wouldn't touch I was informed it had, had a respray all down one side of the car for whatever reason. I don't want to make that mistake again.

If the reg number begins something like FR, FV or FT it's most likely to be an ex rental. I have had five of these over the last ten years and not had any major issues. I thoroughly check the car for scrapes and dings and make sure every thing is working OK. The first one I bought had a problem with the paint on the lower edge of the tailgate after a year and a half of ownership. The dealer looked at it, booked it in, resprayed the tailgate, gave me a courtesy car for the duration all under warranty.  

Could be a hire car as the fleet companies like to shift them on quickly. Could have been a skoda uk company car or maybe a press vehicle, or it could simply be the result of someone who didn't get on with it.

We see people on here changing their minds quite soon.

There are web sites where you can do VRM searches & get a car's history. Why not do the easy thing & pop into the dealership & ask the question & have a look at the registration document. If it's got a previous owner you will see it there.

"Morley's" post might be right, but my new Octy was bought in Lincolnshire so got an FY reg plate, so don't discount similar VRM's as being ex rentals.

Edited 21 March, 201412 yr by kalpat

There are web sites where you can do VRM searches & get a car's history. Why not do the easy thing & pop into the dealership & ask the question & have a look at the registration document. If it's got a previous owner you will see it there.

"Morley's" post might be right, but my new Octy was bought in Lincolnshire so got an FY reg plate, so don't discount similar VRM's as being ex rentals.

 

Likewise both our Octy and Fabia start with FT but not ex rental either.

 

Had a couple of ex fleet cars as approved used from the dealer forecourt and yes both had some cosmetic paintwork but otherwise proved to be good cars; last I knew my first Octy I (ex fleet) was still running at nearly 14 years old.

 

 

TP

My car was an ex Europacar vehicle, bought at 10 months old with 6000 on the clock. It's ran perfectly well. Before I bought it I discovered it was an ex Europacar hire vehicle. I called into their local office and asked about the vehicle.........their records were very very comprehensive and in this case openly shared with me, on the strength of this comprehensive history I bought the car.

Regards all

Juan

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Edited 21 March, 201412 yr by Its me

Some people just change there car that often... I'm selling my 10 month old Audi just because I want something new. Maybe someone lost there job and had to downsize? It's not definitely an ex-rental...

Some people just change there car that often... I'm selling my 10 month old Audi just because I want something new. Maybe someone lost there job and had to downsize? It's not definitely an ex-rental...

Thats a fair point...my past two cars I bought new and kept for 18 months and 1 year respectively. I get bored v quickly....im actually already a bit bored of my 2.0 Elegance estate and only had it about 5 weeks.....already have my sights set on a Seat Leon Cupra 280.

How much was it, out of interest?

It could also be an ex-service personnel car, they get massive discounts and encourage to sell them after a year, can't remember which site but I saw GFV after 12 months of more than the Service personnel paid brand new. So, go ask the dealer to see the V5, nothing is certain until you see that.

It's £15,500. I might go and take a look this weekend.

I've had I think 4 cars that were 12 months old and ex-lease. 7-10k miles and good as new. Never had a problem with any of them. Ask the dealer to throw in an extra year's warranty (pennies to them) and you're pretty much in a new car.

It is an FR reg. After the mondeo I certainly learnt to check the edges of open doors. If they're rough then it's a respray.

Thats a fair point...my past two cars I bought new and kept for 18 months and 1 year respectively. I get bored v quickly....im actually already a bit bored of my 2.0 Elegance estate and only had it about 5 weeks.....already have my sights set on a Seat Leon Cupra 280.

Do it...

An "F" Reg plate FA-FB et al relates to Forest&Fens which means Lincs,Leics,Notts etc.

" There are web sites where you can do VRM searches & get a car's history"

Where are they, I have had a look and cannot find one - please?

Some people just change there car that often... I'm selling my 10 month old Audi just because I want something new. Maybe someone lost there job and had to downsize? It's not definitely an ex-rental...

 

Yep - both SWMBO and I trade in / up every 2 - 2.5 years. Get more for it if there is 6 months manufacturers warranty left.  After 2 - 2.5 years of ownership, we want something newer and can't be bothered with the MOT, servicing, repairs, etc..  Unless a new vRS is released, I'll trade in for another Octy vRS III.  love it.

Just had a look at the SUK approved used site and 1.4TSI estates are quite scarce compared to diesel variants. Noted also five of those on offer are of a similar age, mileage and have registrations beginning with FR. Oh prices for these go up to 16,250.

 

 

TP

Probably an ex rental, but that doesn't make it any worse than if it had a private owner - they could have thrashed it or had a prang as well. Only way to be sure it is ok to pay for an independent inspection or pay a few grand more for a new one. I've bought 3 cars (2 octavia and 1 roomster) which were 1 year old from Skoda dealer. All have been fine and one had been private hire airport taxi and had done 60k miles in 1 year !!

I had a 1.6 diesel elegance 14 plate Octavia from Hertz at Heathrow yesterday, it had the grand sum of 54 miles.on.the clock yet already had a scrape down the rear off side door and a sill.crease to match.

Rental cars are the most abused, uncared for things on the road but an ex rental car can be a bargain.

I emailed the dealer 2 days ago but haven't had a reply. I'll go and take a look today. I've been torn between looking for a used 1.4 on finance or a new 1.2 on pcp. The 1.4 is the ideal engine for me but to be honest I don't make a lot more than a minimum wage so it's a stretch either way, even with my yeti as part ex.

Well I've been buying 1 year olds, running them for 2 or 3 years and trading in for another 1 year old. Works for me - decent car with warranty and breakdown cover (I have 60 mile round trip commute), and acceptable depreciation. Was going to do this again but with the 0% pcp I have ordered a new one. Sold my old octavia, put money in bank, £500 deposit for the pcp. It was a no brainer for me as I intend to break with my previous tradition and keep this car for several years.

Edited 23 March, 201412 yr by classic

Mines registered in Lincoln in an FT prefix and not ex rental as I am the first registered owner. My old Mk I was pre reg and an ex Skoda fleet car it was registered in Northampton with a KX prefix.

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I've just had a test drive today. It seems in great condition. It also has a full set of mats and a spare wheel with kit. The dealer says they bought the car from skoda and it was a fleet car. I've checked the car out best I can and could only see a couple of marks on the rear bumper from loading, which the dealer will sort. He offered me a pcp deal on it but it was too much per month so I opted for hp. They gave me 9k for my 59 plate yeti which I'm happy with. I pick it up next weekend as long as everything's ok finance wise. I will miss our yeti but I'm just not sure about the longevity of early yeti's.

Hi Andy,

 

Happy with the switch from a Yeti myself, so I'm pleased to hear you found the Octy to your liking and it was in good order.

 

 

Enjoy the new wheels,

 

TP