Thoughts on this second hand Superb for sale

[JohnMcL7]

Hey folks, I'm considering a new car and was wondering what people thought about this 66 plate Superb L&K 280:

 

https://www.arnoldclark.com/used-cars/skoda/superb/2-0-tsi-280-laurin-klement-4x4-5dr-dsg/2016/ref/arnax-u-48703

 

I generally have a 'too good to be true' approach and this seems a bit cheap for L&K 280 with previous ones I've seen in this price range being on much higher mileage and Arnold Clark don't have a great reputation.  The car is just under 400 miles from where I live so it's not easy to pop over and have a look but I'm going to be in Newcastle next week so I'm looking to see if it's worth making the trip over to Liverpool for.

 

I'd also appreciate any thoughts about this type of car in general as I'm hoping to be able to keep it for a good few years and my concern is that the complexity of this model with four wheel drive, a high power two litre engine, dual clutch gearbox and many gadgets could end up being problematic over the longer term.  

 

I currently have an older Mazda6 estate which has been a great car but over the last year it's been more unrellable with small problems relating to age and so looking for something newer to replace it which is a petrol estate with the same or more boot capacity, similar or better performance, manual gearbox (I know this one isn't happening), blind area warning system and keyless security/start.  This Superb seems to tick all the boxes and with it being a 66 plate it just avoids the £40K tax rate, it has a plenty of performance, loads of boot space and is well featured.

 

It's difficult reading through the forum because it's hard not to fixate on problems and it can present an unbalanced view since people are more likely to seek out help for problems than to come here just to post their car is fine.  

[Danny 57]

The car is from N. Ireland and the first line of description is wrong as it should have a 9.2 inch Columbus unit. AC in general deserve their reputation from reading various sites. Good luck anyway.

Btw have you read the bottom lines which state who has or may have driven it. That alone would make me run a mile.

Edited 16 February, 2020 by Danny 57

[Sagalout]

It was first reg in Sep 2016. Last change of registered keeper was in June 2019. That and the disclaimer mentioned by Danny 57 confirms it was a 'business' probably lease car until June 2019.  So first question is why is it for sale now in Feb 2020. Maybe an auction or business purchase by AC that they havent been able to shift?

Although it has an NI plate that doesnt mean it has been reg'd and used there. You can private plate these numbers in England. Someone else may know whether there are any spec differences between NI and UK models which might be a way to confirm.

The screen is correct for a 2016 car. The internal pix show the original 9" screen with physical buttons.

It doesnt have excessive mileage for the age so it could just as easily have been a reasonabl one user business car and treated well with all mtce etc sorted as required. 

So proceed with usual due diligence if you are interested would be my thought. e.g. what wzrranty and can you use a skoda dealer close to home if you need to claim on the warranty.

Good luck

Edited 16 February, 2020 by Sagalout
removed repeat

[Weebawbag]

Arnold Clark can also move the car closer to you, don’t know how committed you need to be for them to do this, but it’s worth asking .

[DB72]

8 minutes ago, Weebawbag said:

Arnold Clark can also move the car closer to you, don’t know how committed you need to be for them to do this, but it’s worth asking .

When I was looking I think I saw on Arnold Clark website that they would move a car closer for £95 or £100.

[Auric Goldfinger]

DGZ 6759 is Belfast registered, Ex car rental associated to Arnold Clark  maybe ?

 

https://www.carflexi.com/en-us/26r4gf8bv4j0yfc2/arnold-clark-car-rental-in-belfast

[MASKO]

I just got a valuation for "your" car from Auto Trader and according to them you would expect to pay between £18,450 and £20,400 so yours is indeed cheap.

 

I bought my car a few weeks ago from a dealer some 140 miles away from me and mine was also relatively cheap. Before I went to see it I questioned him carefully about the car he was selling particularly about its history, detailed condition and whether there was anything wrong with it.  I also told him it was cheaper than comparable cars for sale elsewhere and why that should be. He said his car, being an ex VW manager's was probably not in quite as good a condition as some others and more importantly he needed to shift stock to make way for new cars. He gave me a categoric assurance that I would not be wasting my time going to see the car so I took a chance and went to see it. I was not disappointed with how the car looked and it drove well so I bought it, and so far do not regret it. My car was about 8 months old when I bought and it would be true to say there were a couple of minor scratches so it was not in perfect condition, but I did pay a lot less than I might have.

[penguin17]

My first check would be it’s history and ensuring everything has been maintained to schedule and to manufactures spec. 

 

As its current age/mileage it should have at least had 2 variable or 3/4 fixed services, brake fluid change, haldex and DSG service. 

 

Ask questions, preferable via email and ask to see copies of service/maintenance record.  You want as much info as you can, again preferably in writing. 

 

I would personally avoid any DSG and/or Haldex equipped car that hadn’t been properly maintained.  I’d also avoid ex fleet cars too but that’s me. 

[Bigeater]

39.2 mpg

Someone's telling porkies imo.

[MASKO]

37 minutes ago, Bigeater said:

39.2 mpg

Someone's telling porkies imo.

 

I don't see why you think the dealer showing 39.2 mpg combined is not telling the truth as it is qualified by the two ** which refers you to the bottom of the page where it states: 

 ** MPG figures are obtained in laboratory testing and intended for comparisons between vehicles. Please be aware they're not intended to represent real world efficiency.

[burno20v]

It's got Clifford car sales number plate surrounds on it, looks like they are based in Londonderry, might be worth giving them a ring to help with the cars history.

[JohnMcL7]

Thanks for all the responses which I've been thinking over and leaning very much towards giving it a miss.  I did see that it was an ex-business lease car but I  wasn't concerned about it as long as it's had the required work done along the way, it doesn't seem that unusual for this age and type of car and there's no guarantees a private car has been looked after any better.  I know there's the belief that everyone hammers hire cars but I don't know how true that is in reality since I'm more careful with them than my own car and know many others that are the same.

 

There won't be any Skoda warranty available for the car and any third party warranties don't seem worth the paper they are written on so I'd have to take it as is, I clearly don't have the expertise to check it over.

 

I know Arnold Clark are usually good at moving cars but to be fair to them I think I'd have to be a lot more serious about buying the car and at the moment I'm not sure about a Superb in general never mind this particular one.

 

Is there anyone out there that doesn't tell porkies about mpg?  I'm not expecting much from a 280bhp petrol car and don't do a big number of miles anyway.

[MASKO]

Quote

5 hours ago, JohnMcL7 said:

 I know there's the belief that everyone hammers hire cars but I don't know how true that is in reality since I'm more careful with them than my own car and know many others that are the same.

 

I agree with you on this as I'm always worried that I could do something where the car rental company seek to claim vehicle damages from me.

 

My Superb is the 4th car I've bought with business hire history and without any issues. The last one I traded in for my current car was a 2015 Toyota Avensis Tourer originating from Hertz Rentals! When I part exchanged it a few weeks back the dealer described it in his website advert as in "exceptional condition" and it sold within a week.

 

It's my view that ex hire cars will likely have been properly serviced and maintained as it's a business essential they are constantly available for hire/use and remain reliable.

 

 

[nicknorman]

In terms of the car in general, I think they are great. I still love mine after 3 years. In terms of that specific car, it does seem fairly cheap but if everything works and servicing has been done as required, why not. With such a fast and powerful engine it is fairly difficult to thrash it routinely in England, without getting multiple speeding tickets etc. In other words, most of the time it will of necessity have been driven gently. Mine has 45,000 miles and the front pads still have perhaps 5 - 10k left, so looking at the front discs/pads might give a clue to any abuse - eg if they have already been replaced. Rear discs will most likely already have been replaced because they are made from recycled baked bean cans.

 

Be aware that this age of car doesn’t have a reversing camera as standard. I got mine added when I bought it at 9 months old.

Edited 17 February, 2020 by nicknorman

[edbostan]

Years ago I bought a Northern Ireland registered Fiat Multipla, but before I bought it it had to be re-registered with the DVLA - the log book showed this. I had no problems with this only that it was to be considered as an import and the specification could vary depending upon the intended market of sale.

[IJWS15]

It is unlikely to have been a rental. probably someone's company car.

 

When I was looking in 2016 those were the alloys you got with an SEL, not an L&K so would check for spec differences.

[IJWS15]

Looking at the first picture shouldn't an L&K have the whiskers showing with the DRLs?

[shyVRS245]

17 hours ago, Bigeater said:

39.2 mpg

Someone's telling porkies imo.

The later 7 speed DSG 272 Skoda claim 39.8mpg with 161g/km against this 6 speed Estate's 164g/km. My car has averaged 38.9mpg over 2,000 miles since I bought it in December 2019 from a Skoda UK manager based at Milton Keynes and it is brilliant value for money. Paid just £23,840 with just 4,900 miles on the clock and 9 months old.

[Esseesse200]

The fact it’s at Arnold shark should put you off straight away and it

looks like it’s had a pretty heavy arse in that seat to be that worn after 40k miles 

[MarkyTDI]

On 16/02/2020 at 17:14, burno20v said:

It's got Clifford car sales number plate surrounds on it, looks like they are based in Londonderry, might be worth giving them a ring to help with the cars history.

Pretty sure it was up for sale there last summer. I remember looking at a L&K the same colour on NI Plates on auto trader.

[MarkyTDI]

Looking at its 1st ever MOT I'd hope that it has had at least a new set of boots and rear disks and pads fitted since September, about 3k miles ago. Doesn't sound like a cherished example to me. 

Date tested30 September 2019

PASS

 View test certificate

Mileage37,074 miles

MOT test number6323 4430 6056

Test location

 View test location

Expiry date29 September 2020

Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):

• Nearside Rear Brake pad(s) wearing thin (1.1.13 (a) (ii))
• Offside Rear Brake pad(s) wearing thin (1.1.13 (a) (ii))
• Nearside Rear Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (1.1.14 (a) (ii))
• Offside Rear Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (1.1.14 (a) (ii))
• Nearside Rear Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (5.2.3 (e))
• Offside Rear Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (5.2.3 (e))