anrb1

Hi Chaps

I am about to buy a pretty standard yr 2000 UK Turbo with pretty low mileage (38,000) which, as far as I can work out, has sat around in its owner's garage for most of the last year, and has only done a few thousand miles over the last few years.

Any tips on what needs looking out for in an underused Scooby?

Many thanks.

Adam

Myles

iTrader: (40)

I presume,as with all cars, ensure the servicing has been done fully, for the age not the mileage. How much is that costing, if I may be so bold?

MisterMelon

iTrader: (3)

can i just ask where you are purchasing this scooby from??? i know this is a little off topic but i know a guy from around the corner in my street is selling a silver Turbo2000 with very low mileage. who knows might be the same one and if thats the case then you shouldn't have a problem the car is fully serviced.

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

If it's been used regularly then I'm not aware of anything specific. At that mileage it should be nicely loosened up but should otherwise drive exactly like a new car.

As with all cars that read a low mileage, check that the pattern of wear on the gear ****, pedals and steering wheel looks consistent - you don't want to pay over the odds for a car that's been clocked. Check that the service record is complete and that the dates look plausible - service intervals are every 6 months / 7500 miles (or 10000 miles for later MY00).

Shark Man

As long as its still been serviced to the schedule (oil changes, 5 year cambelt, 2 year coolant, brake fluid gearbox oil change etc ). There is no real issue and little to worry about.

The problem arises when people think "oh, I don't use the car much, so I won't bother servicing it as much either"....if that's the case, knock some dosh off. The reasons being: Old coolant goes acidic and eats alloy components and seals, cambelts do detroriate with age, oils get contaminated resulting in degraded lubrication, and thus wear and sludge build up, barke fluid absorbs water casing internal corrosion etc. So it is of importance that car has still be serviced on schedule, regardless of the miles covered.

As long as it is FSH then the only issue arise with bits and bobs which aren't properly looked at during routine servicing: My main issue here would be the brake calipers would probably need a good cleaning up, as it'll probably have its current set of pads in for a number of years, so all the guides will be rusted and coated in brake crud (especially if the car is washed then put straight into a garage and not used for a week). Resulting in sticky brakes, easy job to clean up though.

Other than that, I guess the tyres would start to go off by now - (they do have a shelf life) - the rubber gets harder with age, resulting in crap wet grip.

Also make sure the battery is ok, as unless its been kept topped up with a decent automatic charger, it'll have seen some deep discharges and possibly overcharging if used with a crappy charger, so may well not last long.

My Impreza MY97 had a tad over 42K on the clock when I sold it....not bad for a 10year old car, eh?