 | Home > Puma (Tdci) > Should I buy with incomplete service history? |
 
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| Marks Landy Member Since: 09 Feb 2015 Location: Cheshire Posts: 299   
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Not at all!
Try to use it as a bargaining tool. Then just get it serviced or do it yourself.. |
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3rd Aug 2017 9:33pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17388 
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No reason to. Many people service their own Defenders and do a much better job than a dealer would. Assess its condition and make your decision on that basis.
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3rd Aug 2017 9:36pm |
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| seriesonenut Member Since: 19 Nov 2014 Location: Essex Posts: 1211
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Thanks that's reassuring. I best have a look. I intend to out my 200tdi whist its still good as I dont want a rolling restoration and px in my 2010 freelander so two into one. The XS spec is closer to the Fl2 so a bit of comfort as well. Ill be also doing a few motorway miles and this will be better than thrashing my 200 (185k on the clock). It deserves someone who will potter about with it !
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3rd Aug 2017 9:53pm |
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| Paulv8 Member Since: 09 Jun 2013 Location: Milton Keynes Posts: 618 
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I service mine. I wouldn't trust a dealer and as I do it every few thousand miles I'd be bloody poor by now.
My car was purely dealer maintained before I bought it and I am still finding small things done badly now. V8 90...WIP |
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3rd Aug 2017 10:04pm |
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| Kit Member Since: 12 Feb 2016 Location: Shropshire Posts: 1110 
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Yes and no.
If the person you're buying it off seems genuine and the rest of the car seems well taken care of, that's a better indicator than most. If they were asking top dollar then I would definitely want service history, even if it was just receipts of them buying the items to do the work themselves. 1993 200 Tdi 90 CSW 1956 Series 1 Hard-top 1958 Series 1 Soft-top |
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3rd Aug 2017 11:02pm |
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| apt100 Member Since: 05 Mar 2015 Location: Derbyshire Posts: 1547 
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In your other post you also mention the MOT advisories.
Whilst not the end of the world, it would at least make me wonder how thorough the "enthusiast" owner had serviced and maintained it if they presented it for an MOT with blown bulbs and dodgy tyres. |
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3rd Aug 2017 11:10pm |
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| gazman Member Since: 17 Aug 2015 Location: Liverpool Posts: 652 
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not at all. Mine is serviced every 5k miles because my best friend has a garage and I can do it for pennies.
My service book was stolen when it was broken into when I first got it. I've not bothered to replace it. I dont trust service history anyway, after all I could make my own service history up because as I said my best friend has a garage and I can get my hands on many dealer stamps if I wanted to 2014 - current ..... 2003 defender td5 90 (my car) 2009 - current .... 2005 zx10r |
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4th Aug 2017 4:57am |
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| discomog Member Since: 09 May 2015 Location: Notts/Lincs Border Posts: 2527 
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As everyone is saying, don't be put off by the fact it does not have a FSH. Let's face it the Defender is one of the simplest vehicles to carry out routine servicing on. I agree, use it as a bargaining tool if you are happy with the rest of the vehicle, with the money you save you can then have it serviced by a reputable indie. He can also pick up any faults for you to have rectified under warranty. Defender 90XS SW
Mini Countryman Cooper S Morgan Plus 8 |
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4th Aug 2017 7:40am |
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| Siwynne Member Since: 04 Nov 2016 Location: West lancs Posts: 578 
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Ask to see the paperwork. There might be receipts for service items. Check the v5. See if you can see the address of the previous owner. Try to contact them.
I have a friend who did this only to find the last time the previous owner saw the car it was in three feet of water. |
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4th Aug 2017 8:12am |
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| simon67 Member Since: 18 Jun 2015 Location: west sussex Posts: 569 
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My 2004 came with brand new MOT
Drove it home and the servo was knackered, how did it get through the MOT? Would look at the overall condition and make your own mind up |
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4th Aug 2017 8:44am |
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| zsd-puma Member Since: 09 Aug 2016 Location: Kent Posts: 2720 
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It depends what you define as a service history.
Yes a book with stamps in it from garages looks neat, but are they worth the paper they're stamped on? For me a bundle of receips for service items every year means much more. It's certainly difficult to fake, if someone's been and bought a load of oil, filters etc every yeah or a couple of times a year it's unlikely they didn't use them. |
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4th Aug 2017 12:44pm |
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| Thon Member Since: 22 Nov 2015 Location: Salisbury Plain Posts: 696
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With a normal car I am quite picky about service history. I always want to see receipts not just the service book. The same would be the case with the Defender however you do not always get a great choice of vehicles if you are insistent on it.
I purchased my (then) 8 year old, 38k miles defender with only 1 documented service to its name, which was also a Porsche dealer. I was rightfully nervous of it but the other choices were more than double the mileage for similar money. As it has turned out it hasn't so far needed anything other than service parts, EGR, etc which are all quite normal,and certainly no worse than some of the horror stories we hear from others on this forum. I would tend to advise you drive several, and then if it still feels like a good 'un, use it as a bargaining tool. I wish you better luck with that than I did as I couldn't get him to shift by a penny! Demand still seems high, making it a sellers' market. |
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4th Aug 2017 1:52pm |
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| srod Member Since: 20 Mar 2015 Location: Argyll Posts: 190 |
I'd buy on present condition. Anything a few years old and out of warranty is always a gamble regardless of whether there is a record of service history or not.
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4th Aug 2017 2:59pm |
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| Bluest Member Since: 23 Apr 2016 Location: Lancashire Posts: 4210 
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I bought with only part service history, but with a raft of receipts about a foot thick for every part the guy had bought for home servicing. Even though there was lack of stamps in the book, the condition of the car, character of the seller and all those receipts convinced me it was a good'un. And on the whole large that has proved to be correct.
The only thing I would say, is that if you are buying a car like that, just buy private so you can speak direct to the owner, get a better feel for the car and not pay dealers premium price. That to me is worth more than some half baked RAC backed warranty offered by a lot of the independent traders. 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS |
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4th Aug 2017 3:17pm |
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