Used German Car Used premium cars that are out of maintenance plan can be a tempting proposition for buyers. Picture: RON AI
Image: RON AI
Surely most of us have been presented with such a temptation. That beautiful German car that you’ve been dreaming of owning for years, and now it’s available at an affordable price tag.
The only catch is… it’s used. And quite extensively used, to put it mildly.
You inspect it, and there’s nothing too visibly wrong with it besides some perfectly understandable wear and tear. But something in your gut just doesn’t feel right.
In a recent TikTok post, Michael Pashut, Managing Director and founder of car-buying website ChangeCars, weighed in on the subject of high-mileage German cars. And his answer, to the question of whether you should buy one, is a resounding NO.
“So let's use a real world example. The year is 2017, and you've just bought yourself a brand new Audi, BMW or Mercedes, which comes with a five year maintenance plan. Is it fair to say that the car is meticulously maintained? No question, because you're not paying for it. You send it to the workshop and they fix everything,” explained Pashut, who is also a presenter on the All Things Motoring channels.
“Now the car is out of maintenance plan. The year is 2022. You take it for its next service, which you are paying for. They give you a quote. The quote is R35,000. But wait a second; this car feels absolutely perfect. R8,000 to R10,000 of that is maybe brake pads, your oil, filters, etc. You tell them, go ahead (on that stuff only). They stamp the book. Your 110,000km service is done. No problem.
“But you think, wow, they wanted R25,000 to fix this on the suspension, and this on the handbrake, and this on the exhaust. They’re mad!
“Come the 120,000km service. You go back to the same dealer and now your quote is for R45,000. But something has changed. It's still R8,000 to R10,000 for the lubrication and the basics that are wear and tear items. But now you have started to hear that noise and what I told you you needed to do 10,000km ago on the suspension, you’re actually now feeling it,” Pashut added.
So where is he going with this?
This car stopped being maintained properly 20,000km ago. The owner instructed the workshop to do the basics and the book was stamped, meaning the car still had its full service record.
Now you see that car on the showroom floor with 123,000km on the clock and a full service history. But that car hasn't been maintained to the absolute specification in two years.
“Why did the previous owner sell it? Not because he wanted the new shape, not because he got bored of a black interior or a cream interior. He sold it because it's giving trouble,” Pashut concluded.
* The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.