Just got my V5 docs through for the used S i purchased a couple of weeks ago. I was annoyed to find that the car had two previous keepers - the dealer (Honda Auth) had told me there was only one previous keeper. I'm interested in anyones views as to whether this affects the cars value? Would you pay the same price for a car with three previous keeps rather than 2?
Thanks!

 

It does in a way - but not greatly.

Was one of the owners Honda? If so, I wouldn`t worry.

 

Depend on how long the previous keepers kept the car, if it changed hands very frequently over short periods it would smell like there was a problem or simply it was a play thing and un cared for.

Cars like the S typically would get through owners as some owners would only use it during the sunny months and then cash it in.

 

The car was first reg'd in Sept 01, then sold in Aug 02. I purchased a couple of weeks ago. So i guess nothing too much to worry about. The last owner was CLM Fleet management and they have confirmed servicing carried out on the car + the final mileage - it all checks out correctly. Phew - sounds like its ok then.

PS Really enjoying the car (even better than the FIat Coupe i had prevously), thanks for your comments.

 

My S2000 was sold with 1 previous owner, it turned out to be two, and I made it three even though I only had it a week. If that was the only thing wrong with it I would still have it now

 

Even though I'd generally agree with the above comments I'd still want to get some sort of compensation from the dealer - quite simply he misrepresented the car to you.

As an example, if you saw two adverts for exactly the same car with exactly the same condition, mileage etc., but one had two owners and the other only had one, which one would you go for initially and which one would you expect to fetch less?

It's up to the dealer to make up that balance to you if you want to keep the car.

 

What's your loss though, BigTed?

Unless you can show that an identical car with two previous owners, rather than the one you had been lead to believe it had had, would have sold for less, the misrep isn't actionable since there is no loss.

I know that's a legalistic position, but other than you being a bit peeved at having been mislead by the dealer, what damage has been done? None, in my view.

(That is of course predicated on the assumption that there isn't a price differential between the two in reality - if there is, go for it. Mention the dreaded words "Small Claims Court" and see the fear appear in the dealers eyes! )

 

I would pursue the case with the dealer to get compensation. Definitely. A car with 2 previous keepers is worth less than one that has had only 1, with everything else constant.

The nature of the argument is identical to the EU Import vs UK car debate. You won't see a difference in terms of the quality of the product (your car), but your resale value will be affected.

TBC

 

Other words to concern the dealer:
Trading Standards
Honda UK


If it was from a main dealer and you've had it less than 30 days you could threaten to give it back, under their 30 day exchange policy.

Let's be honest, it's not anything major but it really does p1ss you off when a dealer lies to you - I should know!!! It really takes the shine off the buying experience, especially as these things aren't cheap.

I wouldn't expect to get any cash back, but you might be able to negotiate a free or reduced cost service or some other benefit.

 

I would go for what i could with the dealer, in the interests of his customer service. From a legalistic position MT is there not a Breach of Contract?