Hi

I'm buying a second hand car, and some of the cars Auto Zuri West is offering are about 20 per cent cheaper than similar cars sold by other merchants. I'd like to read about people's experiences with the store, but unfortunately I don't speak any german. Seems like a big outfit, so things can't go awfully right, right? Have you (or someone you know) bought a car from them, and how did it go?

Thanks in advance

Ask for a test drive A friend of mine was seriously interested in a 406 coupe they had. They wouldn't let him try it unless he beforehand agreed to buy it.

dave

Dave - they've saved him heartache. 406!?!??
I believe they offer a 3 month full warranty?

Frankly they're a stack 'em high, move 'em quick outfit and their two places down there are always busy (you have found the second one, right?)

Alright, I'll ask about the test drive and see how it goes. I wouldn't imagine they sell crap (or at least any worse cars than the rest) as they've been in business that long...

I've seen people getting test drives. But for the fun factor, get right into their "showroom" and ask for a test of one right in the far corner

BTW if you have good stories about Direktimports I'd be interested. I've seen some cars sold at a 40+ % discount, brand new!

Dont do It

Most of there cars are crash repair units with a repaint. I bought one there once when I was here at the start and they said it was not in a crash later a mechanic told me other wise.
If you buy there take a mechanic with you to check the car there is a reason these cars cheap there.

The rule is if it cheap think about it, there is a reason he is doing it.

For me I would never buy one there anymore, but I would go there to find a model i would like to get...


Sauron

Thanks for the comments so far.

Is there a quick way to check (for example from some registry) if a car has been in an accident?

nope.

Only if the car was in a full crash no idea where.
Other wise crash info is not noted anywhere

Sauron

I think the TCS offers free checkups for used cars. You can bring it there during your test drive and the check if it's an accident car...at least that's what I heard.

I guess the way it's done is with a pen size sensor that measures how thick the paint is. If it's much thicker at some point it's a good indicator that it's been in a crash.

Excellent tip, thanks a lot. I think I'll try it this weekend.

..and a magnet to check for the filler in the odd looking areas of the bodywork.
dave

is an aluminium Audi A8 magnetic? Plus of course many extremities are now plastic crumple-zones

A vehicle repair industry professional writes:

An average of 20% of insurance policies get claimed on each year, so there's a pretty high chance that a vehicle has been in accident and been repaired. That's not neccessarily a problem. However, if it was a write off/total loss and then repaired, that would be a different story (and illegal).

In Switzerland we have mostly professional repair shops, so the vehicle will/should have been repaired to a high standard. The thing is, there is no way (as of yet) to access vehicle history, and even if you could, you have no way of knowing if was a professional repair at a top bodyshop, or a crap repair by Fred in his shed. Or even vice versa.

Furthermore, can you tell if Radhaus L Ein/Ausbau, Kotfluegel V L Ersetzen is mission critical to the car, or just cosmetic damage?

A complete front end replacement on a Ford Mondeo might cause some concerns about chassis alignment, but not on an Audi as they don't have a chassis at the front.

OK, I'm going on now - but in other words - if you're really concerned before you buy, then take an independent assessor. At worst, you can take your mate Bob who claims to know a lot about cars but if he's not working in the body repair industry then his opinion would be "interesting" to say the least. And probably the most.

=DM=

A good paint job using the paint from the original paint supplier, the same preparation techinique and same mixing system would also be as thick as the original paint. This isn't cheating - it's how the industry works.

I'll stop now.

=DM=

Now you're talking! Odd looking areas of bodywork are a definite indicator of a crap repair job. But was it just the wing that was repaired? Was the wheel replaced, the inner wing, the axle? Did they have to remove the engine to do that? Was the ABS and Aircon correctly reset? Were the seatbelt tensioners replaced as well as any airbags that were activated, ...

OK, really I'll stop now.

=DM=

Or ask Diem to come along if you're viewing a shiny motor...

Anyway, I may never buy a used car again after Diem's comments...
Interesting and informative, but it has me thinking...

strange, I didn't know Diem worked for TCS

TCS costs money. Perhaps Diem would accept, er, beer...

I didn't meant to put anyone off. Indeed, you stand the same risk if your "once new car" got into an accident.

Back to second hand cards - as long as it's in good shape, and it has a guarantee, then it's worth the risk. But it's never going to be a top runner, so there isn't much point in trying to asses it's crash/repair status if you're not an expert.

=DM=