Would a high number of previous owners bother you when buying a car?

vms7ply9t6dw4b

Was looking through carzone and came accross this,

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mitsubishi/Lancer/EVO-ix-S/200933194915122/advert?channel=CARS

Lovely car i thought to myself and good price i would think. I'd go it in a second if i was given a decent trade in for my car. Saw it had zero previous owners and thought it could be either a mistake or a fresh import.

Then came accross this,

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mitsubishi/Lancer/Lancer--/200932194835126/advert?channel=CARS

Same car with 6 previous owners. So figuring he traded that in that means that car has 7 previous owners over three years!!!

Now i know given the car that it is it could be people bought it and couldnt afford the insurance but would something like that put most people off?

Saab Ed

Well what ever about the second car with 6 owners you can be sure that your first example has atleast 1 owner. I think the dealer might just be showing it as 0 owners because its an import and so wont show previous owners on the log book when its reged for the first time.

Oh and I would buy a 6 owner car but only if its 1) in as good of condition as a car of similar vintage and 2) its a bit cheaper than a car of similar vintage

vms7ply9t6dw4b

Saab Ed wrote: »

Well what ever about the second car with 6 owners you can be sure that your first example has atleast 1 owner. I think the dealer might just be showing it as 0 owners because its an import and so wont show previous owners on the log book when its reged for the first time.

Oh and I would buy a 6 owner car but only if its 1) in as good of condition as a car of similar vintage and 2) its a bit cheaper than a car of similar vintage

Sorry should have said... Look at the two reg numbers

Saab Ed

Avalyn Delicious Returnee wrote: »

Sorry should have said... Look at the two reg numbers

Sorry I didnt see the picture of the rear reg number. FFS its the same car. Someone just trying to cover the 6 owner question thats all... Well if you can get it from the dealer ad at the same price with a warranty then you're quids in....so long as its cheap enough. Dont know the worth of thoses things so I cant advice you if its good or bad value...sorry

alias no.9

Two possibilities for the high number of owners for that car...
1. Crash(es) - get it thoroughly checked out, some of the owners could have thought they were bagging a bargain only to find out later it had been crashed so they moved it on quickly
2. Running costs – you could easily get sucked into the dream only to find it emptied your pockets – check the service history to make sure maintenance hasn’t been overlooked, as can happen if money is tight

Biro

With a car like an Evo, 6 owners means that 6 people had their cut in it and drove the boIIix out of it before moving it on. No way would I go near it with 6 owners.

EPM

^^^
What he said

itarumaa

if OP would look a 1k car, then the number of owners would not be any issue,

but so expensive car like that Evo is, a car that needs a good owner to make sure it has been maintenanced well. No way I would consider that car, you have no info what kind of driving has been done with it.

Gurgle

Very slightly interesting that it used to have a 2.0 petrol engine, then it shrank to a 1.9.
...6 owners in 3 years? Seems somewhat unlikely.

I'm thinking the guy trying to sell it privately 124 miles ago may not have been particularly literate.

Mr.Diagnostic

A car could as easily have 1 owner who drove the cr@p out of it as 6 who looked after it very well. You are buying the car not the number of owners.

EPM

Gurgle wrote: »

Very slightly interesting that it used to have a 2.0 petrol engine, then it shrank to a 1.9.
...6 owners in 3 years? Seems somewhat unlikely.

I'm thinking the guy trying to sell it privately 124 miles ago may not have been particularly literate.

Lots of cars on carzone seem to show 100cc under the real size. Seems another thing that they changed recently...

OP, with a car like this you really are better off searching out a 1 owner or even 2 owner car thats been cared for and serviced properly as opposed to one thats been bought for a bit of fun and sold on once the owner is finished with it

Mena

Number of owners doesn't really concern me. It's the condition, mechanical and otherwise, as well as service history etc that are important. Though, six owners in three years does seem a tad out of the ordinary.

Biro

Mr.Diagnostic wrote: »

A car could as easily have 1 owner who drove the cr@p out of it as 6 who looked after it very well. You are buying the car not the number of owners.

Chances of finding 1 owner who babied an Evo is rare... chances of finding 6 in a row is so rare that you might be better off doing the lotto and buying a brand new one.
Besides, the more users of a car the more wear and tear it gets as everyone has a slightly different driving style.

pablosd

young lads often get bored with a car after 6 months and jst keep swapping when they want something new

stevenmu

EPM wrote: »

Lots of cars on carzone seem to show 100cc under the real size. Seems another thing that they changed recently...

I've noticed that a lot lately. A 1,996cc car is now often listed as being a 1.9ltr instead of a 2.0ltr. I presume this is for tax reasons.

Gurgle

stevenmu wrote: »

I've noticed that a lot lately. A 1,996cc car is now often listed as being a 1.9ltr instead of a 2.0ltr. I presume this is for tax reasons.

How does listing it wrong on carzone affect tax?

NewApproach

Especially in a car like an Evo, the more owners means there is a higher liklihood that some of them have drove the backside out of it, and sold it on before and maintenance had to be done. Wouldnt be so much of a concern with a Yaris etc....

EPM

Gurgle wrote: »

How does listing it wrong on carzone affect tax?

I believe its a problem with their systems rather than them listing the cars wrongly most of the time. Seems to be based on actual capacity of a car (most are usually a few cc under the nearest litre)

smash

According to www.mywheels.ie the car has 7 owners, so you'd be the 8th

BobTheBeat

As an evo owner, I have to say I would be more concerned with a maintenance record and evidence of who was doing said maintaining, than I would be with a owner count.

The car has lower service intervals than most and has specific components such as its AYC that need servicing on an annual basis (for a non track day car).