About to buy - what checks do I need to do to protect myself?

makeorbrake

Ok, after a couple of weeks of trawling the net, I *think* I've found exactly what I need.

2014 Leaf Acenta - with 6.6kW charging. They're looking for 8250 but I'm hoping to knock them down a bit (any thoughts on how this goes with bargaining in the UK? My previous experience suggested they wouldn't budge a whole lot).


I want to ensure (insofar as this is practicable) that I don't end up with a 'cut n' shut' or a car with previous crash damage (i suppose cat. d is ok??...IF that appears - have not asked yet). Naturally, I'd be doing a quick hpi check for residual financial issues.

As regards safeguarding that the integrity of the battery stacks up, how can I best determine that? Car has 39K miles on the clock - which i know is higher than most electrics - but then I intend putting a shed load of miles on it myself (battery permitting).

I've got them to confirm that car has 2 x chargers (they didn't seem clear over the phone as to which two these were but presumably they could only be the three pin and the type 2?).

What else is pertinent? Car is in the UK. The deal is that i would try and nail down as much as possible - stuff that can be confirmed remotely - offer a very small deposit - and drop over there - only backing out if there was something fundamentally wrong with the car.

Soarer

Full service history?
Also, ask them if they've a battery health check done which should tell you the condition of the battery. It's either that or use LeafSpy when you get over there.
Other than that, ask them to have it fully charged when you get there, and bring cash to try get "luck money" back off them.

peposhi

Phil Fitz from the EV Facebook page regularly brings cars from UK. You could contact him.
He's got a low mileage '15 equivalent to SV, grey one for 15.5k, coming up. It's advertised on DoneDeal. A brilliant price for a low mileage, hassle free car.

k123456

Your timing for buying car is good, and may get better, if Brexit goes ahead, STG might dip even more in value

mr.dunkey

k123456 wrote: »

Your timing for buying car is good, and may get better, if Brexit goes ahead, STG might dip even more in value

But you will pay import tax and vat on all imports then, so the STG drop might not be much of a bargain

mr.dunkey

Checks
IS it Flex? dont mind teh dealer they sometimes dont mention it.
DO a History check about €25, proper one will catch anything
If its a cheap car they wont play on the price
Your Insurance company may not insure a CAT D or may be more expensive.

makeorbrake wrote: »

Ok, after a couple of weeks of trawling the net, I *think* I've found exactly what I need.
39k miles is alot for an EV, thats why is at that price. A Leaf spy readout will tell you how battery health is, once its over 90% your ok.
Make sure your insurance covers you and car has tax, or it can be taken off you.

2014 Leaf Acenta - with 6.6kW charging. They're looking for 8250 but I'm hoping to knock them down a bit (any thoughts on how this goes with bargaining in the UK? My previous experience suggested they wouldn't budge a whole lot).


I want to ensure (insofar as this is practicable) that I don't end up with a 'cut n' shut' or a car with previous crash damage (i suppose cat. d is ok??...IF that appears - have not asked yet). Naturally, I'd be doing a quick hpi check for residual financial issues.

As regards safeguarding that the integrity of the battery stacks up, how can I best determine that? Car has 39K miles on the clock - which i know is higher than most electrics - but then I intend putting a shed load of miles on it myself (battery permitting).

I've got them to confirm that car has 2 x chargers (they didn't seem clear over the phone as to which two these were but presumably they could only be the three pin and the type 2?).

What else is pertinent? Car is in the UK. The deal is that i would try and nail down as much as possible - stuff that can be confirmed remotely - offer a very small deposit - and drop over there - only backing out if there was something fundamentally wrong with the car.

Soarer

mr.dunkey wrote: »

But you will pay import tax and vat on all imports then, so the STG drop might not be much of a bargain

The vote to leave will affect Sterling immediately. They won't be leaving the EU for a while yet.

makeorbrake

Soarer wrote: »

Also, ask them if they've a battery health check done which should tell you the condition of the battery. It's either that or use LeafSpy when you get over there.

I've negotiated with them that they take it to the Nissan dealership and have the battery health check done - and certified by Nissan - at their expense.

peposhi wrote: »

Phil Fitz from the EV Facebook page regularly brings cars from UK. You could contact him.
He's got a low mileage '15 equivalent to SV, grey one for 15.5k, coming up. It's advertised on DoneDeal. A brilliant price for a low mileage, hassle free car.

Phil seems to be very well respected amongst the EV community in IRL - that's the impression I got from the research I've been doing over the past few weeks. In fact, in contacting dealers in the UK, one of them ended up putting me in touch with him - has been very helpful. Unfortunately, what I was looking for - was very specific and I've also been on a tight budget - so couldnt work anything out on this occasion. However, I wouldnt hesitate but to suggest to others that are doing an EV shop to get in touch with him.
For any of you that go shopping for a UK Leaf, make sure you determine whether flex or not flex and other important aspects (eg. 6.6kW charging, and if a 2013, is it a Mk. 1.5 (new battery - much improved). Many of the dealers don't state if flex! - which is ridiculous. I thought I had sourced something the other week - and thought I had already asked them that question - but it ended up that it was a flex. It can also be deceiving if you're scoping it out and determining budget - as the first page on autotrader (when search set price low to high) are all likely to be Flex.
Most dealers don't even know how to tell if a 2013 Leaf is Mk 1.5 or if it has 6.6kW charging. This can be frustrating - as it means a lot more work trying to tease out whats for sale in front of you. That said, it can also be an opportunity - if they don't appreciate the additional value those 2 aspects bring with them.

k123456 wrote: »

Your timing for buying car is good, and may get better, if Brexit goes ahead, STG might dip even more in value

mr.dunkey wrote: »

But you will pay import tax and vat on all imports then, so the STG drop might not be much of a bargain

Soarer wrote: »

The vote to leave will affect Sterling immediately. They won't be leaving the EU for a while yet.

Yes, it looks like I'm a bit fortunate timing wise. I'd be keen to make the conversion before the vote though. They could vote for Brexit and fx might become more favourable or it could work the other way - seems a 50/50 thing - I'm happy to take the current rate.

mr.dunkey wrote: »

Checks
IS it Flex? dont mind teh dealer they sometimes dont mention it.
DO a History check about €25, proper one will catch anything
If its a cheap car they wont play on the price
Your Insurance company may not insure a CAT D or may be more expensive.

They sent me on a copy of the HPI and a copy of the part of the V5 that they have. What I'm being told is that the transfer of ownership is going through DVLA right now - current ownership doesn't reflect them - albeit that the part of the V5 they sent on shows that they've been entered as new owners. There's also an indication of financing being flagged on the hpi and a lack of clarity re. odometer reading. They've assured me that this will all be cleaned up - and they'll have a clean HPI cert and full V5 (showing them as owners and showing no cat c/d). I've told them to send on the complete v5 and hpi cert once both have been sorted out - and to have the originals available on the day.

They've confirmed on email and advert that the Leaf is battery-owned and not flex. HPI or V5 doesn't refer to Flex. Does that leave me sufficiently covered? I shot off an email to RCI asking for confirmation (based on the reg) - not sure if they will bother to come back and confirm.

Soarer wrote:

and bring cash to try get "luck money" back off them.

That still happens? I got them down to £7,750 - with hpi check cert and nissan battery health check cert (which I believe costs £80 but probably less for them ..being in the trade). I don't think I'll get another penny reduction at this point.
That said, it will be cash - as I'm not sure I'd trust them with an electronic fund transfer. They're a small independent - not a proper dealership.

DrPhilG

makeorbrake wrote: »

That said, it will be cash - as I'm not sure I'd trust them with an electronic fund transfer. They're a small independent - not a proper dealership.

Double check that. I had to do mine by bank transfer because there is a limit (it's either £2k or £5k) that can be accepted in cash, due to money laundering regulations.

And most will not accept a bank draft or cheque because it takes time to clear.

KCross

k123456 wrote: »

Your timing for buying car is good, and may get better, if Brexit goes ahead, STG might dip even more in value

mr.dunkey wrote: »

But you will pay import tax and vat on all imports then, so the STG drop might not be much of a bargain

Soarer wrote: »

The vote to leave will affect Sterling immediately. They won't be leaving the EU for a while yet.

Well, it has come to pass... Sterling is sliding fast.
I bought my LEAF in April at £0.79=€1.
Its at £0.83 now and moving fast.

The Irish car market must be major worried at this development as the UK import figures had been steadily rising anyway and now with Brexit its going to sky rocket if sterling keeps going in this direction.

@makeorbrake, did you buy already or are you holding out for better sterling?

k123456

With UK in Brexit mode , how does this affect importing a used Leaf from non EU UK

I realize there is no VRT , as the car is emission free

Will there be any VAT payable when the car lands in Ireland

UK won't be leaving EU for at least two years so plenty of time...

makeorbrake

KCross wrote: »

Well, it has come to pass... Sterling is sliding fast.
I bought my LEAF in April at £0.79=€1.
Its at £0.83 now and moving fast.
@makeorbrake, did you buy already or are you holding out for better sterling?

Booked £7500 today via transfermate at a rate of 0.82029 (plus €10 fee) for €9143. Can't claim it was in any way savvy on my part. I was annoyed that I didn't have things in order to do the exchange before the vote.

KCross wrote: »

The Irish car market must be major worried at this development as the UK import figures had been steadily rising anyway and now with Brexit its going to sky rocket if sterling keeps going in this direction.

I wonder does it really make all that much difference? Will the price of used cars not adjust to the GBP rate - afterall, they're the ones (the trade) that are bringing in the bulk of GB cars.

k123456 wrote: »

With UK in Brexit mode , how does this affect importing a used Leaf from non EU UK
I realize there is no VRT , as the car is emission free
Will there be any VAT payable when the car lands in Ireland

samih wrote: »

UK won't be leaving EU for at least two years so plenty of time...

No issue right now but won't it create the perfect opportunity for the government to make it even more difficult (cost prohibitive) to bother going across to buy?

KCross

makeorbrake wrote: »

I wonder does it really make all that much difference? Will the price of used cars not adjust to the GBP rate - afterall, they're the ones (the trade) that are bringing in the bulk of GB cars.

You cant really adjust the price of used cars here that much without affecting the volume of new sales.

makeorbrake wrote: »

No issue right now but won't it create the perfect opportunity for the government to make it even more difficult (cost prohibitive) to bother going across to buy?

Should be easier for them to do that if the UK are not in the EU. They can just increase VRT rates.

It should be very good value to buy in the UK for the next 2 years, particularly if sterling continues to slide. Maybe it with settle down after the initial shock.