Standards
Very simply, I prepare the cars I sell properly and then give an honest description to any perspective buyer. I don’t need to lie through my teeth or try and sweet-talk you into buying something you don’t want. To be fair, I find selling my cars easy enough as it is: its buying decent cars in the first place thats the difficult bit. Its also worth pointing out that, unlike one or two of the other MX5 specialists out there, I don't deal in accident damaged cars or insurance write-offs and neither do I buy rusty MOT failures and then try and bodge them to get another year or two out of them. I'm lucky in that I have driven literally thousands of different MX5s over the years and I have a good idea for how a well sorted car is supposed to feel and sound, how its supposed to handle and how strong the performance is supposed to be. A bad car stands out fairly quickly.
I’m not trying to kid you that every car is perfect (especially on a car that is perhaps 30 years old) but if there is something that needs attending to (for example, a stereo system that has seen better days) then I’ll tell you so there are no surprises. I would much prefer to point out any faults at the outset than have you find them later on and be disappointed. That said, I try and prepare my cars so that the new owner should not have any immediate painful bills and can just get on and have some fun. I give a detailed description and provide a decent set of photographs as I want to present each car in a favourable light. However, I’m very conscious that this means that the car can appear - to be blunt – better than it actually is. Cars nearly always look better in photographs than they do in the flesh – you just can’t see the tiny scratches, odd stonechips and other signs of use on a photo.
So realistically, what can you expect?
Let s make this clear - buying a 30 year old Mazda is not the same as buying a brand new Audi from a main dealer – very simply, allowances need to be made for age, use and mileage. At the time of writing a brand new Mazda MX5 will cost around £29000 so let’s face it, a 30 year old car priced at £5000 isn’t really going to be in mint condition is it? Most (in fact 99%) cars of this age will have had some paintwork carried out for example, not all will have full service histories and they will have had various bits and bobs replaced or modified over the years. Sometimes, something will just not work in the same way that it did when the car left the factory perhaps 30 years ago. For example, a plastic rear window may not be quite as clear as it once was, reception on a stereo system may not be as strong as on a modern new unit or an interior light switch may not work with the same accuracy as it once did. I’m going to make another bold statement here so brace yourself: any older car will require a constant program of maintenance, along with the occasional repair. I hope this doesn’t sound too miserable! I prefer to think of it as being realistic and honest.
When every car arrives, the first thing to do is a good test drive which usually throws up a good few jobs to do. Back home, I simply produce a big list of everything that needs doing. Its not always feasible to sort out everything; for example, some minor damage to a seat is tricky to fix without getting involved a huge amount of hassle but the fault will be pointed out and the car priced accordingly.
I then refer to my check list; this has been devised by me and covers 80 or so points that I think need looking at. Some of these are based on my experience with MX5s and cover very MX5 specific problems that I know can occur. Others are more straight forward (condition of tyres, lights etc). The point of the check list is that it prompts me to carefully go over every car in detail. I include a signed copy of the check list to the buyer of every car. Every car is serviced which involves new plugs, oil and filter, air filter and interrogation of the car's diagnostic system and interpretation of any fault codes found. Every car is MOT tested and has a background check carried out on it.
The body is washed by hand and the paintwork treated with a clay bar to remove any ingrained dirt and tar, the paintwork is touched up if necessary and the car is then waxed. The underbody is thoroughly checked over: any loose underseal is removed and replaced and all drain holes are cleared out.
The interior always receives a good valet which includes removing the seats and the hood is checked and replaced if necessary.
By the time the car is ready for collection, the new owner should be confident that the car is safe, sound and ready to be enjoyed.
If you are thinking about travelling a fair distance to view or buy, I’m happy to walk round the car, phone-in-hand and talk you through the car, panel by panel, giving you a thorough description so you know what to expect when you get here. I can also email photographs and a video if required.
I’m not trying to kid you that every car is perfect (especially on a car that is perhaps 30 years old) but if there is something that needs attending to (for example, a stereo system that has seen better days) then I’ll tell you so there are no surprises. I would much prefer to point out any faults at the outset than have you find them later on and be disappointed. That said, I try and prepare my cars so that the new owner should not have any immediate painful bills and can just get on and have some fun. I give a detailed description and provide a decent set of photographs as I want to present each car in a favourable light. However, I’m very conscious that this means that the car can appear - to be blunt – better than it actually is. Cars nearly always look better in photographs than they do in the flesh – you just can’t see the tiny scratches, odd stonechips and other signs of use on a photo.
So realistically, what can you expect?
Let s make this clear - buying a 30 year old Mazda is not the same as buying a brand new Audi from a main dealer – very simply, allowances need to be made for age, use and mileage. At the time of writing a brand new Mazda MX5 will cost around £29000 so let’s face it, a 30 year old car priced at £5000 isn’t really going to be in mint condition is it? Most (in fact 99%) cars of this age will have had some paintwork carried out for example, not all will have full service histories and they will have had various bits and bobs replaced or modified over the years. Sometimes, something will just not work in the same way that it did when the car left the factory perhaps 30 years ago. For example, a plastic rear window may not be quite as clear as it once was, reception on a stereo system may not be as strong as on a modern new unit or an interior light switch may not work with the same accuracy as it once did. I’m going to make another bold statement here so brace yourself: any older car will require a constant program of maintenance, along with the occasional repair. I hope this doesn’t sound too miserable! I prefer to think of it as being realistic and honest.
When every car arrives, the first thing to do is a good test drive which usually throws up a good few jobs to do. Back home, I simply produce a big list of everything that needs doing. Its not always feasible to sort out everything; for example, some minor damage to a seat is tricky to fix without getting involved a huge amount of hassle but the fault will be pointed out and the car priced accordingly.
I then refer to my check list; this has been devised by me and covers 80 or so points that I think need looking at. Some of these are based on my experience with MX5s and cover very MX5 specific problems that I know can occur. Others are more straight forward (condition of tyres, lights etc). The point of the check list is that it prompts me to carefully go over every car in detail. I include a signed copy of the check list to the buyer of every car. Every car is serviced which involves new plugs, oil and filter, air filter and interrogation of the car's diagnostic system and interpretation of any fault codes found. Every car is MOT tested and has a background check carried out on it.
The body is washed by hand and the paintwork treated with a clay bar to remove any ingrained dirt and tar, the paintwork is touched up if necessary and the car is then waxed. The underbody is thoroughly checked over: any loose underseal is removed and replaced and all drain holes are cleared out.
The interior always receives a good valet which includes removing the seats and the hood is checked and replaced if necessary.
By the time the car is ready for collection, the new owner should be confident that the car is safe, sound and ready to be enjoyed.
If you are thinking about travelling a fair distance to view or buy, I’m happy to walk round the car, phone-in-hand and talk you through the car, panel by panel, giving you a thorough description so you know what to expect when you get here. I can also email photographs and a video if required.