Advice on purchase pls

[Kaya]

Hi All,

I was planning to put down a deposit on a 2009 vellfire 3.5 camper conversion this weekend. Having done a lot of research, test drive, vx car check etc I felt happy to go ahead and shared a checklist for the handover with the dealership I was hoping to purchase through. However, the dealership now have paused the sale suggesting my expectations of the car are too high… The checklist is copied and pasted below and is one I found on this forum from a previous thread. Are my expectations too high?? A bit sidelined by the response as I was all set to go!

 

The Car

Exterior:

1. Check all the panels for any paint discolouration, dents, scratches, swirl marks or creases etc. 
2. Check sliding doors open and close on their own, sometimes these can play up as they need lubricating. Insist they lubricate and show you them working properly.
3. Check boot shuts. If a power boot then makes sure all these shut on their own and if it has soft close doors they all pull tight.
4. Check all light bulbs are working
5. Wheels -  Check for bubbling or scrapes. 
6. Check for spare tyre under the back of the car
7. Check under the car for dents, scratches, damage or signs of corrosion (cars from the north Japan have a different climate to the south) also check for welds or even new components recently fitted. 
8. Check for zero rust (things like exhausts, hubs, brackets, bolts light surface rust is normal. But you want to see painted body panel with absolute zero rust)
9. check brake disks for lipping around the outer edge (do when brakes are cold) Also check to see if there are any meat on the pads if you can (usually an MOT would pick up on the pads or very badly lipped disks)
10. Tyres - check the depth of the tyre from side to side. important to check the age of the tyre (see pic below 4718, this means 47 denotes the week in the 52 calendar month and 18 denotes the manufacture year) ideally you should look for anything below 5 years old. Also check for winter tyres against summer tyres. Again another bargaining tool

Under the bonnet

 

1. Check for Zero rust on the painted panels, strut mounts, or anything thats painted. 
2. Check for oil or fluid leaks and look for anything split or perished hoses. White powder build up around the end of the hoses can mean a slow coolant leak.
3. Check engine oil and look for golden to dark golden brown oil (black oil is not something an Alphard should have)
4. check under engine oil cap and make sure it is clean
5. check engine coolant is pink / red water and is clean like a good ol' glass of Rose wine!
6. Check Battery terminals and the battery has a fixing mount (check battery does not move about or could cause fire) Also if the battery has a check inspection window, check the battery health
7. Check brake fluid and PS Fluid.
8. Check under car oil sump for leaks
9. Run the engine, should sound silky smooth. There are many sounds that can come from this area so it would be a difficult to explain here. But loud ticking, grinding should be questioned and seek additional advice from a competent mechanic. 
10. check for belt sound, squealing, chirping, whining.

 

 

Interior: 

1. Check mats are all intact, these sometimes get stolen in auction and end up on ebay
2. Check to see if car has been smoked in, Smoking is more common in Japan so sometimes they interior will show. Usually a dealer will cover up the smell with fabreeze. So depending on how bad it is either use as a bargaining tool or put up with it or do not purchase vehicle at all. You will smell it after a while.
3. check seat belts are intact, no rips or stitched belt (usually a proper MOT would pick this up)
4. Check Odometer and speedometer has been converted properly to MPH 
5. Check fog light and button all work (MOT would pick this up anyway, but best check)
6. Check all electric windows
7. check all door locks and all central locking operates as it should.
8. check all interior lights
9. check AC works including rear AC, Alphards have a front and rear AC and check all vent give nice cold air. Could be costly if not.
10. Check windows from inside for ripped tint or scratches (bargaining tool)
11. check electric mirrors (if electric)
12. check electric curtains (if any)
13. check cameras (if any) 

Test Drive

1. Does the car have at least 2 keys that open the doors and start the car? (expensive to replace!)
2. Check to see if the car drives in a straight line and drive straight under slight acceleration (try and finding flat road with little camber)
3. When safe to do so, press brake pedal hard to see if the car wants to pull to one side. Car Should stay in straight line
4. Check acceleration, does the car drop a gear relatively smoothly
5. check for knocks on a bumpy road, knocking felt though the steering
6. Check for rear knocking (common issue with rear axle mount bush) 
7. When you have come to a stop, check footbrake.
8. try slight acceleration around a bend to check CV joints are not worn or dry
9. check power steering
10. Check not dash warning lights showing. 

 

The Paperwork

1. Checking through the log book to make sure its a fresh import and no previous owners. This is not an issue if you are aware thats there was a previous UK owner.
2. With the reg plate, check to see if there was any advisories or failures on the MOT. Any issues should be shown as fully repaired and no advisories were left for you to sort out. Check the MOT here: https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history 
3. Check that all the import duties on the car have been paid by the dealer or seller.

[Michael Brown]

You are buying a 15 year old Velfire / Alphard, you cannot expect a brand new vehicle for your money. I have found in the past the Japanese driver will have looked after the vehicle for many years, before you, servicing it etc, maybe putting options on. So you buy it and something goes wrong within first 6 months, get it sorted.

 

I drove around several dealers and ended up buying my 2007 2.4 Alphard Hybrid from a dealer in Exeter. I looked at the tread on the tyres, started it up, it was smooth running. I did not test drive it. I gave the dealer a £500 deposit and asked him to deliver it, which he did. I fell in love with it and if anyting goes wrong with it I will get it fixed.

[Kaya]

Hi Michael,

 

yes, agreed that does make sense and appreciate the age of the vehicle for sure & the associated expectation/anticipation of maintenance costs. This vehicle was coming with a 32k+ price tag so I was keen to make sure that was starting from a fair point! The list was taken from this forum and felt appropriate to check over - not to suggest that everything needed doing/shouldnt be an issue but as a check over for value for money/future costs etc. 

appreciate your reply - thank you. Great to hear you’re enjoying yours! Hopefully I’ll get to do the same soon!

[Michael Brown]

Welcome to the Forum

 

Little did I know the Hybrid Inverter on mine was to pack up 6 months into ownership. The guy I got to work on Alfie, a chap called Peter Holland was an auto electrical engineer. He could not fix  it but suggested that the Inverter was still being made in Japan and £5,200. would buy one including VAT and shipping. I don't have that kind of money so I took out a bank loan and paid Peter upfront. 2.5 weeks later it arrived. It cost £350. odd to  have it fitted, test run. Not had another problem apart from the odd puncture and the new Inverter should be good for 10 years or more.

 

So good luck in your quest to find a vehicle you like