Advice Required On A Potential Purchase RED 3.0SI Coupe (Pics Inside)

[skelters]

Here's a 10 point checklist for that car...

1. It's Arnold Clark. The most crooked of the crooked salesmen who will punt you anything as they are crooked.
2. The panel gaps. Possible leaks, squeaks and creaks if it's not been repaired properly.
3. It's Arnold Clark.
4. MOT History.
5. It's Arnold Clark.
6. Headlight possibly fogging up
7. It's Arnold Clark
8. Number plate hanging off.
9. Better cars available or will be available if you keep looking.
10. It's Arnold Clark. Anyone who knows anything about cars in Scotland knows what they're like. They don't get called Arnold Shark for nothing.

IF YOU ARE SERIOUS can I suggest getting an RAC check done on the car before you make any commitment to buying the car. If Arnold Clark don't want the check done then you know it's a lemon. If you get the check done they will give you a better idea of the actual costs of getting this car fixed and an accurate valuation of the car. Done that with my mates Z4, got an accurate valuation, list of things needing done and eventually he had a good Z4 that he's happy with.

But before you do that please read on......

Mate of mine bought a two and a half year old car from Arnold Shark with their worthless warranty and had it in 6 months later for the MOT. Needed £700 worth of work and a service. Brake pads, sensors, suspension parts etc. that aren't covered in the warranty. Paid the money and none of the work was done. NONE OF THE WORK WAS DONE!

Other half bought a Suzuki Jimny from them once with 40 miles on the clock. It was such a good deal she couldn't resist. To this day I swear that Jimny (ok they are pretty s**t) had been in a smash and the chasis wasn't straight. Never did feel right at all.

Looked at a 316 Coupe about 20 years ago that was immaculate on the outside.
Couldn't take it out for a test drive as they couldn't find the keys.
1 day later they found the keys so went back to see the car.
Drivers door lock missing as it had been broken into on the forecourt overnight.
Radio missing.
Test drive of the car I had the salesman tell me how good a car it was and that it'll not be sitting around long. Real prestige and all that shite.
Got out the car back at the forecourt and even though the head gasket had went on the car during the test drive the guy still wanted to talk £££. Water pishing onto the ground and steam coming out the engine bay.
Laughed and walked away, never to return.

And that my friend is what you should be doing with this car as it will be a lemon.

After the late Arnold bought over Harry Fairbairn in Glasgow there was a sudden flood of BMW's in the Arnold Clark network. This may be ex BMW network and punted to Arnold as BMW can't get shot of it.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=A...rome..69i57.6689j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

[earthdweller]

Here's a 10 point checklist for that car...

1 - 10 It's Arnold Clark.

They don't get called Arnold Shark for nothing.



https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=A...rome..69i57.6689j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Wise words .. there’s plenty of History with AC for sure

 

[Mighty1]

Hi
Have you thought about getting a professional inspection done I did that a few years ago on an slkit cost me 200quid but covered everything mechanical body wise etc even test drive carried out
At least you’re then in a position to either walk away or travel or offer a lower price if needs be but more importantly you should find if it’s a dog or crashed etc
Geoff

 

[Looney]

Not sure if the money i put down on reservation i get or they will make it non refund.

 

[hopz121]

Walk away or bargain hard would be my advice!

 

[skelters]

There's 10 Z4C on Autotrader with less than 60,000 miles.

You also need to remember that with a car this age you most likely need to replace....

Suspension bushes
Tyres
Brake Disc
Brake Pads
Brake Sensors.

It'll also need a service and an alignment and that's before you look at the errors it may be throwing up.

If it had been Glasgow I'd have went up on Thursday or Friday to have a look but can't get to Dundee this week as my car is going on to get stone chips fixed and alloys refurbed. Have Carly will travel!

 

[pvr]

I noticed that there is kerb rash on the wheel I can see in the picture as well. The total of what the others have said, strange door panel, fogged headlight, glovebox broken and kerbed wheel (at least one), does not give me a warm glowing feeling.

I would travel anywhere for a good car, and have done so. But I don't think I would travel to this dealer for that.

 

[Looney]

There's 10 Z4C on Autotrader with less than 60,000 miles.

You also need to remember that with a car this age you most likely need to replace....

Suspension bushes
Tyres
Brake Disc
Brake Pads
Brake Sensors.

It'll also need a service and an alignment and that's before you look at the errors it may be throwing up.

If it had been Glasgow I'd have went up on Thursday or Friday to have a look but can't get to Dundee this week as my car is going on to get stone chips fixed and alloys refurbed. Have Carly will travel!

They said they are fine for RAC to come in and do a full test on the car at my expense, so i am considering a £220 check to be done.

Skelters can i contract you instead

 

[skelters]

They said they are fine for RAC to come in and do a full test on the car at my expense, so i am considering a £220 check to be done.

Skelters can i contract you instead

If my car wasn't going in for the stone chips and alloys being refurbished Thursday and Friday this week and busy on Saturday then I'd have went and plugged in Carly to see what it's showing.

As my mate found out the RAC check is well worth the money. Probably similar to the AA etc. checks available.

RAC will come back with....
Tyres
Brakes
Bushes
Stone Chips all over the front
Possible accident damage
Paintwork fixes if any work has been done.
Possibly Rear Springs

Looking at it again it might well be that it was an enthusiast that had the car as it has the Aero Side Skirts and the M Front. Rear skirt looks like it's a slightly different colour to the body but it might just be my monitor.

You had said... "The additional work that would be getting authorised would be: The drivers side headlight, front and rear pads including the sensors, two tyres, a service, and an MOT."

Value? At a guess £8500. Offer them £8k for the car with the brakes and headlight being sorted along with two new tyres of your choice then drive it away with 1 month warranty. DON'T LET THEM SERVICE IT! Use your local Indy. Arnold knows you're not going to drive 400 miles to get something fixed!

Then spend what you've saved on getting things fixed.

Do you know which tyres need replacing?

 

[ph001]

Looking at it again it might well be that it was an enthusiast that had the car as it has the Aero Side Skirts and the M Front.

I wouldn’t expect an enthusiast to neglect the servicing and drive around with a fogged up headlight.

 

[skelters]

Might have been the previous owner that fitted them and the front?

Then again it is a Coo Pee and you know what their owners are like!

 

[Looney]

They said they are fine for RAC to come in and do a full test on the car at my expense, so i am considering a £220 check to be done.

Skelters can i contract you instead

If my car wasn't going in for the stone chips and alloys being refurbished Thursday and Friday this week and busy on Saturday then I'd have went and plugged in Carly to see what it's showing.

As my mate found out the RAC check is well worth the money. Probably similar to the AA etc. checks available.

RAC will come back with....
Tyres
Brakes
Bushes
Stone Chips all over the front
Possible accident damage
Paintwork fixes if any work has been done.
Possibly Rear Springs

Looking at it again it might well be that it was an enthusiast that had the car as it has the Aero Side Skirts and the M Front. Rear skirt looks like it's a slightly different colour to the body but it might just be my monitor.

You had said... "The additional work that would be getting authorised would be: The drivers side headlight, front and rear pads including the sensors, two tyres, a service, and an MOT."

Value? At a guess £8500. Offer them £8k for the car with the brakes and headlight being sorted along with two new tyres of your choice then drive it away with 1 month warranty. DON'T LET THEM SERVICE IT! Use your local Indy. Arnold knows you're not going to drive 400 miles to get something fixed!

Then spend what you've saved on getting things fixed.

Do you know which tyres need replacing?

I have no idea, but i think ill get RAC to come in and give me the information, then i can start to negotiate, i see if i give it TLC and "restore" the paint/body as such the red is so rare it would be an investment but i dont know anything about the car mechanically is a little worrying.

 

[MACK]

The door Marlon highlighted is an interesting one. It looks like it's sat too high. This could be a sign of accident damage or simply some Muppets tried to alter it may be for wind noise etc instead of just adjusting the window etc. The fact that hellrot red coupes are like the poo from a rocking horse would sway me to take a look where I might otherwise not if the colour was a must have but be very careful. Alternatively you could get the AA etc or a vehicle engineer (the type that do damage assessments for insurers etc) to take a look on your behalf. Mot cheap but cerrainly alot less than £500

 

[Anmarube]

Buy it dude..looks great with only a few fixes on a 10 year old car. Great colour.
Flight one way for me.....

 

[Nanu]

As previously suggested full RAC / AA check so you know exactly what your buying. Should also put you in a stronger bargaining position with the dealer

 

[paddy wright]

Looks like an interesting car with no real issues- headlight easy fix with a new seal, glovebox cheep from a broker etc- with what they are offering to do to the car as well in terms of tyres etc I'd say it's worth a punt. It has a rare colour and the aero kit in its favour as well as a reasonable MOT history including all advisories dealt with at last MOT nearly a year ago. GO FOR IT!

 

[Mr Tidy]

OP, if you really want a red E86 and there were only ever 20 sold in the UK how many do you think still have less than 60,000 miles recorded? And how long are you likely to have to wait for one? :roll:

The last Red Coupe I saw with slightly lower mileage was listed on Autotrader for over £12,000 IIRC (and it was originally listed for a lot more).

There are 10 manual E86s on Autotrader at present - 9 are black or silver, the other is Montego Blue (the best colour obviously :lol: ) and the cheapest 3 are within £50 of £10,000 - the rest are all £11,500 and up. And I doubt if any of them is fault free after a decade or more of use.

But I'm sure I saw this one on Autotrader and if it's the same one I'm sure it's an SE - if you are set on M-Sport seats then factor the cost of a pair of those in.

I'd try to get it inspected - RAC or an independent engineer like insurance companies use, and see what they say. If their report isn't a horror story make a cheeky offer for it as is and get the work you feel it needs done by a proper specialist of your choice.

The seller of my 1st Coupe told me he had bought a replacement glove-box for it at less than 50K miles
so it happens! I'm sure he said it was nearly £200 from BMW, but as someone has said a breaker would be your best bet.

Good luck if you go for it.

 

[Looney]

OP, if you really want a red E86 and there were only ever 20 sold in the UK how many do you think still have less than 60,000 miles recorded? And how long are you likely to have to wait for one? :roll:

The last Red Coupe I saw with slightly lower mileage was listed on Autotrader for over £12,000 IIRC (and it was originally listed for a lot more).

There are 10 manual E86s on Autotrader at present - 9 are black or silver, the other is Montego Blue (the best colour obviously :lol: ) and the cheapest 3 are within £50 of £10,000 - the rest are all £11,500 and up. And I doubt if any of them is fault free after a decade or more of use.

But I'm sure I saw this one on Autotrader and if it's the same one I'm sure it's an SE - if you are set on M-Sport seats then factor the cost of a pair of those in.

I'd try to get it inspected - RAC or an independent engineer like insurance companies use, and see what they say. If their report isn't a horror story make a cheeky offer for it as is and get the work you feel it needs done by a proper specialist of your choice.

The seller of my 1st Coupe told me he had bought a replacement glove-box for it at less than 50K miles
so it happens! I'm sure he said it was nearly £200 from BMW, but as someone has said a breaker would be your best bet.

Good luck if you go for it.

Thanks thats a great outlook!

 

[Mr Tidy]

Thanks thats a great outlook!

Actually despite what I said about Montego Blue, I'd love a red one! :roll:

FWIW if I was looking for a Coupe I'd be trying to find a way to get that one.

 

[ShaunKC]

My opinion for what it worth...

The front bumper looks a darker red than the bonnet, this could be light, monitor or a bad spray job. You know for sure that it will have been sprayed though as it's not original. The left rear back panel equally looks, on the video, a different colour of red, (it may be just the video). Non of the shut lines on the front around the lights or bonnet look right, the gaps are too big and uneven. On the video there is one clip where the gap line on the left light looks larger at the bottom than it should be and something certainly has gone on with the passenger door, this would worry me the most.

If had to make an uneducated guess, based on a dodgy video and a few fairly useless snaps, I would say it's had a shunt down the left-hand side, when the repair was being made the owner chose to replace the standard sills with aero which seem out of place (to me) on this car.

I would be asking for a video of the engine bay, you can tell a lot about a car just by lifting the bonnet. As you are going to have to make a hell of a journey to see this car I would be asking for a close up of the bolts on the inner wing (particularly passenger side). If the car has been in an accident then around this area you should see some telling signs that the wing is not original or has been removed (same with the bonnet bolts). I would be asking them to inspect the car and verify that there were no signs of a shunt before travelling (overspray, different coloured panels etc.)

I've travelled a long way in the past to see cars I really wanted, and once you are there it is very hard to walk away. But I always have because no matter how good a car looks on the curbside it is far from enjoyable driving around in a dog. There will be other red coupes on the market, but a loved one with more mileage even at a higher price will pay you back in droves. Based on what you have shown us so far that my money would be going anywhere near this one.

If you are the last hope before it goes the auction, that in its self is telling its own story.

If you do go and view it, I hope I am wrong

Good luck either way