Contacting previous owners of your car

C

chapeau

Member
 South Staffordshire
Hi,
I'm after some opinions on whether you think it's appropriate to contact the previous owners of my e85 zed to see if they have the second key (I know it's a real long shot!).
I received some receipts with the car when I purchased it from Sytner Select in Leicester that have the previous owners addresses on and was planning on writing to them to see if they have the missing key(s). how do you think the letter may be received by the old owners? Do you think it's an acceptable thing to do? Or should I just stomach the fact I only have one key and buy a replacement myself.
I probably should have done this earlier on as I've owned the car 2 years, but the idea only came to me the other day.
Cheers
 
If you've not had the car long then worth a shot, but I'm guessing Sytners would also have asked for them.

TBH I would have made sytners supply a second with the car at the time of purchase.

Edit: just seen you've had two years, so wouldn't bother.
 
I wrote to the previous owners of my old Lexus RX, they called me and promised to send the key on but never did. I didn't chase them as I didn't want to appear pushy :roll: This was all within two weeks of purchasing the car.

You haven't got anything to lose but I suspect your odds are in line with Lincoln winning the FA Cup. :thumbsup:
 
I've done it a couple of times , sent a note with a pre paid self addressed envelope included , both times someone scored a stamp or two for free as I've never received anything back !
It's worth a try in my book , you never know for the sake of a couple of quid
 
How many owners has your car had?
Maybe the missing key issue goes back further than the immediate previous owner.
If it worries you the safest thing to do for peace of mind is to get a replacement key and have the missing key(s) deactivated by either a dealership or a specialist. You can do it yourself as well if you have the right software such as INPA etc
 
If a previous owner couldn't be arsed looking for it when selling the car on its unlikely they will do it now :?
 
I wrote to the previous owner but that was very soon after I had viewed the car. I included my address, email and phone number. He rang me back the next day and we had a nice chat about the car and he explained the low annual mileage (1000 miles) - he worked on the oil rigs 4 weeks on weeks off and SORN'd it over winter.
 
I've done exactly the same for my car....but heard nothing back, but still worth it for the price of a stamp. It worked for me before on another car and received a huge wad of service paperwork (but i'd moved the car on by then..6 wks later)

I was in the same position with the key so just bought another key. Just think how much hassle it will be if you lose your only key!!
 
I wrote to a previous owner once to ask if they wanted back the £5000 left in the glove box :lol:

I contacted the previous owner of my very first car as I had taken the garage to court and their info helped to win my case, so worth a shot :)

Tim.
 
I think if you contact the previous owner and pitch it that you're compiling a history of your car and give phone and email they may reach out.
During that you can ask if they have the key, but realistically no chance of them having it.
 
I "shocked" the new owner of a car I had sold (my late father in law). More than a year after I sold the car, I found the spare key in their house. I sent it on to them and they were shocked to receive it.

So there will be people out there that do that (or can be bothered). Just take the chance.

For my first BMW 7 series which I bought second hand and was 2 years old, I contacted the previous owner to find out what happened to the front window as there was rust behind it (it was an MD of the Totes umbrella company). He refused to speak to me, which was disappointing.
 
Just one thing to think about. What if the previous owner is dishonest? If you give them your address, they could have a key to your car and its location. It might not be your car for very long :driving:
 
PaulG said:
Just one thing to think about. What if the previous owner is dishonest? If you give them your address, they could have a key to your car and its location. It might not be your car for very long :driving:
Click to expand...

Probably not the world's smartest crime. When the car is stolen with a key, but you're right - something to worry about
 
Been contacted once, told that I sold it because engine was fucked because I run with no oil :lol: Seen the car on auto trader next day :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
When ever I buy a car from a dealer i always get the paperwork and have a coffee and go through it. If there's a contact number there on an old invoice etc i give them a call and have a friendly chat, they're always interested in where the car is now etc and in the past i've even been told what they were given for the car and this helps when buying!

Never had anyone tell me to go away or not want to speak to me, previous 2 have been moved on because of an upgrade to new Z4 and the other because the person worked in a dealer and got a new model.

Very useful if there was a negative reason for the change.
 
Nothing lost contacting the previous owner to ask if they have the key. Probably a long shot though.

I contacted the previous owner, my dentist at the time & the dealer where he bought the car, to try and find out the details of the original tracker. Neither was much help and I ended up having to fit a new one and have a perfectly good original, removed. :?
 
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