Purchasing a 2018 V90 Momentum D4

[Cozza]

Hi folks,
I’ve just sold my trusty 2013 V60 D3 and about to purchase a 2018 V90 D4 Momentum from a car supermarket. Problem is I’m in Kirkcaldy, Fife and the car is in London! I haven’t seen it yet but have asked loads of questions and have requested lots of pictures.
I’ve paid a deposit and arranged to travel down tomorrow.
Whenever I change my car (roughly every 3-4 years), I’m always nervous until I get it and run it for a wee while.
Just on the off chance, don’t suppose anybody knows it? It’s YN68 JWP on 33,000 miles.
The dealer’s terms and conditions state that a CD or SD card will not be supplied. I am right in thinking that’s irrelevant on a V90 as everything’s downloaded directly?
I’m also thinking about purchasing an extended warranty with Warranty Direct for around £30pm. It seems that it can be cancelled at anytime with no cancellation fees. I’m thinking I might take it out for the first 6 months or so until I have some confidence in the car. Any thoughts or experience with this?
Sorry for the long-winded post. Any inputs gladly received!
Cheers 🍻

[SnineT]

Look it up on "Free Car Check"


It's been off the road since last Nov and failed the last MOT on safety restraint systems before passing on 02 Aug this year,

What does this mean?

It's possible it's been smashed and waited for parts in a compound for a while so I'd recommend you pay for a full check, go over the panel fit shut lines with a fine tooth comb and feel for any twitching or undue vibes through the steering & pedals,

It's also possible that it's simply been being traded between dealers and not sold each time, it really will be one of those until you see it cars, and it last left the road during lockdown,

If it has been smashed it's not always the end of the world, the model itself is very strongly built and modular at the front so if it looks all straight and drives straight (remember the camber of the road will make the car drift towards the kerb a bit and gradually) it's really not much different to one that's never had a knock,

On the upside it's not showing as listed on Dodgy Cars,

A few questions you should ask though are does it have both keys and ask to see the old V5, if it's a key short that's another £500 to sort out,

When you see it check the wheel lock key is in the boot, the seats should look near brand new still and also the steering wheel shouldn't be showing much wear, turn the sensus on and swipe to the right to bring up the app page and hit the Volvo app, this should say whether there's any On Call subs still active on the car, next hit the car status tile and check oil, adblue if it's got adblue level and tyre pressures, the sat nav probably won't have any discs and you simply download updated ones from Volvo FOC along with any other updates for the car, this one may need a system update as well, again it's OTA and free and you can do it yourself at home or from your phone or by using the car modem with a sim you'll have to source yourself, others use a 3 sim which you buy in one hit and lasts for 24 months,

Little pointers to it's history to look for, check the tyres, are they all the same brand or are they an unheard of brand, if they aren't premium tyres the last owner has shoestringed it, what's the paint like, it should be pretty good still and nice and bright, make sure all the panels are the same shade, the bumpers will be slightly different but the rest should be uniform,

Lets us know how it goes, I'm assuming Motorpoint?

[Cozza]

Thanks for your prompt and detailed reply!

Yeah I had seen it’s done less than 1000 miles in the last year which does worry me slightly. I’ve queried it but the dealer, Cargiant btw, suggested that as it was a lease vehicle, sometimes it can take some time to make it to market. A year seems a heck of a long time though!

I also checked it’s mot history and saw it failed on an SRS warning and asked them to look into it to advise if any parts were required. Told a plug under the seat wasn’t secured properly. To be honest I’ve had that before when hoovering under the seats so it’s possible.

Both keys are present, along with the physical service book, V5, space saver (including jack and brace).

The car has 3 Michelins and 1 Goodyear some I’m hoping that’s a positive.

I meant to mention one thing that concerns me though - it’s on 33k miles but has only had 2 services. I can’t remember when the first one was but the second one was at 26500 at the beginning of 2021 I think. Could it be on a variable service regime?

Cheers folks

[ThomasC91]

That is a long way to travel for a car.

There's alarm bells already. I'd personally give it a miss and find one closer to home that you can go and view without potentially wasting a good day.

[SnineT]

Originally Posted by Cozza

Thanks for your prompt and detailed reply!

Yeah I had seen it’s done less than 1000 miles in the last year which does worry me slightly. I’ve queried it but the dealer, Cargiant btw, suggested that as it was a lease vehicle, sometimes it can take some time to make it to market. A year seems a heck of a long time though!

I also checked it’s mot history and saw it failed on an SRS warning and asked them to look into it to advise if any parts were required. Told a plug under the seat wasn’t secured properly. To be honest I’ve had that before when hoovering under the seats so it’s possible.

Both keys are present, along with the physical service book, V5, space saver (including jack and brace).

The car has 3 Michelins and 1 Goodyear some I’m hoping that’s a positive.

I meant to mention one thing that concerns me though - it’s on 33k miles but has only had 2 services. I can’t remember when the first one was but the second one was at 26500 at the beginning of 2021 I think. Could it be on a variable service regime?

Cheers folks

The seat plug is entirely feasible,

Mileage, you have to remember we we're locked down so miles will be lower than expected and the low 1000 miles is almost all since the last keeper disposed of the car which kinda suggest's it's been driven around the branches, if CG have it now it's either been in a spray shop or on another dealers lot unsold given the time frame,

The tyres just indicate a non repairable in the past but replaced with a good tyre brand,

The services are right, it's probably been on a longlife schedule and due one now,

A word of caution with CG, they will charge you an additional £399 iirc if you don't take their finance, it will be luck of the draw which salesperson you get and a lot of them are entirely not helpful, you may end up dealing with up to 5 different ones before you get the car, there has been reports that you can only drive round the car park and car parking there isn't great especially on a busy day for them, don't be tempted to leave it where you shouldn't, you will get either ticketed or towed away,

It's a casino dealer tbh, you can walk in there and get presented with something from derby meeting or an absolute pristine example, no two cars are the same they simply buy in bulk and take the dogs with the cats.

edit,

If you've only placed £99 down on it I'd do what Thomas says simply due to distance, I'd even write off the £99 if it becomes a pain to get it back and put it down to experience, I cannot tell you how many times I went 250 miles plus and was presented with a car that didn't match their description, one wasn't even up to the condition of one I'd be getting rid of, all night on a coach thanks to a liar salesman, mot yesterday, shredded seat belt today, 5 shades of silver with masking tape line levels included foc, 4 different part worn budget brand tyres,

[Mad Malc]

I was under the impression that Volvo are 1 year or 18000 miles between service. I have not seen any option for variable services on any of our 3 Vovos, always time and mileage.
'Caution' would be my advice.

[SnineT]

Originally Posted by Mad Malc

I was under the impression that Volvo are 1 year or 18000 miles between service. I have not seen any option for variable services on any of our 3 Vovos, always time and mileage.
'Caution' would be my advice.

Yep, you're correct my bad I was going back to the days of 2 yrs or 20k servicing, mine when I got it on a countdown of 18000 miles or 340 something days iirc.

[Cozza]

Thanks folks. I paid the initial £99 reservation fee, discussed the car at length with CG and had the pushy sales guy trying to flog me Supaguard, their warranty and GAP insurance. I politely but firmly said I wouldn’t be taking them and he accepted that. I’ve paid a £200 deposit. I’m nervous but going to head down to London tomorrow. There’s a 7 day return option on it. It’s guaranteed not to have A, B, C, D, N or S total loss on it and not stolen. I sold my own Volvo last week so, together with savings, will be in a position to pay cash (well bank transfer). I’ve got the invoice and they haven’t tried to whack on an extra charge for not taking finance. I have, however, noticed they haven’t reduced my balance by the original £99 as well as the £200. A call me thinks.

I’ll go in with my eyes wide open and have a thorough look over it, taking into account the inputs from yourselves.

I agree that I should try to buy more local but I genuinely have been looking for months and haven’t found the balance of cost v mileage v value.

I’m not ignoring the advice you folks are trying to give. It’s valuable 😊 and is serving to heighten my senses tomorrow 🤞

[SnineT]

If you have some pictures post them and I'll see if anything stands out as a no no, you've got a long way to travel so it's not only the deposit which if you read the reviews isn't always as fast coming back as it is leaving you,

There's a flag here already, he's not mentioned the finance loading, tomorrow he will 3 seconds after you've signed for it and it's time to do the payment paper's, go to their site and read the T&C's at the bottom, I assure you he won't let you away with it, if it's £199 rather than £399 which I think might be the trade buyer fee then that's why your £199 is missing from the balance sheet.

How much was the screen price on it?

[Cozza]

Sorted out the £99 reservation fee - it’s automatically refunded at the time of collection/rejection.

Oh yeah, it’s their “admin fee” you’re talking about. It’ll be £199 for me as a private buyer. That was included in the price shown on Autotrader where I first saw it.

My total will be just under £20k which I’m happy with, depending upon the condition. I’m not the kind of guy they’ll be able to flog any extras to and I won’t find it difficult to push back if it’s not as described. I’ve already said to the guy I’m meeting (said I wanted a single point of contact rather than getting passed around) I’ll be pretty hacked off if it’s not as described.

They have highlighted chips on the car, mostly to the front bumper and bonnet. Unfortunately the advert has been taken down on CG’s site and Autotrader’s.

Flight from Edinburgh to Gatwick at 6am tomorrow. Wish me well please! Place your bets