Buying A Tubby

[acf8181]

found a possible purchase, but have a few q's...

-its has no service history whatsoever...is this a prob you think? the owner has owned it about 6 months and only done an oil change.

-how much is a cambelt change on them (i'll use it as a bragaining tool)?

-it only has the one key, is that normal for a import? how much are spare keys to get cut?

-how much are they really worth? its a j plate with 82k (oh, speedo's in mph by the way - how can i tell if its been clocked)?

[newtomymr2]

I wouldnt if I was you , no service history and only an oil change in the last 6 months sounds like bad news m8

[Minty]

No service history is fairly common as it spent most of it life in Japan, however depending on how long it has been in the uk i would be a little more cautious. Also only one oil change in the last 6 months isn't bad providing the car has covered little mileage in that time. If it has say only done 2k in 6 months for example....

Cambelt changes are very expensive. To give you a rough idea for a full Toyota service and belt change parts were £57 labour was £458 plus v.at. Thankfully the previous owner had this done before i bought the car!!

I would be asking why he is selling after only 6 months???

How much is he asking for it? and what sort of budget do you have for the right car?

I would say if there is things your not 100% sure about walk away and wait for a good one

[acf8181]

well, he says it to get cash to finish his house extension (and as the extension is half built its easy to find that believeable).

its up for just under £3k, i really only wanna spend £2500 (not necessarily on a tubby mind)

must remember to ask when it was imported...was the one thing i forgot to ask on phone.