Hi everyone! After months aand months of looking longingly at anything on the internet about copen's I've only gone and arranged to buy one next Saturday in Sunderland...that's 300 miles away from home! Its a 2007 1.3 and had Cat C damage (paint stripped apparently) but its now been reduced to a bargain price on auto trader and I cant resist the urge any more. Any advice on buying it? Im a typical female - drawn to cute pretty things with limited knowledge about the practicalities of buying cars. I will be owning it for several years (hopefully) and will be driving it everyday for work(again hopefully). Also how the hell do you buy anything from Kumoi motors? I want to debadge the car and put a Kumoi motors badge on the front to keep an air of mystery - unless its going to cost me a gazillion quid of course. Any name suggestions? Dont think I will be able to sleep tonight Im so excited.
Is it a dealer selling it one or two up here have a certain reputation. I live in Sunderland and travelled a 200 mile round trip south to buy my car. I might have baulked at 300 miles one way though. Check the car over thoroughly before buying. Check the roof works ok, the boot releases and the windows operate ok. Remove the oil filler cap and check for white sludge which is a sign of water in the oil. Make sure there are no warning lights on the dash after starting the engine, make sure they all illuminate when the ignition is on though. The boot and roof are particular to the copen but everything else is standard front wheel car. So check it over like you would any car. The interior will hopefully be ok but be aware the seatbelts are notorious for poor retraction. There are threads and buying guides on here have a read of them. I've had no problems with my 08 1.3, the engine and gearbox have been great. I've had a few bubbles in the paintwork which have been sorted these cars are bad for rust. Mainly in the wheel arches again threads on here worth reading. Mine wasn't rust though as the bubbles were in the aluminium panels. Aluminium corrodes but it isn't rust. Quite a lot of the car panels are made from aluminium, make sure whatever the paint was stripped with didn't damage them. They are pricey to replace
I've just seen it on autotrader its a private seller. The car looks canny from the pictures, original apart from the radio which has been upgraded and the mileage is probably genuine as it isn't stupidly low.That's a bargain price but I can't see where the paint has been stripped. Remember a car can't be transferred road taxed now you'll have to tax it before driving away. There's a chance he will sell it before the weekend and 300 miles is a long way to travel to find it has been sold. Have you left a deposit or made some arrangement to make sure your journey isn't wasted
Hi Dag, you found it! He has promised me he will save it for me. Ive spent £75 on a train ticket to Sunderland now so I hope he wont change his mind. I think I was lucky enough to be the first caller when he placed the ad in Autotrader. We've been in contact for a few days now and originally I was going to come up this Saturday but after discussing the new road tax rules we agreed that I would come up on the 6th December as it seems a shame to waste a months road tax buing it on the 29th November. Its a bargain isnt it? At that price I can afford for a few things to go wrong as long as it gets me 300 miles home, Im from way down south by the sea, 20 miles from France! I hope the ride is not so hard that I need spinal surgery afterwards The damage has been repaired prior to him advertizing it. I saw it on Ebay months ago for over a grand more and it was also on Gumtree recently for a grand more. Its almost too good to be true...I guess I am a little worried that it IS too good to be true. He told me he had owned the car for about a year but the check I did stated that the car last changed hands in May this year, and he says he is called Alex but clearly that is not his name as his accent is indian/pakistani. I had a few problems getting the VIN from him for the check but got it eventually after telling him I wasnt interested in buying it anymore as he seemed to keep delaying texting me the number. Thanks for the tip re the oil. I never knew that
Looking at the pictures it looks like the Millfield area which has a strong Asian population. A lot of small car dealers deal from that area. Make sure the car is registered in his name. If he is a dealer it won't be, which is ok, but he shouldn't lie about it. If the car isn't in hs name or more importantly his address then be very wary. If you pm me his address ill have a drive past tomorrow and have a look. If its where I think it is its near B&Q and I'm going there tomorrow afternoon. He might not keep it outside the house as on the pics but you never know.
Thats very very kind of you Dag I havent got his address yet, though he has promised to send me an photo of the V5 with his name and address on it and if I get it before tomorrow afternoon (he is quite slow to respond to texts) I shall PM you but he did tell me he keeps the car in a garage ( I would too if someone through paint stripper on it Is the area near to the station as he said he lived near to Sunderland station.
Forgot to add yes the ride is bone jarring 300 miles is a good maiden voyage. I bought my car from Doncaster so my first drive was about 130 miles. I took my wife with me she didn't complain too much on the return journey. I think with that train journey and the drive back you will have a Saturday to remember. If it is Millfield or Pallion where the car is you can get a metro train from Sunderland central station to both those places. If you need any further advice just ask.
He doesn't live near Sunderland central station that style of house is old cottages and there are none near the city centre. He probably means a metro station and if he lives in Millfield he's very close to one. I recognised the area from one of his pics, there is a building in the distance that I've seen before. Its also coming up on autotrader as 3 miles from my postcode which puts it about there.
Thanks so much Dag. I shall take a pillow for my poor derriere. Though the copen cant be any worse than the 1987 peugot 207 cabriolet I had a couple of years ago which had been lowered. Car suspension has come a long way since then.
You won't think that after driving the copen I'm often seen driving in a zig zag pattern to avoid lumps and bumps. The roads up here are terrible you learn where all the bad bits are and avoid them.
Just saw your reply about him not living near Sunderland station. How long does it take from Sunderland station to milfield station? I planned to arrive at Sunderland at 2.30 so I could see the car in the daylight. There seemed to be small language barrier when talking to him on the phone despite his good English so it wouldnt surprise me if he answered wrongly. When I asked if he any service history he said no, but then advised that he had some old previous MOT's and bills etc. It doesnt come up as stolen or anything when I did the check, though there was no history regarding the mileage As long as I get home in one piece, the car doesnt cost thousands to fix and Im not raped, buggered or had my kidney's stolen Im sure I shall be very happy with the car.
Have you seen this, below? He's obviously struggling to sell the car which could be down to the cat c thing. Have you checked that your insurers will insure a cat c some don't but you can obviously change. It will probably put your insurance up. http://www.gumtree.com/p/daihatsu/daihatsu-copen-2007-07-reg-convertible/1089128621
We are very friendly up here but id be wary buying a car in those circumstances. Can you not bring someone up with you, preferably someone who knows about cars. You can walk to millfield in 15 minutes, we often park up there when going into the city centre. I was pretty sure that the pics were taken in St Marks Rd but I've looked on streetview and they weren't. The gumtree ad says 2 miles from me so I'm now intrigued where it is probably Pallion that close. Pallion millfield and the chester Rd Hylton Rd area all flow together and the houses are kind of identical. Let me know when you get the addy. Hah, just noticed the map on gumtree and its pointing to Grindon. I was born there and I know it well. There are no cottage style houses like those in the pics though.
Im now more worried about getting my kidneys smashed in during the drive home more than anything else . I'd ask my brother to come with me but he knows less about cars than me and thats saying something. Also he, unlike your wife, is likely to moan all the way home about the hard ride. I too saw the ad on gumtree. It had only been on gumtree for 10 days before he put the advert in Autotrader so he is obviously desperate to sell. Before that I saw it on ebay in the summer. I imagine the Cat C put a lot of people off, it did me, but at the new price on autotrader I couldnt resist, Im sure you can see why. Im texted him today at 7.30 asking for details as to whether the car had an alarm in addition to the standard immobiliser so that I can start making arrangements for the insurance but no reply as yet! Im sure he is selling it on behalf of someone. The telephone number on autotrader is different to the one on the gum tree advert. I read that the cat C shouldnt make much difference but lets see.
Have you tried Googling his phone numbers? If you put his phone number into Google it comes back with quite a few cars that he has sold on gumtree. He probably only resorts to autotrader when he can't sell for free on gumtree. He's a small time dealer but that doesn't mean the car is hooky. He also uses the name Alex in all his ads. His autotrader number only brings up the copen the other number quite a few cars. He must have more than one phone. Try texting his gumtree number he'll not expect that. He's breaking the law by posing as a private seller when he's clearly dealing.
I doubt he's selling it for somebody else. The local car auctions are always frequented by local Asians. They buy cheap cars and then sell them on at a small profit, its a popular money making thing for them. I know one who started like that and now has his own showroom.
I never thought about googling the phone number! Thanks once again. The weirdest thing was when I asked for the VIN, he said he'd get it later that day but didnt. When I asked again the next day he said he'd give it to me first thing next morning as the car was in the garage and it was too dark to see!. The next day he didnt send it to me in the morning so I texted him in the afternoon to say I was no longer interested as there shouldnt be a problem giving me the VIN as it was on the V5 and I could only presume there was an issue with the car. He phoned straight away and said that he didnt give me the number as he thought he had some time as I want coming until next Saturday and that he had gone out on Friday night and not gone to bed until 5 as it was black Friday. I explained that I wouldnt buy my train ticket until I had completed the check on the car as for all I knew it had been front ended and had needed a new engine. He then texted me the VIN, and there were no problems when I added that data to my check. Seems weird that someone who has been trying to sell the car since around May would be so lax. Maybe he was hoping someone would buy the car from Gumtree for an extra grand in the meantime. Maybe Im too used to the ways of some southerners and am too suspicious
Hi there, Just looked at the photos on gumtree, looking at the photo of the near side you can see that the passenger door doesn't fit properly, would say it's taken a knock at some stage. Kind regards.
Wow lotuseater what keen eyes you have! Thank you! You're right the bottom of the door protrudes slightly more than the top. Is it a difficult thing to fix? Should I be very concerned? Another thing that will rattle no doubt As an aside, is the immobilizer on the car a thatcham approved one? I need to know for an insurance quote
I always state the immobiliser as manufacturer fitted it isnt thatchem.. The shut line of the door might be just be the photo angles though it does look out in two pics. Have you asked him if he has more than one key and the key fob blipper that operates the central locking? Not a problem if he hasn't but it shows the car as more genuine, especially as he doesn't have its history. I'd ask if he has the leather affect wallet and the handbooks as well.
