Sometimes I get lost for words. Last week I checked out a car in an SIMI garage. The buyer had seen and driven the car before calling me and just wanted to make sure it was mechanically ok before going forward. I keep very accurate statistics about my business which is easy as it is mostly done on computer so I can say with certainty what cars I fail and what cars I pass as fit for purpose. I do not expect an old high mileage car to be in the same condition a a newer car but I do expect it not to have major issues.

Statistically 20% of the cars I check in garages have major issues where I either recommend the buyer continue looking or get the garage to repair the issues found.

I call a major issue an engine problem or a clutch problem or the car is clocked.

On the above car I checked and found the engine had no power due to a faulty part that would cost €1000, the clutch was almost worn out, the brakes would not stop the car and two electric windows were faulty. Also the engine was loose in its mountings and the suspension was hard. The indicated mileage was 50,000. Now you don’t have to be Einstein to figure out that this car was clocked. Had I not been called out he would have bought this car and had nothing but trouble with it.

Sometimes buyers might miss mechanical issues due to lack of knowledge and that’s why they call me in. This buyer just about missed everything and got it wildly wrong, blinded by the car coming from an SIMI garage. I called him a few days later to see if he had found another car. He told me had already bought one from another garage. I was speechless. He had learned nothing. The €95 he spent with me did not even have educational value. It’s buyer beware even from SIMI garages.