Hello all,
I found this beautiful little Seat Ibiza 2006 model online and decided to buy it. 10 year old car with less than 80,000 ks on the clock and a full road worthy technical test done just this month (sounds good, right?). I went to the dealer and checked it over. She started from cold perfectly, engine was quiet, all warning lights turned off after starting and test drive went absolutely fine. Over the course of a few hours I started the car from cold without issue. I started and drove the car home, once again no issue. Then started a couple more times that night to move it into the garage.
She was sitting there for two days without being used and then this evening, I started the car to move it forward a few meters so that I could put new tax stickers on, etc. No problem there either. Then, half an hour later out of the blue, she doesn't start. The lights come on, and there is a ticking noise but doesn't start. I try again and then there is sound like an electric motor slowing down. I assumed it was the battery so asked a neighbour for a jump start and still nothing. This tells me it isn't the battery at all.
How can it be that an engine starts several times during the pre purchase test (and official government-controlled test) and a few times after that and then not work anymore? I assume now it is the starter motor but how can a dealer be crafty enough to sell me a bad starter motor that will work just enough times to pass the pre purchase test? This car also passed the officially monitored road worthy test (TUV, Germany) for all cars on the road yet manged to fail only a few days after it gets purchased. How is this possible? Or is it just really, really bad luck? Was there something else I should have looked for?
I found this beautiful little Seat Ibiza 2006 model online and decided to buy it. 10 year old car with less than 80,000 ks on the clock and a full road worthy technical test done just this month (sounds good, right?). I went to the dealer and checked it over. She started from cold perfectly, engine was quiet, all warning lights turned off after starting and test drive went absolutely fine. Over the course of a few hours I started the car from cold without issue. I started and drove the car home, once again no issue. Then started a couple more times that night to move it into the garage.
She was sitting there for two days without being used and then this evening, I started the car to move it forward a few meters so that I could put new tax stickers on, etc. No problem there either. Then, half an hour later out of the blue, she doesn't start. The lights come on, and there is a ticking noise but doesn't start. I try again and then there is sound like an electric motor slowing down. I assumed it was the battery so asked a neighbour for a jump start and still nothing. This tells me it isn't the battery at all.
How can it be that an engine starts several times during the pre purchase test (and official government-controlled test) and a few times after that and then not work anymore? I assume now it is the starter motor but how can a dealer be crafty enough to sell me a bad starter motor that will work just enough times to pass the pre purchase test? This car also passed the officially monitored road worthy test (TUV, Germany) for all cars on the road yet manged to fail only a few days after it gets purchased. How is this possible? Or is it just really, really bad luck? Was there something else I should have looked for?