Dealer’s Diary
Timewasters!
► Why is it that some cars seem to attract timewasters like bees to a honey pot? And why is it all-but impossible to call which cars will do this, and which will not, before we buy them?
I’m currently advertising a 2004/54 Volvo V70 D5 SE estate. It’s a good one – two owners (the last for 13 years), a tickle over 100,000 miles (very low for a 17-year-old Volvo) and in absolutely superb condition inside and out. The history’s good, too, with stamps in the book showing services pretty-much every year with just a couple of gaps, all by a reputable independent Volvo specialist in Hertfordshire. It also had a timing belt at 80,000 as per spec.
And finally, it’s the sought-after diesel automatic, and comes with climate control and full-leather interior.
In short, then, it’s a car which ticks pretty-much every box, and while clearly there will be cheaper cars of the age, I really thought this one would find a home within a couple of days.
Three messages arrived almost immediately. The first guy wanted to know what make of tyres were fitted; they were budget-ish (though not the cheapest of the cheap) yet almost new. I told him and heard no more. The second guy wanted to know when the transmission fluid was last changed and if the coolant system seal “that usually fails” had been changed. As the history comprises only stamps in the book, I had to say that I didn’t know.
