General Cinq buying guide, what to look for??

[cobra148]

I've just bought a '96 Cinq Sporting on Ebay and should be picking it up tomorrow evening. I'm a total novice with these cars and know nothing about them, is there anything in particular that I should check for before parting with my cash?

Cheers
Rob

 

[rallycinq]

If you've won the car on ebay, you are parting with your cash.

On the positive side, there is not much that goes wrong that can't be fixed easily, and relatively cheaply.

Cheers

D

 

[levemircento]

you should have really asked this question, then gone and had a look at it before committing to buy.

Once that auction os closed and you are the highest bidder, the item is yours as that is the agreement of the auction.

If you find the car wasnt as described, then you can possibly take action about that, but you will still have had to hand over the cash to complete the transaction.

Its just as hard for the seller of a car IMO on ebay, it only takes one ommision in the description and your previous good run of positive FB can go right out the window.

do your homework before buying!!

 

[cobra148]

I've asked plenty of questions beforehand, so if I've been misinformed and the vehicle is not as described to me, I can use that as a get out clause.
Plus I did an HPI check and it shows there may be a discrepancy with the mileage, if it don't check out, I'll walk away.
I know the car is mine if its all as described, I was wondering if there were any common faults/problems to look out for, as I have no experience with this particular car at all.

 

[AppleSei]

The weak parts mechanically on either cento are the clutch cables and handbrake cables

You will no doubt have to replace these somewhere along the line as they are a useless design and break easily. The good thing is the that they are both cheap and easy fixes. Plenty of info on here about them

The other pretty uselss gadget is the fuel guage. It is not particularly accurate, there is no fix for this sadly and all cento owners suffer but we just get on with it.

Other than that thats really about it, other than checking the usual areas, HG etc all the usual signs like on any car should be there

In terms of the mileage where there is a discrepency, you should be able to tell if the mileage is true or not, by the wear in the seats, steering wheel gear stick etc

 

[Dragonstone]

When you go to pick the car up don't part with any cash until you have run the car up to temp and checked that all is ok and not overheating and the fan is cutting in and out..Most of our little cars run quite high thats ok but worth looking into when picking your car up.

Hope you enjoy the car..

David

 

[cobra148]

Cheers guys, not picking it up until the weekend now, will post a few pics when I get it.