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Has it had too many owners?

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DGOLL

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hey all,

Been a long time since I last posted, though I've been a VW owner for the past several years. Currently on the hunt for a clean, low mileage MK7.5 R and found one that I really like, in the right color with 31k miles on it for a reasonable price. However, I'm struggling to pull the trigger because the AutoCheck shows 4 previous owners and Carfax shows 6 previous owners... Pretty sure AutoCheck is accurate but even 4 past owners gives me a little pause. No accidents, pretty full service history, and been in the same state it's whole life - Just seems to have been passed around a bit.

So, what I'm looking for are some opinions on the situation... Am I overthinking this? Or would this also give others pause when considering such a purchase?
 
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#2 ·
In my experience I have seen some history providers count dealers as a owner and others dont. So maybe that is what is happening here? I will say that some folks just dont vibe with a smaller (for the US market) hatchback. I have met folks that loved it but coudnt fit X into it, or partner didnt like it being so low to the ground or they thought they wanted a stickshift and ended up hating it. So the number of owners wouldnt worry me as much. But then again I do get an external inspection done on used cars I buy. When I got my R I found a shop that specialized in VW/AUDI so they knew exactly what to look for. Hope that helps! If you feel comfortable uploading the docs/reports we can give better feedback.
 
#3 ·
Check the report for who the owners are, changing hands from dealers might be messing up the count.

Also 2018 (could also be sold at the end of 2017) would be ~6+ years so 4 including a dealership or two in the middle isn't crazy. Obviously lower is better but with service records and no major accidents I wouldn't rule it out immediately
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
zergoverlord said:
In my experience I have seen some history providers count dealers as a owner and others dont. So maybe that is what is happening here? I will say that some folks just dont vibe with a smaller (for the US market) hatchback. I have met folks that loved it but coudnt fit X into it, or partner didnt like it being so low to the ground or they thought they wanted a stickshift and ended up hating it. So the number of owners wouldnt worry me as much. But then again I do get an external inspection done on used cars I buy. When I got my R I found a shop that specialized in VW/AUDI so they knew exactly what to look for. Hope that helps! If you feel comfortable uploading the docs/reports we can give better feedback.
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Here’s the Autocheck report - The salesman sent me pics of the printed report in lieu of a scanned PDF copy.. Haha. Can’t see the 4th owner in what’s been provided. Going to ask him to send me the full report.

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#5 ·
This seems OK at a glance, The service records are there(wierd gap between 8/22-4/23, 10k miles, should have done 2 oil changes there). I would still do a inspection to see if its been tuned. If the flash count is 0 I have a hard time seeing an issue here. 31k miles is to low to typically see issues cropping up with major service items, those start cropping up around 50-70k, like the rotors and such. You should assume the Haladex (this is NOT a transmission service, its the AWD system) has not been serviced, its rarely done but critical, i think its supposed to be done at 40k and every 30kish, i forget exactly). That has to be done by a VW experienced tech, so they screen is checked and cleared. You can google this for all the details. The inspection should check the water pump for leakage, It being in Idaho its going to see the thermal cycles that seem to be the primary reason they fail(the freeze/thaw cycle in cold weather is hard on the plastic pump). It looks like it was serviced at the dealership there in Idaho falls, you could just call them with the VIN and see what their records say, if there are any odd notes) trying to think of anything else..... maybe someone will see or think of something I dont.
 
#6 ·
That report does not look accurate to me. It shows Owner 1 having TWO title events which does not make sense. Should be the title/registration event when the car was initially purchased and then registration/renewals until it was sold or traded in. Instead it has a title event in 9/19 which implies a second owner. Perhaps the first title was the dealer taking delivery of the car?

Then Owner 2 has a single registration/renewal event during their ownership.

Then Owner 3 apparently also has no title event when acquiring the car but has two registration/renewals before selling/trading in the car which created the title event in 9/23 which implies the 4th owner.

So I'd go back to the dealer and inquire about the weird chronology to get some clarification. Without any data after that last title event, it almost looks like the car has been at the last dealer for a year and not necessarily owned by another customer.
 
#7 ·
zergoverlord said:
This seems OK at a glance, The service records are there(wierd gap between 8/22-4/23, 10k miles, should have done 2 oil changes there). I would still do a inspection to see if its been tuned. If the flash count is 0 I have a hard time seeing an issue here. 31k miles is to low to typically see issues cropping up with major service items, those start cropping up around 50-70k, like the rotors and such. You should assume the Haladex (this is NOT a transmission service, its the AWD system) has not been serviced, its rarely done but critical, i think its supposed to be done at 40k and every 30kish, i forget exactly). That has to be done by a VW experienced tech, so they screen is checked and cleared. You can google this for all the details. The inspection should check the water pump for leakage, It being in Idaho its going to see the thermal cycles that seem to be the primary reason they fail(the freeze/thaw cycle in cold weather is hard on the plastic pump). It looks like it was serviced at the dealership there in Idaho falls, you could just call them with the VIN and see what their records say, if there are any odd notes) trying to think of anything else..... maybe someone will see or think of something I dont.
Click to expand...
Oil changes are 12 months / 10K miles. You said 10K miles in 7 months lol. That’s 1 oil change. No gap.
 
#8 ·
kevinkar said:
That report does not look accurate to me. It shows Owner 1 having TWO title events which does not make sense. Should be the title/registration event when the car was initially purchased and then registration/renewals until it was sold or traded in. Instead it has a title event in 9/19 which implies a second owner. Perhaps the first title was the dealer taking delivery of the car?

Then Owner 2 has a single registration/renewal event during their ownership.

Then Owner 3 apparently also has no title event when acquiring the car but has two registration/renewals before selling/trading in the car which created the title event in 9/23 which implies the 4th owner.

So I'd go back to the dealer and inquire about the weird chronology to get some clarification. Without any data after that last title event, it almost looks like the car has been at the last dealer for a year and not necessarily owned by another customer.
Click to expand...
Owner 1 refinanced - different Lien Holder = different title

He paid the first month's payment and then refinanced.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
TheMuffnMan said:
Owner 1 refinanced - different Lien Holder = different title

He paid the first month's payment and then refinanced.
Click to expand...
Do you think it's possible that any of the additional reported new owners were the result of a refinance event and new title being issued? Just seems odd that it would change hands that many times but never leave Idaho Falls...
 
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Discussion starter · #11 ·
SchnellFowVay said:
Eh. Who cares. Mileage + Maintenace are what are important. I don't put too much stock in the number of owners. Buy the car and have fun with it.
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That's actually the attitude I want to have about it but I worry about future resale and the next buyer getting scared off by the number of owners, much like I'm struggling with now.
 
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#13 ·
as someone mentioned above ... location is the same, refi' or new plates/tabs ...

I'd say go for it!

Autocheck is a joke, carfax is a joke ... have a pre purchase inspection done and look at the maintenance records and go from there.
 
#14 ·
kevinkar said:
That report does not look accurate to me. It shows Owner 1 having TWO title events which does not make sense. Should be the title/registration event when the car was initially purchased and then registration/renewals until it was sold or traded in. Instead it has a title event in 9/19 which implies a second owner. Perhaps the first title was the dealer taking delivery of the car?

Then Owner 2 has a single registration/renewal event during their ownership.

Then Owner 3 apparently also has no title event when acquiring the car but has two registration/renewals before selling/trading in the car which created the title event in 9/23 which implies the 4th owner.

So I'd go back to the dealer and inquire about the weird chronology to get some clarification. Without any data after that last title event, it almost looks like the car has been at the last dealer for a year and not necessarily owned by another customer.
Click to expand...
I have no idea how that state DMV works. Is it possible that what is showing as a title event is a simple initial purchase of the vehicle (event 1), and then a later purchase of permanent tags for the car (event 2)? Yes, I know the differences between title and tags, but maybe the DMV in Idaho throws them all in a catch all bucket called title event. Or maybe it was when another driver was added. Or the ones with "lien reported" is when an owner refinanced. Does CarFax report repossessions? Some of this seems like at least one owner couldn't keep up the payments.

That "body service performed" worries me on a car with no supposed accident history.
 
Discussion starter · #15 ·
I actually just happened upon a 2 owner local 2019 R with 21k miles that I'm trying to work out a deal on. Full service history, enthusiast owned... About $3k more than the 4-6 owner one but I'll gladly pay that given the circumstances. Fingers crossed this works out!
 
Discussion starter · #17 ·
They had it listed for $33,900 but offered to sell it to me for $31,700
 
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#18 ·
sounds like you might have moved on to a new deal, but I'd go with general consensus here.. number of butts loses to a documented service history. with any purchase, do a PPI and make sure it wasn't tuned, and if it is find out which one before proceeding cautiously. If you're buying a manual, you can check overrev counter to make sure it wasn't money shifted at any point too.
 
#19 ·
DGOLL said:
Hey all,

Been a long time since I last posted, though I've been a VW owner for the past several years. Currently on the hunt for a clean, low mileage MK7.5 R and found one that I really like, in the right color with 31k miles on it for a reasonable price. However, I'm struggling to pull the trigger because the AutoCheck shows 4 previous owners and Carfax shows 6 previous owners... Pretty sure AutoCheck is accurate but even 4 past owners gives me a little pause. No accidents, pretty full service history, and been in the same state it's whole life - Just seems to have been passed around a bit.

So, what I'm looking for are some opinions on the situation... Am I overthinking this? Or would this also give others pause when considering such a purchase?
Click to expand...
Did you end up picking it up?
 
Discussion starter · #20 ·
I ended up finding a different Lapiz Blue 2019 with only 21k miles locally that I picked up 👍
 

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JPB5749
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