Trying to trace history of a Grabber Blue 18 plate... HELP!

[TREMAiNE]

Hello all.

I am currently trying to buy a Grabber Blue S550.
The one I am looking at has service history which I believe may be faked and I wanted to try to trace the original owner of the car - or at least the original dealer that sold it to check the cars claimed history is genuine.

The reg is YH18 AYC. Grabber Blue with black wheels and trim.

I know this a long shot but would like peace of mind that the service history has not been forged by the dealer selling it (large UK dealer network with a mixed reputation).

Cheers

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[maddog1982]

There are plenty put there mate, if in doubt walk away.

 

[marzman]

What part of the history do you doubt? Surely only one service needs to have taken place since the car was new unless its done insane miles? If in doubt you could just get a first service done for £300 or whatever it costs...?

Welcome to the forum, btw.

 

[TREMAiNE]

What part of the history do you doubt? Surely only one service needs to have taken place since the car was new unless its done insane miles? If in doubt you could just get a first service done for £300 or whatever it costs...?

Welcome to the forum, btw.

Many thanks.

Well I was under the impression it had it's service on time.
The car was based up north but moved down south to another dealer of the same group so I could view. Was told that they don't come with service books and it was all digital. When I probed about service history they said it didn't have any and was due one after going away for 5 mins to check. I walked away that day and then 2 days later was told that they found the service book and it's up north (got misplaced before the car was sent down south, and yes this does contradict their comment about it being digital) and apparently car was in fact serviced on time when it was supposed to have been after 1 year at 5k miles (car has 8k now). This seems very convenient to me though and even though the dealer up north is a franchised ford dealer as part of a large multi dealer and multi brand network in the UK it all seems a bit off. The stamped book is being sent down south where the car is and when it arrives I want to check it but I have a feeling they may have just taken a fresh service book and stamped it. With it being a fairly new car too, a fake stamp (or even late service) is going to be problematic if I have to claim for something under warranty.

Is anyone able to send me a photo of what the mustang service book even looks like inside and out so I can at least see if the right book is used?

I know plenty are for sale but Grabber Blue seems to be quite rare and at my budget (up to 32k for the 5.0) there aren't many G-Blue ones to choose from with top spec and NOT convertible hence why I'm interested in this car despite it seeming a bit dodgy. That's why ideally I'd like to investigate and try and find the original owner.

Looking forward to being part of the community when I get my S550 (whether it be this one or another!).

 

[Harebear72]

I have a 2016 which I have owned from new and have had 3 services, all have come back with service book stamped plus additional paperwork to back up.

whilst my fords have always had service book stamped and the paperwork, my son in law has a Mercedes and they don’t do the paperwork unless you ask so the dealer could be telling the truth and if it was electronic but you wanted to see they may have printed off and sorted the service book.

 

[Benno2000]

Hi

I see your location is Essex - and Looks like ESSEX Ford Dunton have a Grabber Blue Shadow Edition atm £34k.....

Benno

 

[Pilgrim/uk]

even if its digital they should be able to look it up on the system for you being the same dealer especially its more than likely that its just the sales guy not knowing his ass from his elbow

 

[Kristian87]

Any more details on the one you are looking at? I.e. any modifications? Photos? What actually makes you think it may be dodgy? The price too good to be true?

As others have said, plenty out there so walk away if you're not 100% confident. Several common faults plague these cars. Mine had to be ripped apart to find and fix a small leak in to the cabin. The water that did get in had corroded the main wiring looms over time, so a bit of a nightmare. All sorted now, but just an example.

And of course, welcome to the forum!

 

[Eclipsar]

Just found this one on eBay, it’s in London with 1700 miles on it
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/283617749175

 

[Benno2000]

How about asking them for an actual print out from the Ford system- I would hope that that could not be retrospectively “amended”....

Benno

 

[TREMAiNE]

Well that's why I am skeptical of it all. It's for sale by Evans Halshaw, I rang several EH dealers nationwide to try and trace the history (and see if any give contradicting info). All EH dealers can see the pre-sales service (which doesn't count) it had prior to being sent down south but none had a record of it having a full service from an EH Ford Dealer.
To be fair, they did all say that EH doesn't have a national service database, so they can only see if the car was service at THEIR dealership (which is strange as it's pre-sales service was seen by all the EH dealers I called?) but I do believe them given that all 6 dealers I called said this.

Ford themselves also told me that they do not have a national database of service records so could not confirm for me, so really I need to wait for the dealer in the south to receive the service book in the post, it was sent on Monday and still not arrived which is strange, I've shipped pallets to the US quicker than this... No copies of the ad or photos as the ad was taken offline when I placed my deposit.

When they do send me a copy of the service history I will double-check with the supposed dealer who serviced it to make sure it is all true. It may just be both south and north dealers being poorly organised and the car may be fine. I don't think it's too cheap to be true - 8k miles, Registered March 18 with Nav, Parking Sensors and Heated/Cooled seats for £31500. Seems priced on the low side but not unusually low.

Eclipsar, thanks for the link but that one is category S so not for me!

Thanks for the tip about the Grabber Blue on in Essex, Benno. That one isn't on Autotrader or Pistonheads so I hadn't seen it when searching for alternatives. It's about £2,000 over my budget but I've booked to see it nonetheless and so far already received a good service from this dealer.
It's only done 1,100 miles so should be tip-top condition, my only worry for this one is that it was crashed (not written off though) repaired and then never drove properly again hence why it was traded in at 1k miles (yes I know that I have no basis for saying this, I just don't trust dealers!) so will check over the car with a fine-tooth comb to be sure.


Big thanks to all who have welcomed me to the forum!

Any tips on what to look out for with these? What are the sort of things that go wrong? How are Ford with warranty claims - do they try and worm out of paying or are they generally ok?

 

[Alfa Male]

In theory it will / should be recorded both digitally and in the physical service book. Assuming it was serviced at a main dealer they will have it on their record.

The service intervals are typically every 10k or annually off the top of my head. With first service just being an oil and filter change

there is a common confusion with cars that have been manufactured then stood for a while with the oil change timer ticking over and throwing gulp that it needs an oil change before 10k miles. Mine came up at 5k and the dealer just reset the timer and sent me on my way !

 

[Charlie Brown]

When I bought my GT brand new in 2017 there was no service book to record history when I asked for one they said no need as its all digital now but I insisted - cheeky sods charged me £12 for it

 

[Count Drunkula]

When I bought my GT brand new in 2017 there was no service book to record history when I asked for one they said no need as its all digital now but I insisted - cheeky sods charged me £12 for it

Interesting. When I bought mine, the salesman gave me some BS about them not having a service book as they're a US car and non-EU compliant. I was skeptical and checked - and of course they do have a service book. I wrote a pretty stiffly worded letter of complaint to the dealership and they duely supplied me with one, but it makes you wonder if the guys who are selling these cars actually know anything about them at all....The chimp that sold me mine certainly didn't. Actually he was probably the worst salesman I've ever encountered, there were several issues relating to the sale, but that's another story...

 

[TREMAiNE]

Hi All once again...

So I went to view the one that Benno2000 mentioned earlier in this thread. 18 Plate shadow edition in Grabber Blue with only 1,000 miles off the clock. The dealer knocked £1,000 off the price too which was nice and I shook his hand on it and collect on Tuesday. I'm getting a much, much, MUCH nicer example for only £1,500 more so the other half and I are over the moon! Big thanks to Benno2000 as I wouldn't have come across that car without your input!

Funnily enough the dealership for the car I originally posted about called up about 10 minutes after a viewed the second one saying they have the service history now, to which I said it was too late and I'd gone with another and would like my deposit refunded.

I look forward to being part of this community once I pick up my GT on Tuesday!

Cheers
Ed

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