To buy a car with mould in it?

[EricScrantona]

Posting here for traffic.

Went to a retailer to look at a car today. It's been there a few weeks which may have something to do with it. I looked in the boot and there was some mud looking mould on the black seats, the dash had some forming along the top where the sun would hit and the headlining where you open the door had black/blue looking mould. Possibly more elsewhere. I asked about it and he said it has been sitting with him and was sitting where it came from but it would all be sorted/removed and not a concern.

Is that something you can remove effectively or is it likely to come back and haunt me in the future? It's clearly all over the car or in many sections of the car. Everything else is good, the price etc. Its an uninspiring VW Tiguan 2012 for just under 9k but I would like it to provide a good few years of safe, comfortable and reliable driving.

I would be very concerned that water was getting into the car somewhere, I don't think I have ever seen a car with mould in it. DH's works van sat for weeks, through all kinds of weather last Jan/Feb/Mar (and beyond) and it had absolutely no signs of mould anywhere in it. I'd walk away.

I've had 2 VWs that leak and I would give that car a swerve. In both cases the source of the leak was impossible to find.

He's lying and it is a big concern.

No way

I wouldn’t touch that car with a barge pole.

Who wants to be breathing in mould??

I wouldn't. There are thousands of second hand cars out there without mould.

Don't do it! I've had a car go mouldy once, we never found the source of the leak so it just kept going mouldy again

If you have around 9k to spend do not buy the mouldy car, you would be mad!

Fairly unanimous! I was half hoping there would be a magic cure I didn't know about. Car prices are ridiculous at the minute and I'm struggling to find what I want (mainly because I don't know) from a reputable garage for a good price.

So far I've had an x3 advertised at 95k but actually had 106k and 2 kuga's purchased either on the day I turn up to look or minutes before and I have to watch them sign the paperwork 😫

There is another car at that same garage but now I'm wondering if I should go near any he has. Big sigh!

My car went mouldy during the first lockdown in 2020 as it just sat on the drive for months while the kids were off school. I had it valeted and it’s been absolutely fine since so I wouldn’t completely give up on this car if there’s nothing else available. Second hand cars are really hard to come by at the minute.

Maybe I have low standards, but… my VW Touran was unused for 3 months and developed mould on the seats (grey/ green if it makes a difference). I sprayed thoroughly with dettol and wiped off. I had it another 3 years and it didn’t recur.

I knew someone who had a damp car it kept getting electrical problems after a while , I would imagine damp was the cause

In your budget I would not find mould acceptable!
We bought DD a VW polo for £1k which had been stood awhile and had mould - fabreezed and generally cleaned - once it was being driven every day had no further issues

I wouldn’t worry about the mould, quick wipe with anti bac and it should go. Once you start using the car and running the A/C it shouldn’t come back. If patches persist then a decent valeter can wash the seats or whatever.

It is very common on forecourt stock that sits around at this time of year. You should be able to see how long ago he brought it into stock from the V5 as the previous keeper should have signed and dated it.

Don’t forget to look at a few Hondas if the budget is circa £9k. Likely more reliable than BMW X3 or Tiguan at this price point (in my opinion/experience). Obviously previous history is important too.

The mould presumably means the car is leaking somewhere.

My car leaks around the boot seal. Thankfully it doesn’t make the seats mouldy but it really adds to the issue of condensation on the windscreen in the mornings. It takes ages to clear and I have to have the air con on 100% of the time in the colder months otherwise all the windows and windscreen steam up badly.

No way would I buy a mouldy car. For your budget you shouldn't need to compromise to this extent!

I thought I had a really good budget and wouldn't have to compromise but it's not panned out that way unfortunately.

Yes, @johndglynn I was looking to go further east with Honda/Toyota but they are so bland. The Hondas at that range have a basic inside with no satnav etc and the rav 4s are a little more. I've looked for Toyota estates but they are very few and far between. Kia are only the old shape sportage which are ok but look aged. I also like the zafira tourer, once had a Vauxhall that got to 200k but they are dated on the inside with only an analogue display.

I think for that budget (up to 10) I should be able to sit in it and go "wow".

I have seen one other car I really like but it's silver which I hate and it's the bloody same as Dh. We can't have matching cars can we?

I think the problem is if it was easy to wipe off with dettol in this case why on earth wouldn’t the garage have done that?

When I was looking for a used car in January a few years ago, several cars on the forecourt had mould on the seats where they had been valeted and not dried properly because of the cold, I didn’t buy one so not sure if it was easy to resolve.

Second hand prices have rocketed because the shortage of elecrtical components is causing 12-18m delays on many new cars. So people who would buy new are creaming off the top end of nearly new and the increase in demand trickles through the pool of supply.

Apparently my car's worth more now than it was when I bought it in 2019. No use to me as I need her, like her and would only have to replace her with something also inflated in price!

Absolutely! I've had my car 1.5 years and done 20k. I'm able to sell privately for £500 less (approx, probably 1k by the end) or £1400 less with we buy any car and the like. Swings and roundabouts when I've seen cars I got rid of 10 years ago for more than double the price they were then.

I've watched the market and some cars have gone up 60% at 3yrs 30k. Some are worth more used than new... XC40/Dacia duster plus more! JLR are only giving one key when new now and providing the second at a later date to keep up!

We had a budget of £10,000 3 1/2 years ago to buy a car and got a 2015 Citroen Grand C4 Picasso with less than 42,000 on the clock. Has all the things we wanted inside except a cooler box in the central console (my sister has one and it was great for keeping cans cool on long journeys!) and it is manual not automatic - we’d have either had to take a car with 80,000+ or pay £2,500 more for a similar model.

I think you could do much better than a car that’s riddled with mould

Mine is mouldy. It lets in water and if the rain hits it at a certain angle the passenger side footwell is under a few cm of water. The boot is also wet. No way would I recommend buying it as you don't know what's causing it. My windscreen also freezes up on the inside. I imagine mine will go for scrap. I'd stay well clear.

@Ghastlyghoul is that a Tiguan?

@Rememberallball I'm not sure I would buy a Citroen after an awful experience a few years back but what model/spec keeps cans cold? Sounds heavenly

[quote EricScrantona]@Ghastlyghoul is that a Tiguan?

@Rememberallball I'm not sure I would buy a Citroen after an awful experience a few years back but what model/spec keeps cans cold? Sounds heavenly

[/quote]
If I remember correctly, it’s the semi automatic and automatic exclusive (and possibly exclusive+) model but may only be the pre 2014 version - mine is a 65 plate Exclusive+ BlueHDI