Any way to find previous owner of vehicle?

[prz]

Hi,
I recently bought a P5 (from a dealer, who bought it at auction). Does anyone know of a way to find contact info for the person who actually owned, drove and maintained the car since 02? (i know from the carfax that the vehicle had been a "1 owner" in Louisiana prior to auction)

What im really trying to get to the bottom of is whether or not the timing belt, water pump and belts have been replaced. I suspect that it MAY have since the belts look near new. but how can i know for sure? is there a way to tell aside from knowing the previous owner and having service records?

 

[iJay]

Look at the mileage on the car and go from there.

I would suggest changing the WP TB every 70,000mi or 110,000km.

For the peace of mind I would spend the extra $$

 

[StealthWyvern]

Hi,
I recently bought a P5 (from a dealer, who bought it at auction). Does anyone know of a way to find contact info for the person who actually owned, drove and maintained the car since 02? (i know from the carfax that the vehicle had been a "1 owner" in Louisiana prior to auction)

What im really trying to get to the bottom of is whether or not the timing belt, water pump and belts have been replaced. I suspect that it MAY have since the belts look near new. but how can i know for sure? is there a way to tell aside from knowing the previous owner and having service records?

not likely beings that the p5 isn't a limited production run like the MSP where people look up the production numbers. However if its been modified you have a extremely slim chance that it may be someone on the forums. If it has been post a picture of it up and someone might be able to tell you who it might be.

However with all that said its better off to get all that changed out anyways for peice of mind!

 

[prz]

ijay, i understand that, but the point is i dont want to replace something that has already been done.

Secondly, going on mileage alone is not any way to determine how it has been serviced in the past..most people are not religious about servicing their vehicles at recommended intervals.

stealth, this car is totally stock. i just didnt know if there was any way to physically/visually inspect it to determine if the parts were replaced.

 

[Hank3]

Call any of the local Mazda dealers where the car was...you mentioned Louisiana. Do you know what city? If so, call up the service department and ask them to do a VIN search and see if the car was in for any routine maintenance or service. I did that while shopping for my P5. It's a shot in the dark but worth doing

 

[prz]

ill have to take a second look at the carfax..i dont believe a specific city was indicated but thanks..good tip.

 

[StealthWyvern]

stealth, this car is totally stock. i just didnt know if there was any way to physically/visually inspect it to determine if the parts were replaced.

you could remove the valve cover to look at the belt but that wotn tell you if the waterpump ect has been changed or not

 

[prz]

searching for a how to, came across this..

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123778621-HOW-TO-Replace-Valve-Cover-Gasket

which was helpful in showing how to remove the valve cover.