Well, we've all been there.
You place an advert for a car in the local free ads ie Loot, Ad Trader, Admart etc or hwatever covers your area and you wait...
If you're lucky they'll remember to put the ad in.
If you're a bit more lucky you'll get a phone call.
If you're even luckier, you won't break your neck to get to the phone to find it's some bloke trying to SELL you advertising in a publication you've never heard of and no doubt nor have most of the car buying market.
If your even luckier, the 'genuine buyer' will actually turn up and look at the vehicle.
...and if you luck really holds out, he or she will make you a reasonable offer, which you should be sensible enough to accept, and they'll leave a deposit,
...and if someone upstares is really smiling on you, they'll be back with the rest of the cash as agreed and the deal will be done!
YIPPEE!!
Having sold a few cars in my time, my luck, has sometimes held out right to the end, and has been known to run out at any of the above stages.
Hence I thought I had experienced every problem in the above sequence of events - UNTIL TODAY!
When I had decided to go for this Discovery I placed an advert in the Devon and Cornwall Trading Pages (Our more local answer to the likes of LOOT etc), using their website.
I went for a job interview this morning - as a car salesman actually. I got back to find no phone calls. Not to worry, I thought, Everyone will be at work etc. I popped into the newsagent to pick up a copy of Trading Pages - none there.
I went into another shop that sells papers - again none there.
So, having assumed they had sold out I found their number on their website and cave them a call...
...and was promptly greeted by a recorded message telling me that the paper had ceased to be published that week!
Do I get the BR Medal of Honour for the saddest car selling story yet, and am I a jixt for these papers? :)
Answers please, assuming that no one stops this forum of course!
Hugo
PS ANYONE OUT THERE!!!!
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Hugo, I empathise, I've been through this as well. Have also lived in cornwall for 15 years and never heard or seen this publication. Guess I never will now!
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I have had my Mondeo for sale on Autotraders website for the last 2 weeks, for what I think is a fair price. I got a call the day after the advert appeared form Cardata offering to advertise it for me, I put the phone down without saying a word!
Then a week later a dodgy sounding guy rang from a mobile and arranged a time/date but suprise suprise did not show. Since then, zip. Have decided to hang to it now till after Xmas as people do not but in the last 3 months of the year unless very cheap. The recent plate change has not helped either.
I'm a loser, baby....so why don't you kill me?!
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There are two problems with free-ads papers. One is that they are only bought by cheapskates who want you to give them a car for next to nothing, the other is that because the ads are free, people can put any old scrap in there, which lowers the prices generally. I wouldn't be surprised if half of the so-called "private" ads in Loot in London are actually traders using their mates' phone numbers...
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To be fair, I had one call from a chap in Bristol concerning the P reg Xantia, who's mother in law lives in the village.
She had seen the ad in the newsagent and passed on my number to the SiL.
We arranged that I would call him and have him down to see the car with his MiL on the Sunday.
On Saturday, he called to say that, on reflection, the car may be too big for his MiL. I thanked him for the curtesy. I was pleased that he phoned.
I passed on my neigbour's details to him as they were selling a Rover 214. He contacted them but didn't arrange to go and see it.
Hugo
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It is difficult selling privately sometimes.
Your point about the advertising sellers is right Hugo.
Its so frustrating when the only calls you recieve are from people wanting to sell your car, not buy it !
My brother recently advertised is car for sale in the Autotrader. He must have recieved at least 15 calls from companies wanting to advertise his car. Most wanted £75 + and had guaranteed buyers waiting ........
People must fall for this stuff because these companies have been around for years.
Do you live on a main road Hugo ? I've sold most of my cars this way. Just put a small 'for sale' sign placed in the window and people will stop and look and maybe even deal.
Good luck
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Every car advert in one of my local papers has N/C (no canvassers) at the end of the text. I am sure the paper add this automatically without being asked. Don't know if it works, or has legal standing.
I wonder if being registered with the Telephone Preference Service means you could report any canvassers who call or, dare we hope they might check to see if you are registered first?
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Saddest story I heard was a chap who had lost his job and could not afford the repayments on a new BMW. He took the car off the road cancelled the insurance and advertised the car for sale . 1Person looked at the car and said he would get back after viewing one other BM . A little while later the seller was told that the potential purchaser had viewed the other car but prefered the 1st car and he would purchase it if he could have a steel sun roof fitted . He then asked for all the numbers over the phone "to check with BMW to see if the sunroof could be fitted ". Next morning no car and no insurance plus no job.
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OUCH!
That man has my sympathy!
Yes, I do live on a main road, and the xantia that I am running is on the road with a sign in it, and the other one is in my drive with a similar sign.
My next door neigbour sold a Rover 214 through a card in the supermarket! Apparently Auto Trader plus all the free ads produced no results, even though it was a good clean L reg with 92K for £500! They're both pensioners as well!
Apparently the chap that bought it was so pleased with his find he gave them £500 without even attempting to negotiate.
Also, how we came about the Discovery was this. The lady who owned it was driving it and stopped next to my wife and asked if we would be interested. G directed her to me and I took a quick look. £3,500 was the asking, but she was obviously prepared to negotiate, So she managed a sale.
I wonder if I should go in for the cold calling....
H
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Another story, which stuck in my throat, was on a LandRover Forum.
A chap posted a query asking if £1500 was the right price for an M Reg Discovery TDI Auto. Apparently, his Girlfrend's Mum had passed away and it needed to be disposed of - A 'friend' had done the deed and said he'd only managed the £1500 for it.
I couldn't believe it. Either the 'friend' was totally stupid or he was a spieces of pond life!
Backroomers, if you ever need to get rid of a vehicle for similar reasons, at least start by phoning the local franchise dealer, followed by respectable independents to get a minimum.
Proper research in these circumstances can go a long way to alleviate further suffering in terms of berievement. It's enough to lose someone close to you without falling victim to all those lowlives out there!
Hugo
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The saga continues
Just got today\'s copy of one of the other freeads papers that is still in print and looked for my ad...
...and looked...
...and looked...
...and loo - well you no doubt get the picture - no ads - well not mine anyway!
So, I phoned them up.
\"Hello, placed ads over your internet site, they have not appeared etc etc any reason why?\"
\"When did you send them in sir, they\'ve probably been lost in the post etc etc\"
Thinks \"Oh dear!\"
\"No I placed them on the internet. They are not in your paper\"
Cut a long story short (CALSS) - another BR acronym is borne!
CALSS - It appears their website and their hard copy paper do not talk to each other very well, and often don\'t talk at all.
Contacted the paper that comes out tomorrow - A sister paper of Auto Trader
\"Just checking to see if the ads are in the paper tomorrow\"
\"Yes they are but have not got your phone number they\'ve got an 07..... number instead. that\'s what happens when you place them over the internet you see sir\"
Oh Pink Fluffy Dice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If anyone living in the South West sees two Xantias at the bottom of a very large cliff - spare me a thought!
No Seriously, the lady offered to put them in Auto Trader for £6 a piece in the under £1000 section. I reduced the price of the more expensive one to qualify!
Hugo
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