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I once had a car for sale and a woman came to look at it and agreed to buy it. I later got a phone call from her asking to confirm the mileage, which I did and she went into one saying that the mileage was far too high (80,000 on a 9 year old car) I never saw her again.
My aunts neighbour had a person come to look at their car, the people left their car and car keys with them while they took the car for a test drive. They never came back and after calling the police it turned out the car they left was also a stolen car.
Personally I hate selling cars, although I look after my cars well. I can't be bothered with the hassle of stupid people. Luckily the last car I sold the chap was fairly ok and only rang up to ask if I knew why the windows and sunroof wouldn't open (he or his wife has pressed the switch which prevents passengers from opening the windows and rear sunroof).
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The last car I sold, as opposed to traded-in, was a 4-year old '85 Cavalier SRi which had done 95,000 miles but been clocked back to 55,000 (I know!) - two lads in their 20s turned up with their father and all three went to lengths to proclaim their expertise of Vauxhalls and Cavaliers, so I wasn't expecting a sale - after crawling over/under the car they pronounced it excellent so gave me the asking price in cash and drove it away.
I learnt two things - never trust the mileage on any used car, buy purely on condition - research prices much better and learn to negotiate, I have no problem now asking for silly high money for my trade-in or a silly low price if buying and being prepared to walk away if the price isn't right.
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1). Sold my first car, an Austin 1100 when I was 21. I was only asking £120 for it as it was a banger. A day later the buyer rang up saying it had leaked (overnight rain). Dad wanted to invoke the 'sold as seen' clause, but my mum who worked for the Police as a civilian, knew of the family concerned and I gave them their money back promptly. Meanwhile my sister posed as a buyer when they returned it, saying in a suitably loud voice "Ooh yes, I'll buy it, it's a bargain at £120"!
2) When selling a classic restored MGC GT about 11 years ago, had a number of people ring up to enquire. One chap wanted to come and test drive it. Asked him to bring his insurance details. Chap turned into Mr Nasty and said I was being pedantic. Gleefully told him he was NOT going to be driving or buying my MG.
3) Pleasant bloke from South Wales came all the way to Suffolk to view the MGC, got underneath it, looked at the usual areas, saw it was a professional restoration, but said he had others to see. No problem. Next day phoned to say he wanted mine, could I meet him the following weekend? OK, South Mimms services. Felt very nervous and slightly shady sitting in the car park there counting out almost £8k in used notes. The only car which made me a small profit, would probably be worth around £14k now.
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No problem. Next day phoned to say he wanted mine, could I meet him the following weekend? OK, South Mimms services. Felt very nervous and slightly shady sitting in the car park there counting out almost £8k in used notes.
That's why I always do such deals in a bank or PO. Money gets counted and checked by professionals (one buyer got stroppy when they rejected some notes) and put straight into my account. There's also cameras around usually.
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Had an old golf advertised in autotrader. Two asian guys turned up, parking their blinged car round the corner out of sight. One guy, got me under the hood sniffing the dipstick, non stop chat. Meanwhile the other guy was inside the car. Not interested they left in rather a hurry. After 10 mins I checked the cars glovebox, and the vehicle documentation, full service history etc were missing. Phoned police, they said theres nothing they can do about it, put it down to experience. Not even interested in recording the incident in case a ringer turns up.
That day I became a bitter twisted individual.
Trust no one.
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40 years ago bought an Isetta bubble car, hired a car trailer stuck it on the back of my dads Capri to collect it, handed over the money, pulled the ramps down and got ready to drive on, seller stopped me saying what about the back wheel mate !! Red faced!!
Sold it for £85 ... why didn't I keep it!
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I too hate selling cars privately, but I hate even more the sinking feeling when you ask a dealer for a trade in valuation, the man with the clipboard turns up, pokes around, finds fault with even the tiniest blemish and pronounces it worth next to eff all.
We privately sold an oldish Focus a couple of years back--a 52 plate 1.8 Ghia. Decent mileage, but like many cars of that age and model the dashboard had been replaced and we had confirmation of the mileage at the time of replacement. I had the rather ropey roof resprayed and the car fully serviced, with the exceptions mentioned below.
There were a couple of things that needed doing; for example, one rear drum had proven impossible to remove with DIY tools so we weren't able to check the rear brakes, and the cambelt was due fairly soon. The buyer totted up the cost of these items in his head and asked for that amount off the price. It was my son's car and he wanted the money in a hurry, so I agreed, though it meant losing around £150 off an asking price which I thought was already pretty good for the age and mileage.
What would others have done in that situation?
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2) When selling a classic restored MGC GT about 11 years ago, had a number of people ring up to enquire. One chap wanted to come and test drive it. Asked him to bring his insurance details. Chap turned into Mr Nasty and said I was being pedantic. Gleefully told him he was NOT going to be driving or buying my MG.
That reminds me of selling my MGB Roadster about 20 years ago. First bloke called and arrived at the drop of a hat, drove the car and tried to give me a load of t*** about the cars condition, I politely told him to leave and not waste my time.
Got a call from a chap in Brighton who wished to come and view on the Saturday afternoon, He never arrived and I put it down to him being a time waster. He called on the Tuesday and appologised about not arriving as he had broken down on the A23 with a burst radiator hose. I was away and he then went to the house and viewed the car without being able to open it, start it or test drive it. He bought the car without any nit picking.
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Sold a well-used Cavalier SRi to a chap when I lived in West London. A week later he knocked on the door..."Remember me?". Sinking feeling. Fortunately he had come round for the spare key which I had assured him I would be able to locate. I had found it and he went away happy. My general rule is to keep a car until it's worth next to nothing and sell it privately. I guess people are less likely to complain, but we shall see when my Mazda6 comes up for sale soon. 12 years old and 155k on the clock.
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One I will never forget occurred in the late seventies. I was being driven around by my best friend - the idea being that if I found a car I might buy it there and then, and drive it home. Anyway we found a car we both liked and I put down a deposit. My friend then drove me to the bank and we returned less than an hour later. The seller informed us that someone had come along with a better offer and he handed me my deposit back. He seemed rather taken aback when he was sworn at but then 'his word was not his bond'!
The same thing happened to my mother twice with dealers. I recall one was the Skoda dealer on the A1 dual carriageway that ran through Hatfield before the coming of the tunnel and the Galleria. She was so upset when I drove her home that she cried as she had been expecting to drive her new (used) car home!
In retrospect the guy that gazumped me did me a favour as I found a newer model with a higher spec at a lower price at a dealer who took it in part exchange.
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My ex brother in law police officer bought an A4 his sergeant had "bought brand new." He was retiring to Oz and needed shut of it.
He kept it until the oil cooler went and then traded it. A dealer HPI showed it to be a Cat C! Never trust a copper, even one who is a colleague!
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I remember the time I found out there was little or no sentiment for, or trust in buyers amongst car salesman.
It was during my search for a Rover 820, and which ended in me buying the worst car I've ever owned. Before I found that dreadful car I located a decent example at a local independent, took it for a drive and loved it. I didn't put a deposit down but told the salesman that I would definitely come next day with the money, a promise which he seemed to accept on face value. Next day before going to the bank I rang to give him a progress report and he said "the Rover? Sorry, its gone". I was gobsmacked, and in desperation blurted out that I was willing to pay more than his buyer to get the car back. His response was "I don't want to get into a Dutch auction".
That phrase comes back to me on those mercifully rare occasions when I walk into a dealership.
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I remember the time I found out there was little or no sentiment for, or trust in buyers amongst car salesman.
It was during my search for a Rover 820, and which ended in me buying the worst car I've ever owned. Before I found that dreadful car I located a decent example at a local independent, took it for a drive and loved it. I didn't put a deposit down but told the salesman that I would definitely come next day with the money, a promise which he seemed to accept on face value. Next day before going to the bank I rang to give him a progress report and he said "the Rover? Sorry, its gone". I was gobsmacked, and in desperation blurted out that I was willing to pay more than his buyer to get the car back. His response was "I don't want to get into a Dutch auction".
That phrase comes back to me on those mercifully rare occasions when I walk into a dealership.
If every car salesman had £10 for every customer who promised to come back in the next day, they'd all be retired and living in the Bahamas.
Did you really expect him to refuse to sell the car to someone because oyu MIGHT come back in the following day ? That's his earnings - he makes his wages off sales, not 'promises'. That's food on the table, the mortgage payment.
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When it comes to buying expensive stuff I'm a man of my word. So yes, it was a surprise to find that because no money changed hands my promise would be dismissed as flannel, and the car would be sold to the next person who turned up with the folding stuff.
I never again made the mistake of assuming that I would be treated by a garage as a trustworthy person.
Trust...yes. Reminds me of the small independent in St Helens which advertised a Rover 25 on Autotrader; one that looked ideal for my son.
We went over there one Saturday, drove it, paid a credit card deposit and went back to pick it up a week later. Unfortunately the price had gone up by 100 quid in the intervening week, and because I hadn't printed off and kept a copy of the original Autotrader advert I couldn't prove it, no matter how hard I argued with the salesman.
My son had set his heart on the car, so I had no choice except to buy it and pay the extra hundred notes, but I thought that was a pretty low trick.
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