No shows answering car adverts - Flat in Fifth
If this has been discussed before I'm sorry, did a search and came up with nothing.

Can someone pleeeeeease explain the following mentality.

One has a car advertised in the local rag.
Get a call, is it still for sale etc, go through the conversational selling bit.
Right mate I'll be around shortly, just around the corner, 10 minutes max.
And you wait.........and wait.........and they never arrive.

One possibility of course is a drive by which decides them not to bother, but it also happens when its locked away in the garrage.

So can someone tell me what the crack is here.
Re: No shows answering car adverts - Honest John
Yes. Check out location and security of the motor for possible illegal removal at a later time.

HJ
Re: No shows answering car adverts - John
Some sad people ring up to hear a friendly voice because when you're trying to unload that bit of iron you're always so pleasant! Always get a name and phone number - tends to seperate the wheat from the chaff!
Re: No shows answering car adverts - smokie
Or maybe you are somehow giving them the wrong vibes. But I know what you mean, in the past week I have "sold" 3 items in online auctions each, but none of the bidders have responded to my mail requesting payment. Why bid if they didn't want it?
Re: No shows answering car adverts - David Millar
Agreed. Get a number but accept only a fixed land line not a mobile. My telephone tells me where a call is made from so I don't need to accept 'Caller withheld' calls. I suspect many of these no-shows are essentially traders checking out how savvy the seller is. What is more of a puzzle is why some people leave small deposits on a car and then are never seen again. Maybe they just regard £10 or £20 as a holding fee while they check out something else. It recently happened to me and I felt no need to chase up after the three-day deadline expired so pocketed the cash and sold the car to someone else.

David
The British mentality at play. - watcher
I think a lot, although not all of it, has to do with our strange mentality of not wanting to say up front 'sorry, it's not what Im looking for' in case it offends the person selling the car!

I'd much rather people said that rather than 'I'll be round at 7pm' thennever turn up.
Re: No shows answering car adverts - ian (cape town)
Flat,
there was athread about this a long while back - something about ringers checking finance/number plate/ etc.
Then making a new car to your specification...
Re: No shows answering car adverts - Gary Bain
All part of the motor trade the most common one I know is 'I will be straight back once I have discussed it with the wife' if hearing this it is more than likely that you will never see the customer again.
Re: No shows answering car adverts - RickyBoy
I generate a professionally designed/decent looking A5 portrait side window advert giving the bulk of the info (clearly stating my asking price of £550) for each of the rears and an oblong 'FOR SALE/MK 00000 000000' for the rear.

I drove the little Metro 1.1L around that I sold recently on the basis of 'if it goes it goes' If not, so be it! On two successive evenings in CMK whilst simply waiting to collect my daughter I parked-up outside the shopping centre (in exactly the same 'lucky' spot?) and had folk walk round the vehicle before asking me some further questions about history, etc. I had copies of the flyers in the car which I was able to pass on with a cheery "get in touch if you want to test drive".

Potential buyer A asked if I could bring it across to his office the following tea-time as he had a colleague who 'knows a bit about motors". This I did ? he subsequently offered £400! I said £500, he said £450, I said £475, he said £470, I said "let me see what the weekend brings"?

Two hours later I get offered £500 on the spot! I insist on taking the car round to them the next day to thoroughly explain it's history/operating mechanisms. Deal done ? collect cash 48-hours later. Simple!...

Of course it's not ? we're talking about the bottom end of the market here but I've also achieved results over the years using exactly this method for a couple of old Minis, a VW Golf C (£3,700 cash) and my Rover 216 GTi (£3,000 cheque).

As I'm test driving the Octavia RS tomorrow afternoon the 1.8SLXi colour advert is only awaiting the application of double-sided tape, or is it?...

Best
Ricky
Re: No shows answering car adverts - Dan J
The important thing here is to have the car clean and presentable and to be seen to be driving it carefully as anyone could be a prospective buyer. Many times I've seen various cars e.g. Mondeo being thrashed past me up the motorway at 120, wheel trims missing and various scratches only to catch up with it in a jam and read the 'For Sale - Excellent working order' notice in the back and I think no ta very much!
Re: No shows answering car adverts - j.cronin
They tell the wife/significant other I'm going to buy another car and she says like hell you are!!!