Private buyers - errgh!!!
Discussion
Sold a saab 9000 many moons ago. £200, brakes needed attention. Person viewed... happy, liked it, drove away. Turned up at my door again a few hours later asking for his money back because the brakes needed attention. Politely told him where to go.
Another one - an alfa sprint with a knackered clutch slave cylinder. Person says they'll replace it at mine and drive it home - ok. Turns up, with his wife. Porceeds to have a mare of a time replacing the part, 6 hours with his wife turning increasingly angry shades of red in the car, refusing tea or offers to wait inside. Eventually sorted it and drove away very happy but with a clear sense of trepidation at the beating he would be recieving from his wife once out of earshot.
Another one - an alfa sprint with a knackered clutch slave cylinder. Person says they'll replace it at mine and drive it home - ok. Turns up, with his wife. Porceeds to have a mare of a time replacing the part, 6 hours with his wife turning increasingly angry shades of red in the car, refusing tea or offers to wait inside. Eventually sorted it and drove away very happy but with a clear sense of trepidation at the beating he would be recieving from his wife once out of earshot.
I sold a Land Rover Defender on ebay a few months ago. The advert was clear and totally honest. I put a buy it now price on the ad and 30 minutes after listing the truck was sold for £4500.
Contacted the buyer who was in Somerset, agreed that it would be collected a few days later and he would be bring a trailer/transporter (No MOT or Tax)
The chap turned up, it was immediately clear that he was not the buyer, but an employee or something. He made a cursory glance toward the Land Rover grunted about the 6 hours it had taken to get from Somerset and then stated that he had only got £2500 with him.
"Oh well that was a waste of a day and a tank of fuel" and I went inside closing the door..
10 minutes later there was a knock and a man standing outside with £4500. I considered that this was abit odd as his truck hadn't moved and there were no banks in the vicinity.
Anyway he loaded up the truck and left muttering. My guess was that he was trying to con his boss as the receipt I gave him was left on the drive in a neat ball.
Contacted the buyer who was in Somerset, agreed that it would be collected a few days later and he would be bring a trailer/transporter (No MOT or Tax)
The chap turned up, it was immediately clear that he was not the buyer, but an employee or something. He made a cursory glance toward the Land Rover grunted about the 6 hours it had taken to get from Somerset and then stated that he had only got £2500 with him.
"Oh well that was a waste of a day and a tank of fuel" and I went inside closing the door..
10 minutes later there was a knock and a man standing outside with £4500. I considered that this was abit odd as his truck hadn't moved and there were no banks in the vicinity.
Anyway he loaded up the truck and left muttering. My guess was that he was trying to con his boss as the receipt I gave him was left on the drive in a neat ball.
Isn't there just something really satisfying in being able to tell some buyers they have missed out.
One that comes to mind is a chap after my S60 years ago, offering well under asking (in cash, like I was to accept £4k when asking for £6k) and with requests like a full tank of fuel and road tax; but he kept coming back and offering slightly more money.
When I sold the car to a nice chap with little hassle, it was great waiting for the other's next call; it came and when I told him it had gone to someone offering just off asking without silly demands, I got an expletive and the sound of a phone being disconnected.
One that comes to mind is a chap after my S60 years ago, offering well under asking (in cash, like I was to accept £4k when asking for £6k) and with requests like a full tank of fuel and road tax; but he kept coming back and offering slightly more money.
When I sold the car to a nice chap with little hassle, it was great waiting for the other's next call; it came and when I told him it had gone to someone offering just off asking without silly demands, I got an expletive and the sound of a phone being disconnected.
grayme said:
Isn't there just something really satisfying in being able to tell some buyers they have missed out.
One that comes to mind is a chap after my S60 years ago, offering well under asking (in cash, like I was to accept £4k when asking for £6k) and with requests like a full tank of fuel and road tax; but he kept coming back and offering slightly more money.
When I sold the car to a nice chap with little hassle, it was great waiting for the other's next call; it came and when I told him it had gone to someone offering just off asking without silly demands, I got an expletive and the sound of a phone being disconnected.
I had the vice versa scenario... seller who had a really tatty E36. Looked around it and there was 50,000 miles of service history missing, oil seeping out of the rocker cover, rust in 5/6 separate places (serious rust, not dots), buggered leather interior (rips all over, dirty as anything). Was adamant that he should get back what he paid (£750). I offered him £400, as it was leggy, undocumented and in pretty sOne that comes to mind is a chap after my S60 years ago, offering well under asking (in cash, like I was to accept £4k when asking for £6k) and with requests like a full tank of fuel and road tax; but he kept coming back and offering slightly more money.
When I sold the car to a nice chap with little hassle, it was great waiting for the other's next call; it came and when I told him it had gone to someone offering just off asking without silly demands, I got an expletive and the sound of a phone being disconnected.
t condition. He said no. Went out and bought a pretty tidy one which was younger, very little rust, better interior, full service history. Took great pleasure in telling him when he came back asking if I'd like it for £550 (?) that I had bought one in much better nick for what his was advertised for...I am sure as you were NOT a timewaster you have arranged a new date for viewing once your car was back in shape?
Oldandslow said:
I saw a Scimitar on ebay. Asked the seller a load of questions, arranged to go see it, 50 miles away (it's a small country). Told him I was on my way. The radiator blew on my Subaru 10 miles from home. I tensely nursed the scooby home in 1/2 mile hops. Called the seller to explain why I wasn't coming. He was polite but I could feel the "timewasting tt" vibe to everything he said as I made my excuses. Sometimes it's genuine and embarassing.
Conversely I've sold 3 cars (very cheap cars) on ebay and had no hassle. Bought a couple too and I try to be a good ebayer.
t" vibe to everything he said as I made my excuses. Sometimes it's genuine and embarassing.Conversely I've sold 3 cars (very cheap cars) on ebay and had no hassle. Bought a couple too and I try to be a good ebayer.
I tried selling my Celica on eBay - lots of "wots ur best price innit m8" 
and timewasters. Eventually the auction ended with a guy from Newcastle winning it (I'm in Somerset), who made all the right noises about collecting it but never did. tt.
So I started calling up all of the serious contacts who had enquired about the car - bear in mind it was a very tatty GT-Four, which I was selling for circa £1200 as I had just spent over £2300 on pretty much a full engine rebuild and I was sick of the sight of it. One buyer from Bristol seemed legit - wanted to put the 4wd running gear in a Corolla, the perfect use for it I thought as it was mechanically sound but the bodywork was shot.
He came down on the train, I picked him up from the station, took the car for a blast down the A303, paid cash and left. Great, I thought.
Until he phoned me back 1/2 an hour later - the bloody thing had thrown its fan belt and lunched itself - after 5 years without a mishap under my ownership. I told him there wasn't much I could do for him (I didn't have another car so I couldn't go and rescue him) and never heard from him again. Did feel genuinely sorry for the guy though, he was a genuine buyer and must have thought that I had stitched him up when in all honesty I thought the car was sound and never let me down.
Johnny - if your reading this then I'm sorry
and timewasters. Eventually the auction ended with a guy from Newcastle winning it (I'm in Somerset), who made all the right noises about collecting it but never did. tt.So I started calling up all of the serious contacts who had enquired about the car - bear in mind it was a very tatty GT-Four, which I was selling for circa £1200 as I had just spent over £2300 on pretty much a full engine rebuild and I was sick of the sight of it. One buyer from Bristol seemed legit - wanted to put the 4wd running gear in a Corolla, the perfect use for it I thought as it was mechanically sound but the bodywork was shot.
He came down on the train, I picked him up from the station, took the car for a blast down the A303, paid cash and left. Great, I thought.
Until he phoned me back 1/2 an hour later - the bloody thing had thrown its fan belt and lunched itself - after 5 years without a mishap under my ownership. I told him there wasn't much I could do for him (I didn't have another car so I couldn't go and rescue him) and never heard from him again. Did feel genuinely sorry for the guy though, he was a genuine buyer and must have thought that I had stitched him up when in all honesty I thought the car was sound and never let me down.
Johnny - if your reading this then I'm sorry
Well, it happened. I was hoping for the best, the winning bid (a whopping £310!) was in place since wednesday and the auction ended earlier tonight. Emailed the winning bidder who came up with a grand excuse that someone used his phone to bid and he'd like to cancel. Thing is, if he'd even been on ebay at all since then he'd have been able to see he was winning. So I give a second chance to the bidder under him (£300) and he gets back to me with 'if i'd known I'd win I would have withdrawn my bid' and offered me £200! Bloody chancers!
So if I ask ebay to refund my charges will they? May as well relist it now. FFS!
So if I ask ebay to refund my charges will they? May as well relist it now. FFS!
Corpulent Tosser said:
Not always the buyer that is the problem.
I arranged to go see a car and had booked flights from Aberdeen to West Midlands (non refundable) only to get a text from the seller 3 hrs before the flight telling me he had sold the car.
I'm genuinely interested as to what the problem was here? Did you expect him to refuse someone standing in front of him with cash, because you were coming and may or may not have bought the car?I arranged to go see a car and had booked flights from Aberdeen to West Midlands (non refundable) only to get a text from the seller 3 hrs before the flight telling me he had sold the car.
I know this comes across badly, and I honestly don't mean it how it sounds.
i once sold a nice little escort mk2 van for £200 the first person who came round didn't want it but i sold it later that day to a builder.
the first guy phoned me back up later the following day saying i had sold him a dud as the engine had seized up on the way home.
it was nice telling him he had bought the wrong van and had called the wrong person back lol.
the first guy phoned me back up later the following day saying i had sold him a dud as the engine had seized up on the way home.
it was nice telling him he had bought the wrong van and had called the wrong person back lol.
I was selling my old daily drive 4 or 5 years ago, a mk3 Golf (it was a slow old boat but I liked it). Sat at the end of the road taking pics of it for an advert, across the street there were a bunch of guys laying someones drive. A chap came over when he saw and asked if I was selling, I said yes. He asked how much I wanted, he duely got the 500 quid out of his pocket and handed it to me. He then walked back to the driveway and said to his other mate 'look I've just bought you a car'. I went back into the house, got him the V5, and it was done! The guy was really chuffed with it. As it turned out they'd done a few driveways on the street, and had seen me driving it quite a bit, washing it, changing the oil etc. so figured it was well looked after.
I did a 'buy it now' on a 944 a few years back. This was only after speaking at length with the seller who was very knowledgeable about the car and certainly came across as honest. When I turned up (early, I love doing that 
) alarm bells rang almost instantly. He was busy T-Cutting the heavily oxidized paint on the bonnet (didn't mention that on the phone). He also didn't mention that the car bellowed blue smoke on start up and when accelerating. I told him it wasn't as described and he threw a wobbly about me being a time waster, etc. Why not just be honest in the first place and save us both the grief?
) alarm bells rang almost instantly. He was busy T-Cutting the heavily oxidized paint on the bonnet (didn't mention that on the phone). He also didn't mention that the car bellowed blue smoke on start up and when accelerating. I told him it wasn't as described and he threw a wobbly about me being a time waster, etc. Why not just be honest in the first place and save us both the grief?It's happening.
The morons are queuing up round the block to not buy the Fabia vRS I'm selling.
So far I've had a guy asking if I'll deliver from Southampton to Leeds at my own cost, a guy offering me a 'sick MB6 VTi' and £500 my way (since when are they worth £1800?), a guy texting me at some time after midnight 'offering' me £1500 (£800 below advertised price), the usual 'I'll call you back in half an hour m8' brigade (5 so far) and I'm sure there are more to come.
I will never sell privately again unless I have easy access to portals for every 'potential buyer' and a shotgun.
The morons are queuing up round the block to not buy the Fabia vRS I'm selling.
So far I've had a guy asking if I'll deliver from Southampton to Leeds at my own cost, a guy offering me a 'sick MB6 VTi' and £500 my way (since when are they worth £1800?), a guy texting me at some time after midnight 'offering' me £1500 (£800 below advertised price), the usual 'I'll call you back in half an hour m8' brigade (5 so far) and I'm sure there are more to come.
I will never sell privately again unless I have easy access to portals for every 'potential buyer' and a shotgun.
sc4589 said:
It's happening.
The morons are queuing up round the block to not buy the Fabia vRS I'm selling.
So far I've had a guy asking if I'll deliver from Southampton to Leeds at my own cost, a guy offering me a 'sick MB6 VTi' and £500 my way (since when are they worth £1800?), a guy texting me at some time after midnight 'offering' me £1500 (£800 below advertised price), the usual 'I'll call you back in half an hour m8' brigade (5 so far) and I'm sure there are more to come.
I will never sell privately again unless I have easy access to portals for every 'potential buyer' and a shotgun.
For a VRS try an owners forum. Immediately you will chop out a ton of those kinds of people.The morons are queuing up round the block to not buy the Fabia vRS I'm selling.
So far I've had a guy asking if I'll deliver from Southampton to Leeds at my own cost, a guy offering me a 'sick MB6 VTi' and £500 my way (since when are they worth £1800?), a guy texting me at some time after midnight 'offering' me £1500 (£800 below advertised price), the usual 'I'll call you back in half an hour m8' brigade (5 so far) and I'm sure there are more to come.
I will never sell privately again unless I have easy access to portals for every 'potential buyer' and a shotgun.
Face for Radio said:
I'll never forget arranging go to see a car, driving 50miles to go and see it, and then the dealer never answered his fking phone!
Half a day and £15 in petrol wasted. Never going to go and see any kar houses or dealers in Chesham ever again.
No shortage of dealers in chesham, you should have just tried one if the others. I don't know any other town with soo many secondhand car dealers. king phone!Half a day and £15 in petrol wasted. Never going to go and see any kar houses or dealers in Chesham ever again.
Sold a 20 year old Carina on eBay. £400 quid.... Winning bidder was a zero feedback Nigerian from London.... I'm from North Shropshire....
Bloody brilliant
Auction ended on a Thursday night...... Saturday morning I was collecting a lovely Nigerian chap from the local train station.
He checked the car was as advertised, declared he was happy, gave me the money and drove away
Bloody brilliant
Auction ended on a Thursday night...... Saturday morning I was collecting a lovely Nigerian chap from the local train station.
He checked the car was as advertised, declared he was happy, gave me the money and drove away
Trying to sell a car currently, getting a few interesting calls as expected will see how it pans ...
Anyway reason I'm selling is because I fancied a change and liked the thought of a Lexus is200 due to the comfy ride and toys that cone with them for relatively little money, anyway spot a low priced cat c repaired 54 plate one on the local gumtree site, mails exchanged photos look ok and then serous correspondence regarding viewing, this is where it falls apart as the seller is vague in relation to where I can view the car, naturally I'd like to view where the car is registered, this is not suitable for the time specified, so "is it ok to come to my bruvs mate "..... now I think this might not go well, but agree as the place is local to a relatives so easy to find and not that far away 'I ask if the car will be there all night as its a early appointment and I want to see it cold, not a problem the seller says so good to go. I arrive half an hour early than arranged and parking a good 40 feet away its clear to see the osf wing is a completly different shade of red to the rest of the car, now I realise being a damaged repaired car it might not be perfect, but if the outside had been repaired to a bad standard, what condition is the bits that you can't easily see like.?
I approach the car feel the bonnet and its hot, general look around and lots of things never mentioned by the seller in our conversations, owner now comes out and approaches, I ask about the warm engine and the response is "flat battery so had to run it " ask about the repair and the paint and guy starts going off and ranting that he didn't need the hassle and that I knew it was a write off, begin to think I might not be the first one here that's arrived to find issues, then he flips and starts shouting "just walk away just walk away " so I did thinking what a dick and good luck selling that
Went out and purchased a nice example from a local dealer a few days later and very pleased with it
Then had a phone call a few weeks later from shouty man stating he'd painted the wing ans fitted sport side skirts and it was looking really wicked, was I still interested.? ... jog on.
Anyway reason I'm selling is because I fancied a change and liked the thought of a Lexus is200 due to the comfy ride and toys that cone with them for relatively little money, anyway spot a low priced cat c repaired 54 plate one on the local gumtree site, mails exchanged photos look ok and then serous correspondence regarding viewing, this is where it falls apart as the seller is vague in relation to where I can view the car, naturally I'd like to view where the car is registered, this is not suitable for the time specified, so "is it ok to come to my bruvs mate "..... now I think this might not go well, but agree as the place is local to a relatives so easy to find and not that far away 'I ask if the car will be there all night as its a early appointment and I want to see it cold, not a problem the seller says so good to go. I arrive half an hour early than arranged and parking a good 40 feet away its clear to see the osf wing is a completly different shade of red to the rest of the car, now I realise being a damaged repaired car it might not be perfect, but if the outside had been repaired to a bad standard, what condition is the bits that you can't easily see like.?
I approach the car feel the bonnet and its hot, general look around and lots of things never mentioned by the seller in our conversations, owner now comes out and approaches, I ask about the warm engine and the response is "flat battery so had to run it " ask about the repair and the paint and guy starts going off and ranting that he didn't need the hassle and that I knew it was a write off, begin to think I might not be the first one here that's arrived to find issues, then he flips and starts shouting "just walk away just walk away " so I did thinking what a dick and good luck selling that
Went out and purchased a nice example from a local dealer a few days later and very pleased with it
Then had a phone call a few weeks later from shouty man stating he'd painted the wing ans fitted sport side skirts and it was looking really wicked, was I still interested.? ... jog on.
Edited by rigga on Sunday 2nd December 22:37
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