Furthest you've travelled to buy but eventually walked away?
Discussion
not me, but someone who wanted to p/ex their car for my old 4X4 drove up about 300 miles.
The day before I had someone clean the alloys off the car and they had replaced them.
On the test drive there was a definate knock from the front end which haddnt been there the previous day... cue me being overcome with embarrassment with my claims of it must ahve just happened being met with looks of disgust.
The guy who came up claimed a drive shaft was obviously knackered and he was better off keeping his car and left.
Was quite glad in the end as his p/ex was a bit of a shed and certainly not worth what I had allowed in p/ex. On checking over my car it became quite obvious that when they had refitted the alloys they haddnt checked the wheel nuts and all of them on the NSF wheel were loose and the knocking was the wheel wobblying back and forth.
I tightened the wheel nuts and the car drove perfectly, and sold for the full asking price a week later... so every cloud and all that!
The day before I had someone clean the alloys off the car and they had replaced them.
On the test drive there was a definate knock from the front end which haddnt been there the previous day... cue me being overcome with embarrassment with my claims of it must ahve just happened being met with looks of disgust.
The guy who came up claimed a drive shaft was obviously knackered and he was better off keeping his car and left.
Was quite glad in the end as his p/ex was a bit of a shed and certainly not worth what I had allowed in p/ex. On checking over my car it became quite obvious that when they had refitted the alloys they haddnt checked the wheel nuts and all of them on the NSF wheel were loose and the knocking was the wheel wobblying back and forth.
I tightened the wheel nuts and the car drove perfectly, and sold for the full asking price a week later... so every cloud and all that!
To Poole from Chelmsford for an Integrale (16V).
Upon arrival it was in a truly sorry state, smelt like it was on the verge of bursting into flames on the test drive and the dealer had about four bits of paper supporting the "full and detailed history".
I felt sorry for the car at the time but I doubt if would've managed to to get me home.
W/ hindsight of course it's probably now worth at least 2 or 3 times the £3,750 it was up for
Upon arrival it was in a truly sorry state, smelt like it was on the verge of bursting into flames on the test drive and the dealer had about four bits of paper supporting the "full and detailed history".
I felt sorry for the car at the time but I doubt if would've managed to to get me home.
W/ hindsight of course it's probably now worth at least 2 or 3 times the £3,750 it was up for
Slough to Edinburgh. 400 miles. To buy a motorbike.
The idea was to fly up etc and then take a long lovely route back South again.
The f
king miserable sweaty sock was trying to sell a badly repaired bike after he'd crashed it uninsured.
The wanted to keep my £200 deposit I'd bank transferred him as I was pulling out of the sale. Needless to say, that didn't happen.
The idea was to fly up etc and then take a long lovely route back South again.
The f
king miserable sweaty sock was trying to sell a badly repaired bike after he'd crashed it uninsured.The
wanted to keep my £200 deposit I'd bank transferred him as I was pulling out of the sale. Needless to say, that didn't happen.MajorMantra said:
On the flipside, why should a seller make less money just because you've driven further? I don't really see what difference it makes.
When selling cars i've had the "you need to give me a discount to cover my travel costs". Er, no that was your choice mate. I couldn't care less if you came all the way from Baghdad. A few years back I decided I wanted another Merc 190. There were loads for sale at the time but not so many 2.6 as most were 2.0 or 1.8. It didn't help I wanted a 2.6.
Made a shortlist of 3 cars, contacted all the sellers and got photos emailed with loads of questions about rust & interior colour/condition.
Decided to look at the nearest first which was still 50 miles. Got there to find the car with a flat battery & seller unable to jump start the car.
Onto the next car another 20 miles or so. Another total let down that explained why the car was wet in all the photos.
Onto the last car which was at Colchester which is quite a trip from near Lancaster but the seller had sent a good few photos showing no damage, engine bay photos & photos of the areas the cars had know issues.
Get there to find the showroom is a tent in a field next to a farm. OK not what I expected but the photos looked good so not a major concern.
What was of concern was the car was obviously freshly painted, explains no scratches or marks, with no reason given for the paintjob by the seller.
Looking through the full service history that the seller was using as one of his selling points it looked like it was made up from other cars and taped together.
Didn't even bother with the test drive either due to seller demanding the car was bought before the test drive & if there was a issue, which there wouldn't be, he would give me the money back.
Needless to say it was quite a long drive back home that day & for some reason I got the idea of getting a 2.6 190 totally out of my mind.
Made a shortlist of 3 cars, contacted all the sellers and got photos emailed with loads of questions about rust & interior colour/condition.
Decided to look at the nearest first which was still 50 miles. Got there to find the car with a flat battery & seller unable to jump start the car.
Onto the next car another 20 miles or so. Another total let down that explained why the car was wet in all the photos.
Onto the last car which was at Colchester which is quite a trip from near Lancaster but the seller had sent a good few photos showing no damage, engine bay photos & photos of the areas the cars had know issues.
Get there to find the showroom is a tent in a field next to a farm. OK not what I expected but the photos looked good so not a major concern.
What was of concern was the car was obviously freshly painted, explains no scratches or marks, with no reason given for the paintjob by the seller.
Looking through the full service history that the seller was using as one of his selling points it looked like it was made up from other cars and taped together.
Didn't even bother with the test drive either due to seller demanding the car was bought before the test drive & if there was a issue, which there wouldn't be, he would give me the money back.
Needless to say it was quite a long drive back home that day & for some reason I got the idea of getting a 2.6 190 totally out of my mind.
Some years past I drove 160 miles to buy a Corrado (£16k at the time) from a VW dealer, I asked the salesman to check it over and report to me any dents scratches etc and to confirm it had a black interior before I made the trip, it was described to me as showroom condition with a black interior.
On arrival I noticed dents in the panels driving past it and it had a grey interior, salesman was not interested so I spat the dummy in the dealership gave the sales manager the wrath and reported them to VW...I received a written apology from the dealership and VW...s.
On arrival I noticed dents in the panels driving past it and it had a grey interior, salesman was not interested so I spat the dummy in the dealership gave the sales manager the wrath and reported them to VW...I received a written apology from the dealership and VW...
s.About 15 years ago I flew to Glasgow from Cardiff so around 400 miles to look at a 60's VW Beetle. It had a race spec twin carb 1730cc motor full of chrome and concourse winning paintwork.
Got to Glasgow and found a rusty bog standard 1600 engine, no twin carbs, no chrome. Asked where the motor had gone from the photo's she sent me and she said it went to the garage a few months ago and they said there was a problem with the engine so they changed it (hmmmm yer right).
The paintwork had so many bubbles and paint blisters it was awful. Utter shocked they obviously sent me photos of it about 3 years ago.
Then had to buy a flight home rather than driving the car I wanted - gutted and complete waste of time and cash.
Got to Glasgow and found a rusty bog standard 1600 engine, no twin carbs, no chrome. Asked where the motor had gone from the photo's she sent me and she said it went to the garage a few months ago and they said there was a problem with the engine so they changed it (hmmmm yer right).
The paintwork had so many bubbles and paint blisters it was awful. Utter shocked they obviously sent me photos of it about 3 years ago.
Then had to buy a flight home rather than driving the car I wanted - gutted and complete waste of time and cash.
200 mile round trip, but for a totally ordinary car - a 182ps Focus Titanium X, mainly because of the spec. Supposed to be 'mint' condition, but the bumper had most of the paint rubbed off around the corners/edges. Didn't show up in pics because it was a black car, but I said I was pretty fussy about bodywork and she told me it was fine...
MajorMantra said:
Jasandjules said:
and when you've driven three hours and they won't discount for the scratches and whatnot, well.....
On the flipside, why should a seller make less money just because you've driven further? I don't really see what difference it makes. I ended up buying the car but I drove all the way from London to Middlesbrough so about 260 miles. I called in advance and asked all kinds of questions. It was a second hand dealer. However the car had quite low mileage and the pictures where HD and quite detailed. I knew there was a very good chance to buy the car.
If the car had more then 90k or seemed slightly dubious I wouldn't have gone all that way. The car was quite rare also and I had to extend my search a little further.
If I found anything wrong with the car I would have walked away though.
If the car had more then 90k or seemed slightly dubious I wouldn't have gone all that way. The car was quite rare also and I had to extend my search a little further.
If I found anything wrong with the car I would have walked away though.
BuzzBravado said:
When selling cars i've had the "you need to give me a discount to cover my travel costs". Er, no that was your choice mate. I couldn't care less if you came all the way from Baghdad.
Agree. I bought a Subaru from Gloucester. I didn't ask for a penny for travel costs. The seller held the car no deposit needed and on the morning of the sale had the front pads and discs changed at a main dealer as he wasn't happy with the braking power. He was a Detective Sargeant and looked after me like a Gent.Not a walk away as such but I also did a 140 mile round trip from s.wales to Weston super mare to go and see a Eunos import at a garage back in 2003-4. I Rang 1st to check it was still available and gave an approx time of arrival.
We Arrived within 10mins of the approx time I gave to be greeted by a deserted forecourt, albeit the Eunos was there so I could look around it, there was a sign on the office door "out on test drive-back in 15mins(no start time) and a mobile number"
Waited with my dad for 30mins, no sign of anyone so I rang the number, it went straight to answerphone, waited another 30mins calling twice more and finally gave up to head home, annoyed.
I wrote my own note and left it under the wipers of the Eunos stating, car looks great, highly likely to buy if drives well, we"ve waited over hour so far and decided to go for a coffee, back in 15mins.
Had numerous calls from dealer over the next few days which I let go to answerphone. Who knows, he could've had a genuine breakdown/problem on the "test-drive" but I doubt it. He never left a voicemail to explain.
We Arrived within 10mins of the approx time I gave to be greeted by a deserted forecourt, albeit the Eunos was there so I could look around it, there was a sign on the office door "out on test drive-back in 15mins(no start time) and a mobile number"
Waited with my dad for 30mins, no sign of anyone so I rang the number, it went straight to answerphone, waited another 30mins calling twice more and finally gave up to head home, annoyed.
I wrote my own note and left it under the wipers of the Eunos stating, car looks great, highly likely to buy if drives well, we"ve waited over hour so far and decided to go for a coffee, back in 15mins.
Had numerous calls from dealer over the next few days which I let go to answerphone. Who knows, he could've had a genuine breakdown/problem on the "test-drive" but I doubt it. He never left a voicemail to explain.
Jasandjules said:
The point is that when you ask about a car and are told it is "mint" then you travel three hours THEN they say they won't take any money off.. You have travelled on the basis of a mint car and that was the price you were looking at too. Not having to pay more on top to get the car rectified. I only buy mint condition cars...
By all means ask for money off if the seller has failed to disclose defects, but travelling further doesn't magically entitle you to a bigger discount IMHO.By the way, the word "mint" has been utterly debased and shouldn't ever really apply to a used car. "Mint" implies that something is indistinguishable from new, which anything used pretty much never is.
Went to Preston by train to buy a BMW 728i in the middle of winter. The dealer had described it as being in very good condition. It was a dark purple colour, Style 32 wheels, black leather interior (or so I thought). Good service history despite the high miles, etc etc. The only faults were a damaged bump strip on a back door and a 'slight rumble' from a wheel bearing.
I took the train from Newcastle and was picked up from the station by some chavvy sales boy in an A5. We went to the dealership to see the car where I met the bloke I'd spoke to on the phone. The service history was a joke, nowhere near what had been described on the phone. I went across to look at the car and even in the torrential rain, I could see the paintwork was shocking and the wheels were badly pitted. The car was warmed through (since they had a heads up when I called them from the train station). The interior was a disgusting purple colour, despite looking black in the rather flattering photographs I'd seen. The rear lights were cracked and filled with condensation.
The test drive wasn't much better. The rumbling wheel bearing was more of a screech, and the interior desperately needed a clean. The test drive ended when the dealer asked me to pull into a car park off a main road. I asked him what we were stopping for and he informed me that we were at the post office so I could tax the car for the drive home. As we stopped, I got out and saw smoke coning from under the bonnet. I popped the lid and saw that the inside of the bay was gunked with condensed oil smoke; smoke which was puffing away from somewhere deep in the engine bay. I told the dealer I wouldn't take the car as it was junk and not even as described, and the last thing I wanted was to be stranded on the way home with a broken car. The dealer said he could get his garage to look at the problem if I could wait a couple of hours. I had no faith in anything he said, and that was that. The lazy git wouldn't even drop me at the train station despite having lied to me and wasted my time and money. I hopped in a nearby taxi and left, and as the BMW drove away I noticed that it had a bulb out on a rear brake light.
I took the train from Newcastle and was picked up from the station by some chavvy sales boy in an A5. We went to the dealership to see the car where I met the bloke I'd spoke to on the phone. The service history was a joke, nowhere near what had been described on the phone. I went across to look at the car and even in the torrential rain, I could see the paintwork was shocking and the wheels were badly pitted. The car was warmed through (since they had a heads up when I called them from the train station). The interior was a disgusting purple colour, despite looking black in the rather flattering photographs I'd seen. The rear lights were cracked and filled with condensation.
The test drive wasn't much better. The rumbling wheel bearing was more of a screech, and the interior desperately needed a clean. The test drive ended when the dealer asked me to pull into a car park off a main road. I asked him what we were stopping for and he informed me that we were at the post office so I could tax the car for the drive home. As we stopped, I got out and saw smoke coning from under the bonnet. I popped the lid and saw that the inside of the bay was gunked with condensed oil smoke; smoke which was puffing away from somewhere deep in the engine bay. I told the dealer I wouldn't take the car as it was junk and not even as described, and the last thing I wanted was to be stranded on the way home with a broken car. The dealer said he could get his garage to look at the problem if I could wait a couple of hours. I had no faith in anything he said, and that was that. The lazy git wouldn't even drop me at the train station despite having lied to me and wasted my time and money. I hopped in a nearby taxi and left, and as the BMW drove away I noticed that it had a bulb out on a rear brake light.
I bought my 350Z from Windsor way, nice chap in a posh barn conversion, we discussed via email and I said that if the car was as he said I would offer £8000 (Asking price was £9000) and he agreed that would be acceptable based on the set of cheap tyres it had on and the fact it had had some paint, due to stonechips and it getting a bike dropped on the boot lid.
We get there,
The exhaust was blaring as it had parted company between the back box and the mid pipe.
It had quite a few parking ding and a big dent in the sill
A nick in the hood
It was pretty filthy, never seen a valet.
It was version obviously the 30k mile, one owner car advertised but it just seemed unloved.
My dad, my mate and me went all over it, I am fussy but those two take it too another level !
So, wasnt keen but agreed to a run in it, apart fromt he racket it seemed fine but I got back and said tot he chap that is wasnt as described, I had kept my end of the bargain, turned up at the allotted time, car was insured by me, ready to go but it wasnt as described, to be fair he obviously wasnt a car freak, just a bloke that fancied a 350Z, bought one, owned it and decided it was time to move it on.
I said that it wasnt really what I was after and I think I will leave it, I was prepared to walk away but he said he could do a bit better on the price, he obviously wanted it gone, he said he would pay the £400 tax, i said that doesnt cover it and it would need to be a £1000, he ummed and ahhed, spoke to his wife and then agreed !
So three years ago, got a 2007, 30k 350Z roadster for 7 grand, they are still more than that now, wanted to put an aftermarket exhaust on anyway, it cleaned up very nicely, stormseal on the small nick in the hood, result !
We get there,
The exhaust was blaring as it had parted company between the back box and the mid pipe.
It had quite a few parking ding and a big dent in the sill
A nick in the hood
It was pretty filthy, never seen a valet.
It was version obviously the 30k mile, one owner car advertised but it just seemed unloved.
My dad, my mate and me went all over it, I am fussy but those two take it too another level !
So, wasnt keen but agreed to a run in it, apart fromt he racket it seemed fine but I got back and said tot he chap that is wasnt as described, I had kept my end of the bargain, turned up at the allotted time, car was insured by me, ready to go but it wasnt as described, to be fair he obviously wasnt a car freak, just a bloke that fancied a 350Z, bought one, owned it and decided it was time to move it on.
I said that it wasnt really what I was after and I think I will leave it, I was prepared to walk away but he said he could do a bit better on the price, he obviously wanted it gone, he said he would pay the £400 tax, i said that doesnt cover it and it would need to be a £1000, he ummed and ahhed, spoke to his wife and then agreed !
So three years ago, got a 2007, 30k 350Z roadster for 7 grand, they are still more than that now, wanted to put an aftermarket exhaust on anyway, it cleaned up very nicely, stormseal on the small nick in the hood, result !
Edinburgh to Heywood in Lancashire to look at / test drive / buy a car.
Turned up to see the car on the ramps with the guy telling me that when they moved it out of the showroom there appeared to be a rather troubling leak from the S-Tronic gearbox. Travelled back on the premise that I'd get an inspection done as it had all the options I wanted and I'd discuss the price once that was done.
Inspection concluded that the car undertaken a few visits beyond track limits at the underside looked like someone had taken a lump hammer to it. I didn't really walk as much as didn't pursue the car any further.
Either way, it was 442 miles I'll never get back.
Turned up to see the car on the ramps with the guy telling me that when they moved it out of the showroom there appeared to be a rather troubling leak from the S-Tronic gearbox. Travelled back on the premise that I'd get an inspection done as it had all the options I wanted and I'd discuss the price once that was done.
Inspection concluded that the car undertaken a few visits beyond track limits at the underside looked like someone had taken a lump hammer to it. I didn't really walk as much as didn't pursue the car any further.
Either way, it was 442 miles I'll never get back.
Dresden in germany to sussex by someone who viewed my VX220!!
I sent him 50 high def pictures of every angle and under the car. He came looked under the bonnet and said in a german accent, "the surface rust on the trailing arms and shocks will fail the TUV" I grabbed a screw driver and scraped the tiny layer of "rust" off to show him that its not a rusty component its just the top layer of paint/coating. Even though he'd seen these pics he still came. Couldnt believe it, he got back in his car with his mate and drove home!
Sold next day to a nice guy from Coventry.
I sent him 50 high def pictures of every angle and under the car. He came looked under the bonnet and said in a german accent, "the surface rust on the trailing arms and shocks will fail the TUV" I grabbed a screw driver and scraped the tiny layer of "rust" off to show him that its not a rusty component its just the top layer of paint/coating. Even though he'd seen these pics he still came. Couldnt believe it, he got back in his car with his mate and drove home!
Sold next day to a nice guy from Coventry.
Swansea to South London to see an first-gen SLK, about three years old at the time.
Spoke to the dealer on the phone who assured us that the car in very good condition and very low mileage having been owned on Jersey since new.
Drove 200 miles to London to see the car. On inspection it was clearly in poor condition. The paint was blooming and there was lichen growing on it. The car looked for all the world as if it had spent three years locked in a damp shipping container. The paperwork the dealer had related to a silver SLK, though the car we were viewing was black. A short test-drive revealed a serious gearbox fault and the metal folding roof didn't work properly.
After telling the dealer that he was a tt who had wasted our entire day we drove all the way home to Swansea.
Spoke to the dealer on the phone who assured us that the car in very good condition and very low mileage having been owned on Jersey since new.
Drove 200 miles to London to see the car. On inspection it was clearly in poor condition. The paint was blooming and there was lichen growing on it. The car looked for all the world as if it had spent three years locked in a damp shipping container. The paperwork the dealer had related to a silver SLK, though the car we were viewing was black. A short test-drive revealed a serious gearbox fault and the metal folding roof didn't work properly.
After telling the dealer that he was a t
t who had wasted our entire day we drove all the way home to Swansea.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff