Furthest you've travelled to buy but eventually walked away?
Discussion
Benja_ said:
Brighton to Peterborough for a Toyota Celica T Sport, just yesterday! Looked in good condition online, dealer said it drove fine. Arrived to dents, major scratches and a gearbox that refused to go into any gear.
I could have saved you the trip, most cars in Peterborough are rubbish.Edited by Benja_ on Friday 30th September 14:18
J4CKO said:
MarshPhantom said:
J4CKO said:
Accurate descriptions are important, I sold our old Polo Breadvan some years ago, probably about 1995 so it was ten years old and I had got it so it was pretty tidy, this guy rang up from Cumbria and asked way more questiosn than a ten year old Polo warranted, he was very pleasant and quite posh, he kept asking me if there was anything I hadn't mentioned but we had talked for ages and I had described it in excruciating detail as I walked around it with the phone in my hand, mentioning every tiny mark on it, I had painted the leading edge of the bonnet, this concerned him but it looked ok, it being largely pre widespread internet photos weren't possible.
He turned up and was a bit odd to be fair but he was thrilled with the car, exactly as described and he paid the full asking price and gave me an extra bit, think it may have been twenty quid to take me and my good lady out for a meal or a drink.
Odd but a proper gent, dred to think what his reaction would be if it hadnt been as he expected though !
I completely forgot to mention a Mk1 Astra I was selling would need new back wheel arches. The car was priced accordingly but I could understand the chap being annoyed when he came to look. Knocked a bit extra off for him.He turned up and was a bit odd to be fair but he was thrilled with the car, exactly as described and he paid the full asking price and gave me an extra bit, think it may have been twenty quid to take me and my good lady out for a meal or a drink.
Odd but a proper gent, dred to think what his reaction would be if it hadnt been as he expected though !
"But the arches are rusty"
Did you say
"Ok I will know a bit extra off for you"
Then proceeded to bash your fist on the arch leaving a pile of rusty bits ?
Once drove a hired transit high top 160 miles from Southampton to Margate to buy a Honda CB500.
It looked alright but while we were standing at the side of the road it suddenly sprung a pinhole leak from the fuel tank. The seller found an old paint pot to catch the stream of petrol.
Funnily enough, I wasn't keen on sitting in a van with this deathtrap for 2.5 hours in the middle of August, no matter how much money he knocked off.
So we went home again.
It looked alright but while we were standing at the side of the road it suddenly sprung a pinhole leak from the fuel tank. The seller found an old paint pot to catch the stream of petrol.
Funnily enough, I wasn't keen on sitting in a van with this deathtrap for 2.5 hours in the middle of August, no matter how much money he knocked off.
So we went home again.
I once drove all the way from Durham to Cheshire to look at an e36 m3. The car was as described and totally immaculate and I was a very happy chap with it. Got on great with the private seller. I asked several times if I needed to leave a deposit and was obviously more than happy do do so but he insisted the car was mine and not to worry. The car was 4k and this was around 2008. We agreed a price close to 4k.
I arranged to pick the car up ASAP the next day.
So I organised insurance.
Withdrew the cash.
Rang him to say I was about to leave and collect the car. He informed me someone else had viewed after me and had the cash and he had sold it to them.
To say I was gutted and a little pissed off would be an understatement.
Now I wouldn't buy a car subject to viewing without leaving a deposit.
I arranged to pick the car up ASAP the next day.
So I organised insurance.
Withdrew the cash.
Rang him to say I was about to leave and collect the car. He informed me someone else had viewed after me and had the cash and he had sold it to them.
To say I was gutted and a little pissed off would be an understatement.
Now I wouldn't buy a car subject to viewing without leaving a deposit.
steve-5snwi said:
I could have saved you the trip, most cars in Peterborough are rubbish.
And I thought it was just me! I think it's the Marshalls effect - they own so many of the franchises (or at used to, I think it is marginally better now) that it felt like you didn't have a lot of choice if you were buying under three years old; walk away from Marshall Honda and your option was Marshall Peugeot or next door Marshall Chrysler unless you wanted to pop over the road to Marshall Toyota or perhaps Marshall Jaguar Land Rover. Might also be down to the BCA Car Auction place of course :-)
No to far Cardiff to bath to view am A3, car was lovely, drove nice but lacquer peel on every panel. One panel I may have been tempted but the whole car would have needed a respray.
Not quite the same but my brother spotted a s3 in Audi dealership in yorkshire. Phoned on the Friday and they said they would keep it for him as it was being serviced any way. Phoned Saturday morning to confirm and they said yep car is being cleaned will be ready for when he got here. He traveled from Cardiff to Yorkshire to find they car sold. He wouldn't have minded but they had his phone number and he serviced his car and changed the front tyres for the drive up.
Not quite the same but my brother spotted a s3 in Audi dealership in yorkshire. Phoned on the Friday and they said they would keep it for him as it was being serviced any way. Phoned Saturday morning to confirm and they said yep car is being cleaned will be ready for when he got here. He traveled from Cardiff to Yorkshire to find they car sold. He wouldn't have minded but they had his phone number and he serviced his car and changed the front tyres for the drive up.
steve-5snwi said:
I could have saved you the trip, most cars in Peterborough are rubbish.
Went to Peterborough with a Pajero and Brain James Transporter about 12 years ago......Car was advertised in Classic Ford (Mk1 1300E Escort)
Was only 480ish miles EACH WAY. (I'm in Ireland)
Still have it.
Madness? Yup done it probably 5 or 6 times and always been lucky being exactly as described.
Flooble said:
And I thought it was just me! I think it's the Marshalls effect - they own so many of the franchises (or at used to, I think it is marginally better now) that it felt like you didn't have a lot of choice if you were buying under three years old; walk away from Marshall Honda and your option was Marshall Peugeot or next door Marshall Chrysler unless you wanted to pop over the road to Marshall Toyota or perhaps Marshall Jaguar Land Rover.
Might also be down to the BCA Car Auction place of course :-)
Haha, we now have the growth of the Eastern European traders .... Oh and Marshall now have Maserati in the group and Evans Halshaw have moved in. Might also be down to the BCA Car Auction place of course :-)
gtidriver said:
We drove from Ramsgate to Mercedes Sunderland to buy a SLK32AMG, It was the wrong colour, there was dye on the seats,it had maxim tyres, every corner had scuffs,both doors where dented as well. We didnt buy it,waste of a day.
This mirrors my experience with Mercedes Liverpool in 2008. I had an immaculate smart for two brabus with less than 18k on the clock. The new model had been launched so I decided to pick up one of the last older models. Liverpool had a demo with less than 200 miles on it.After grilling the sales guy about condition /wheels etc and being told it was as new paid in full there and then over the phone on the proviso i could collect in a couple of weeks once I had some free time.
Spool forward two weeks and after calling him 48 hrs earlier to give him time to prep the car I drove 300 miles from West London taking just under 5 hours.
Imagine my surprise to find the car unwashed with two kerbed alloys and a huge scrape on the passenger door from an advertising sign. Reluctantly he offered to give me an extra £500 off and replace the damaged panel with one from another model. I'd need to wait another couple of hours for them to do this. By now, I was starting to lose interest given that buying a new car was meant to be a positive life affirming experience and this felt like the complete opposite. In the end I left for home leaving the new car behind. Eventually got back at 2230 that night exhausted.
I contacted the head of the dealer group the next day to complain and ask that he also refunded money for my petrol and time which he did. He was livid that a car they'd sold wasn't prepped leading to a cancellation, especially as he said they only sold about 2 smart cars a month!
Nr Aviemore to Oxfordshire to view a 911 (993 C2) at an independent Porsche dealer: poor respray, knackered seat trim (really knackered!) and other minor bits of exterior trim loose or falling off, including the rear bumper. Wanted top money!
Aviemore to Suffolk to view another 993 from an independent dealer. Left a 10% deposit after viewing but got it refunded after the studying closely the 'too good to be true' service history which turned out to be exactly that!
Numerous Aviemore to Englandshire trips viewing E39 M5s. Memorable trip to a bedroom dealer "marque specialist" (living at home with Mum & Dad. Yes, really!) in Littleborough, Lancashire from up here in the Cairngorms to view a heavily hyped but dog of an M5. Actually, a dog turd....but rolled in glitter...though still a turd, of course. Eventually bought one from a really great owner, and PHer, in W. London involving a 1k mile round trip.
Aviemore to Suffolk to view another 993 from an independent dealer. Left a 10% deposit after viewing but got it refunded after the studying closely the 'too good to be true' service history which turned out to be exactly that!
Numerous Aviemore to Englandshire trips viewing E39 M5s. Memorable trip to a bedroom dealer "marque specialist" (living at home with Mum & Dad. Yes, really!) in Littleborough, Lancashire from up here in the Cairngorms to view a heavily hyped but dog of an M5. Actually, a dog turd....but rolled in glitter...though still a turd, of course. Eventually bought one from a really great owner, and PHer, in W. London involving a 1k mile round trip.
Edited by Depthhoar on Saturday 1st October 09:20
Wasted a day travelling from Leeds to Brighton (and back) via the train. Went to go buy a 4th gen H22 engined Prelude only to get there and find it had the ruddy F22 non vtec engine. Queried this with the seller who was adamant it was the H22. Shook my head in despair, asked for a lift to the station and went home.
Had a few trips to Birmingham to view some 5th gen Preludes too. Both sketchy so made my way home being young (and foolish) at the time I had travelled to both with nearly 4 grand about my person. Luckily I didn't get mugged!
Had a few trips to Birmingham to view some 5th gen Preludes too. Both sketchy so made my way home being young (and foolish) at the time I had travelled to both with nearly 4 grand about my person. Luckily I didn't get mugged!
I think my worst was probably Sunderland to somewhere near Oxford to look at a 325i that turned out to have no engine oil on the dipstick and all manner of warning lights, which was then followed up with a trip to Car Giant (on the same day) where I also found nothing of interest that wasn't knackered. A very disappointing day out!
Since then (and contrary to the spirit of the thread) I've done a Brighton to Manchester run to get a Mondeo, which had an obviously broken alternator when I arrived and faulty A/C, I bought it anyway with a small discount as I had travelled so far.
Latest one was Brighton to Aylesbury (only 90 miles but took about 3 hours by train) to view an S60. Could tell from the advert that it looked good, two owners, four premium tyres, clean interior etc. Imagine my disappointment when the ESP warning light came on during the test drive
To be fair, the seller seemed as surprised as I did, so I took it anyway. Haven't regretted it as I'd say it's possibly one of the best cars I've ever owned. 
Since then (and contrary to the spirit of the thread) I've done a Brighton to Manchester run to get a Mondeo, which had an obviously broken alternator when I arrived and faulty A/C, I bought it anyway with a small discount as I had travelled so far.
Latest one was Brighton to Aylesbury (only 90 miles but took about 3 hours by train) to view an S60. Could tell from the advert that it looked good, two owners, four premium tyres, clean interior etc. Imagine my disappointment when the ESP warning light came on during the test drive
To be fair, the seller seemed as surprised as I did, so I took it anyway. Haven't regretted it as I'd say it's possibly one of the best cars I've ever owned. Glasgow to Sommerset.
It was in the depths of winter, snow storms on the M6 on the way down and all with my old man in tow in case I needed to drive it back.
I asked the seller all the right questions as it was quite a distance and was assured it was spotless. When I arrived I knew it wasn't going home with me from 20 feet away. Filthy, scratched, dented (minor but many of), tattered roof, and shagged seats. I went through the montions of checking it over and commented to the owner that there was no oil on the dipstick only to be told he was skint and couldn't afford any but the light hadn't come on yet so it was all good. The icing on the cake was he said he wasn't sure I could have it that day as he'd have nothing to drive to work the next day.
What a
.
It was in the depths of winter, snow storms on the M6 on the way down and all with my old man in tow in case I needed to drive it back.
I asked the seller all the right questions as it was quite a distance and was assured it was spotless. When I arrived I knew it wasn't going home with me from 20 feet away. Filthy, scratched, dented (minor but many of), tattered roof, and shagged seats. I went through the montions of checking it over and commented to the owner that there was no oil on the dipstick only to be told he was skint and couldn't afford any but the light hadn't come on yet so it was all good. The icing on the cake was he said he wasn't sure I could have it that day as he'd have nothing to drive to work the next day.
What a
.The psychology is if the punter drives so far they'll feel compelled to go through with it regardless and if not who cares as youll never see (or deal) with them again.
I'm a fairly good 'salesman' but I'm crap at selling my skills/if asked and worse at explaining just how good a car has been to me.
Case in point I had a stopgap 07 Xsara Picasso. My mate is a master mechanic at PSA who goes out troubleshooting at other PSA garages. He rated my car mechanically and tried to stop me selling it. During buyer viewings all I did was point out the various scratches over the phone then if they did turn up try to put them off!
I'm a fairly good 'salesman' but I'm crap at selling my skills/if asked and worse at explaining just how good a car has been to me.
Case in point I had a stopgap 07 Xsara Picasso. My mate is a master mechanic at PSA who goes out troubleshooting at other PSA garages. He rated my car mechanically and tried to stop me selling it. During buyer viewings all I did was point out the various scratches over the phone then if they did turn up try to put them off!
Edinburgh to South Wales with a mate who was looking to buy a "mint" Cavalier GSi... a car that I'd written off before the seller even managed to reverse it out his garage. The guy seemed genuinely perplexed that we'd driven from Edinburgh and having spent about 5 minutes at his house, were about to drive all the way home again empty handed. Not to worry, was a nice run.
Aside for that, did Edinburgh to Peterhead to look at an Astra GSi and had the woman not come out the house as we drove in to the street, I'd have just done a U turn and gone home but instead I had to endure 10 minutes of "but it's immaculate... for it's age" type crap before I said no thanks, and drove all the way home again.
Growing quite tired of that game now...
Aside for that, did Edinburgh to Peterhead to look at an Astra GSi and had the woman not come out the house as we drove in to the street, I'd have just done a U turn and gone home but instead I had to endure 10 minutes of "but it's immaculate... for it's age" type crap before I said no thanks, and drove all the way home again.
Growing quite tired of that game now...
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