Help! Advice on private sale gone terribly wrong :-(

[islaydan]

First post, so please be reasonably nice to me :-)

Well, I did a stupid, stupid thing over a private car sale recently and it's come back to haunt me big time.

I bought a big thirsty luxury 4x4 recently for a bit of fun whilst we were awaiting repairs on our Zafira family wagon. Basically the Zafira's ok but the catalytic converter may be on the way out, so I thought I would have a spare vehicle just in case I need to wait on cheaper parts or for me to fix it myself. The car was pretty cheap as it's got a few faults and just 6 weeks left on the MOT.

Lots of people admired it so I decided to see what it might be worth to sell. I advertised it for £600 using free listings, and as I live on one of the Western Isles I got bombarded with offers and people keen to buy. All of these were on the mainland, with some as far away as Manchester. I stated it looked well and ran ok, but had a few faults, including needing new rear suspension parts and an exhaust fix. I was quoted £180 to fix these from a trusted garage.

I agreed to sell it to a chap on the mainland who paid a £100 deposit (from his girlfriend) and put it on the ferry. He promised to pay the balance before it was put on, but I stupidly trusted him and he never settled up...this was my mistake as he promised his girlfriend would sort out payment and I didn't want to mess him about after he's paid a deposit in good faith. We never spoke at any time, just exchanged texts.

Fast forward to a text today saying he's taken it to a garage and they said it was an absolute heap and would cost £1000 to fix. He left it at the ferry terminal and said keep the deposit but he's not having it and it's my problem now! The garage said the whole exhaust system is rotten, it needs new brakes all round and new rear suspension and has a power steering leak. In fact, there is one rusty exhaust section as it's had two new sections recently, as well as replacement discs. I have never seen any leaks at all from it, no funny noises, nothing. The rear suspension parts, even if new struts were needed would only be around £100.

To be honest, it looks fantastic, is very clean and low miles (65k for a 13yr old car) and I was investigating fixing it but offered it as is in case there were any takers - the ad clearly states this. It is actually the cheapest of it's make and model by two thirds. I have texted him saying I am happy to reach an amicable solution but he needs to talk to me.

Just to rub it in, he's refused to speak to me and is ignoring texts. I can't even book it back because he's not saying where he's left it and the ferry company won't look for it!

Yes, I know it's my own stupid fault.

[islaydan]

shadylee said:

So many whys....

Indeed, feel free to mock me, but no one died and it's only money and hassle.

[islaydan]

robk84 said:

not sure if serious..

I am serious, wish it were a dream but it ain't!

Plan is to pay for someone to have a look and drive it to the proper section of the terminal. I've had so many offers for it that surely one of them must be genuine?

It's a thirsty V6 so I don't plan on driving it down to BCA sometime soon.

Once I get it back home it should be worth plenty in spare parts - it really is in lovely nick, those issues aside.

[islaydan]

SpeckledJim said:

So you gave him every opportunity to steal it, and he refused.

You got off lightly.

That's what makes it worse. If he had stolen it I would have a case perhaps. What happens if a joyrider finds it, or if the police take an interest. It is taxed and insured of course.

[islaydan]

He's just been in touch via a couple of texts to say it's at the freight terminal, so the ferry company can put it back to me.

He also said sorry, he doesn't have that kind of money to spend on fixing it.

That makes me feel slightly better.

My work at present makes it difficult for me to quickly hop a ferry and collect it, hence having to rely on the ferry company to put it back on.

I was quite happy to renegotiate and help with sourcing cheaper parts and fixes, but it sounds like I'm better off getting it back and starting afresh.

I'm just angry at the garage that clearly wound the chap up. He doesn't sound like someone who's familiar with sourcing cheaper parts or doing a bit of work himself, hence he totally relied on the garage for advice.

[islaydan]

StottyEvo said:

I'd get the ferry over and bring it back home, he's told you to keep the deposit so £100 should cover the Ferry costs I'd hope.

Then get it fixed at your local garage and a fresh 12months MOT on it and then sell for profit.

Actually, the ferry costs for unaccompanied freight were £150 each way, so I'll be £200 down.

Still, once I get it back I'll lick my wounds and try not to be a trusting numpty again!

[islaydan]

Leptons said:

Because it's ridiculous, unnecessary, hassle and ridiculous. The poor chap hasn't even got time to pick his car up let alone take the other guy to court.

As weird as it may seem, I don't have the guy's name or address, only his girlfriend's details.

In my defence, I would say we are usually very trusting of people round these parts. Until recently locals would leave keys in cars whilst shopping, and many transactions don't require immediate payment.

[islaydan]

Marvib said:

He gave you £100 deposit and out of that you paid £150 to deliver it to him?

Seriously?

Yep!

We agreed a time to pay the balance but he said he would let his girlfriend pay and nothing happened and it was too close to the agreed dropping off time at the ferry. There was always a reason, such as he was at work, his girlfriend didn't have reception, she was waiting on having to authorise her account, just as the minutes ticked away.

I thought, well he's serious as he's paid £100, so i'll give him the benefit of the doubt, rather than tick him off when he might have made special arrangements to collect it. I had every reason to think he'd be absolutely delighted with the car.

[islaydan]

TTmonkey said:

No need to be so "angry"......

When I originally bought the car the lady asked me to post it and sign it myself, even though I was right there and it would have taken seconds.

When you're miles apart somebody has to fill their bit in and post it off, and either way it's a tiny bit of inconvenience so sometimes these things happen this way.

[islaydan]

Poopipe said:

What's stopping you getting on a boat and picking it up?

Because of the timings I would miss two days of work, and therefore two days pay and time off would not be easily granted.

[islaydan]

Well, I'll keep you all posted how it all pans out.

I've replied to the many folk that enquired about it earlier, and said it should be available again if they are still interested. Hopefully someone will bite.

I have certainly learnt a lesson and will take the great PH advice and common sense on board for next time :-))

Fingers crossed.

[islaydan]

scdan4 said:

OP,

I think you need to work out where this car, registered to you, actually is.

Ring the ferryport that the car is supposedly at, ask for the security office, tell them your (sob) story and ask them nicely if they've noticed it / can spot it. If it is there, I'm sure it can't be free to park there, forever. Being the registered keeper, when it comes to annoy someone, it will be your problem. Even if that is just removal / crushing fee's.

I'm hoping to pick it up tonight. I have been told the keys are at the freight office across the water, and it's parked nearby.

Time will tell, but I'll update this thread.

Got lots of offers from people in London, with foreign-sounding names, but I had to pour cold water on their idea of coming to fetch it - after the mammoth journey to get here there's the small matter of 550 miles to get back there!

Will let you know whether it arrives or not...

[islaydan]

At last, the saga is at an end :-)

I collected the vehicle from the ferry at the end of last week and checked it out. It was exactly as described, and certainly not a 'heap', just a two-owner low-mileage car in need of a little mechanical tlc at scrap money pricing.

The offers continued to flood in, including one from a chap in Northern Ireland who would have spent nigh on £500 to come and get it.

I got a tempting offer from a lady who wanted to pay by postal order, which I thought was a bit dodgy? In the end it sold to a hotelier on the Scottish mainland, who came across on the ferry, took it for a gentle drive and paid me cash. He seemed absolutely delighted with it - and so he should!

I also sold a motorbike to a chap in Aberdeen at the weekend. Again, I had to put it on the ferry and have it delivered, but lesson learnt, he paid for it in full before it was put on and was likewise also delighted.

Phew...lesson learnt!

[islaydan]

giger said:

You sir are a very lucky man, and it's fortunate that you have found someone even remotely trustworthy who stuck to his word and left it at a ferry port as described (or not as the case may be).

Thanks for a good read, pleased you've recovered it and since sold it on(hopefully at a higher price to cover your costs!).

Glad you enjoyed the saga.

Taking into account the extra expense with the return ferry, and the bargain price I let it go for, I made £140 profit...

The bike made about £290 in profit.

Got my eye on a category C Ducati ST3 as my next project, so that'll be another thread!