Would This Ad Ring Alarm Bells?

[Negative Creep]

Looking for a winter barge and currently the LS400 fits the bill perfectly. Browsing ebay when I came across this trade sale (it's also on Autotrader as well) which contains the disclaimer:

description said:

Please be aware we now have a policy of declaring all mileages as incorrect. The listing will indicate the mileage displayed on the odometer at the point of us having purchased it, this and any reference to it, must be considered incorrect for the purpose of the auction, if you assume any car we sell has done 1/2 million miles, you cannot be dissapointed, and we cannot be wrong! Also, in order to totally comply with sale of goods act 1979, we hereby stipulate, any vehicle sold on this listing, is not fit for any purpose other than for spares or repair, and all cars sold by us including this one, are invoiced as such. This may sound hard, but it is the only way we can legally sell these cars without reserve, and also not fall foul of trading standards law, and be economically viable as a business. This inevitably means we will sell these cars for a lot less than other outlets, but you must appreciate, you are not buying from a retail environment, so if you want warranties, fully valeted cars, proper aftersales service, we hate to break it you folks, but we suggest you buy elsewhere, as such services come with a price. Think of us more of an auction house which allows unlimited test drives prior to purchase, rather than your typical motor trader. Please note, in rare circumstances we reserve the right to withdraw a car from sale if there is either title dispute, or the vehicle comes to us with a significant mechanical defect that we’ve not alluded to specifically on the description.

Is this them covering their backs or would you run a mile on reading this? Car in question

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1997-TOYOTA-LEXUS-LS400-...

[zed4]

Interesting. Wouldn't necessarily put me off. Doesn't surprise me to be honest, I know how difficult it can be to sell cars.

[dudleybloke]

iv seen that wording from a few different lower price traders.
i think its a general covering arse statement.

[Gruber]

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

[Justayellowbadge]

Tell you what, reading their ad, if I was local to Reading I'd be looking to them to solve my hire car needs

[0a]

Conditions reasonable when selling on eBay., but I can't see any proper description of the car. Also I wouldn't want a white Lexus, as much as I desire an ls400.

[All that jazz]

Justayellowbadge said:

Tell you what, reading their ad, if I was local to Reading I'd be looking to them to solve my hire car needs

I noticed the "unlimited test drives" bit as well.

[jjones]

it's on all their ads, clocking cars is illegal, if they were clocking all those cars they would be found out pretty quickly. at this price point reliability and ability to pass MOT (unless it has 12 months - as scrap value is ~120 on something this heavy) is king.

[CampDavid]

At that money I wouldn't want to verify the mileage on a Jap import LS.

[AdeTuono]

Sounds more honest than many dealers I've dealt with in the past, especially in light of....

Any winning bidder will have unlimited time to test drive their prospective purchase, inspect, or do whatever they wish within reason, bring a mechanic if they like etc. and you will be left totally alone to do this all day if they wish. The motorway is on our doorstep, and your very welcome to go ANYWHERE on test drive as long as your back before we close at 6pm!! If you wish to purchase the car, you are very welcome, if you choose to reject, this is totally fine too. But do be aware, once purchased, no compliant will be entertained whatsoever. There is no obligation to purchase if not totally happy with the car once viewed.

Apart from the fact there's no feedback from buyers.....

[folos]

Private plate might be worth a bit more than the car!

[Cliftonite]

folos said:

Private plate might be worth a bit more than the car!

Which is probably why it has already been transferred to a Retention Certificate?

[mp3manager]

jjones said:

it's on all their ads, clocking cars is illegal, if they were clocking all those cars they would be found out pretty quickly. at this price point reliability and ability to pass MOT (unless it has 12 months - as scrap value is ~120 on something this heavy) is king.

No it is not.

[Zoobeef]

They just don't want anyone to bring a vehicle back for any reason, ever.

[wildcat45]

Arse end of the market, they guy doesn't want hassle, but wants you to go into the deal with eyes wide open. You can take a mechanic along, you can test it and you can reject it.

For that kind of money, it seems fine.

If we were talking higher value cars, then maybe not.

[Riknos]

Wouldn't put me off at all - It sounds like someone who is generally trying to cover their arse, probably been messed about before. At least they sound honest!

[DickHerpes]

Seems a lot less dodgy than the dealers who advertise it like it's a straight example and who give the impression you're going to be buying from a dealer then sneak 'Sold as seen' in at the end.*

I'm aware this doesn't excuse them from their obligations but it doesn't inspire much confidence...

[jjones]

mp3manager said:

No it is not.

true, but selling a clocked car without declaring the correct mileage is illegal.

Edited by jjones on Sunday 20th October 00:45

[webby23]

To be honest I don't mind what terms and conditions are put on a car sale as long as they are disclosed before purchase in a clear and open manner, as this appears to be.

I can then make the decision to buy or not.

[Baryonyx]

Riknos said:

Wouldn't put me off at all - It sounds like someone who is generally trying to cover their arse, probably been messed about before. At least they sound honest!

Yes, as long as the dealer is honest. I'd bees than impressed if they were trying to dodge their obligations under SOGA whilst going through the usual dodgy dealer practices, whatever they may be.

This just seems to be a better worded version of the 'this is a trade sale, no warranty expressed or implied' guff used by crooks selling shonkers.