Does anyone care why a seller is punting his car.
Discussion
Redundancy, new baby, new dog, owner going abroad, new house, company car, new car, new job etc etc etc etc forces a reluctant sale. Who gives a damn? It's the condition, history and price of car that matters not why the current owner wants shot of it.
My favorite reason for a sale was from a Yorkshireman selling a Subaru Imprezza. Buyer was driven down from Scotland in a mates Scooby. Along with the driver was a second mate who was a Scooby daft mechanic there to check over the prospective purchase.
Asked why he was selling it he replied "coz ah fookin' 'ate it. Don't know wot you daft buggers see in them." Turned out he was won over by the hype and image of the Subaru Impreza, bought one without much of a test drive and just didn't take to it.
Mechanic judged it to be a good un, a fistfull of dollars was handed over and the three Scooby fans tore up the road back to Scotland in the two cars happy as pigs in s
t.
My favorite reason for a sale was from a Yorkshireman selling a Subaru Imprezza. Buyer was driven down from Scotland in a mates Scooby. Along with the driver was a second mate who was a Scooby daft mechanic there to check over the prospective purchase.
Asked why he was selling it he replied "coz ah fookin' 'ate it. Don't know wot you daft buggers see in them." Turned out he was won over by the hype and image of the Subaru Impreza, bought one without much of a test drive and just didn't take to it.
Mechanic judged it to be a good un, a fistfull of dollars was handed over and the three Scooby fans tore up the road back to Scotland in the two cars happy as pigs in s
t.Well the hope is that the reason for sale isn't that the current owner knows it is going to break in an exciting variety of wallet busting ways in the near future or that it recently broke in some terminal way and is now held together with duct tape and prayers. If there is some convincing reason for sale it makes this hopefully less likely.
Personally I think that being British its one of the first questions most of us would ask anyway, I usually do, if it isn't stated. Not because I think It makes a damn bit of difference, more out of general friendly interest. I usually have a bit of a waffle with the seller, and if I'm the seller I'll have a chat with the buyer. Turning up and viewing the car in silence is a bit rude in my opinion.
Also I'd imagine the sellers of old really did think it made the sale sound more genuine. And since its the way we've always been reading ad's for the last few decades its sort of stuck.
Also I'd imagine the sellers of old really did think it made the sale sound more genuine. And since its the way we've always been reading ad's for the last few decades its sort of stuck.
Tannedbaldhead said:
Asked why he was selling it.
I assume it's a rhetorical question? That's an open question. Imagine all of the other possible answers that would have meant not buying it or negotiating the price down further.
I like it when they type in adverts 'I love it, but it's too juicy for the commute as my new job is XX miles away' but they then also state other cars they're prepared to consider in part exchange that are equally, if not more, fuel inefficient.
As long as the reason sounds plausible I'm happy. One of my cars was bought from someone who couldn't afford to run it. I respected his honesty and, after he realised he hadn't scared me away, was very honest that he'd owned the car for 9 months and was beginning to worry about the next service, the tyres, and generally putting fuel in it. He sold it cheap and even after I'd got the car serviced and refreshed I was still paying far less than an equivalent "sorted" car would go for.
TBH the reason for selling doesn't matter to me. I sell my cars because I'm bored of them - which sounds terrible normally, but realistically I have my eye on something else so my reasoning is that I have an itch to scratch. I'd only be worried if I wasn't given a reason and told the car needs shifting quick, or indeed if the seller was involved in a bank job or something.
TBH the reason for selling doesn't matter to me. I sell my cars because I'm bored of them - which sounds terrible normally, but realistically I have my eye on something else so my reasoning is that I have an itch to scratch. I'd only be worried if I wasn't given a reason and told the car needs shifting quick, or indeed if the seller was involved in a bank job or something.
Reminds me of when I was out looking for a nice example of a VAG for around £2,500 a few years ago.
I went to see one, owned by a young family with a new child.
I was put off almost straight away by the condition of the thing, and they couldn't even find the time to clean out the interior - it was full of rubbish, clothes, this that and the other, and filthy.
When I asked the woman why they were selling it, she replied with a straight face that it had been "the most unreliable piece of st that they had ever owned!" 
I obviously walked away...
I went to see one, owned by a young family with a new child.
I was put off almost straight away by the condition of the thing, and they couldn't even find the time to clean out the interior - it was full of rubbish, clothes, this that and the other, and filthy.
When I asked the woman why they were selling it, she replied with a straight face that it had been "the most unreliable piece of s
t that they had ever owned!" I obviously walked away...
Fittster said:
I don't care what reason the person selling gives me. If the car is faulty in someway and they are trying to get shot of it they are hardly going to tell me.
GC8 said:
Cars are sold for either an honest reason, or because there is something wrong with them.
The trick is spotting the genuine reason amongst the liars and the crap that people seem intent on filling their adverts with...
I think that was part of the point I was trying to make. 'I need a less juicy car for the commute as my job has changed, but will consider an E39 M5 in part ex.' The trick is spotting the genuine reason amongst the liars and the crap that people seem intent on filling their adverts with...
So ask them how their job has changed, where has work moved to compared to where they worked before. And then suggest that an E39 M5 won't be any less juicy for the commute that they're using to justify selling their car. And then ask them again why they're selling it.
If they're telling porkies or whoppers in their advert what is the real reason they're selling?
Not sure why people have such a problem with asking this question, lots of people out there trying to flog a lemon so if the seller gives a believable reason for sale then that gives some reassurance. By that logic there's no point asking 'does it have any menchanical problems?' because the seller could just lie.. Of course they could but their response helps to build a picture in your mind about the car and it's owner.
Why not research your prospective purchase for known faults and then go and inspect the car for these faults + general condition.
The reason why he is selling it wont help you when you start finding things wrong with it (that you didnt know were likely to go wrong) later down the line.
The reason why he is selling it wont help you when you start finding things wrong with it (that you didnt know were likely to go wrong) later down the line.
lost your job, oh deer you are very desperate then It definitely pays to know sometimes.
The first VX220 I bought was owned by a young lad who told me he had borrowed some money to buy it but now needed to sell it so he could rent his first place.
It had been advertised (without photos) on ebay for months and only when I asked him to send me some and made contact that he told me not a single person had enquired. Lack of pictures will do that.
The car was up for £13k and when I arrived he gave me the background about needing to clear the loan. He told me he owed £10k, so I promptly offered him that. After some deliberation and my walking away at one stage he gave in.
A bit of knowledge can be useful.
The first VX220 I bought was owned by a young lad who told me he had borrowed some money to buy it but now needed to sell it so he could rent his first place.
It had been advertised (without photos) on ebay for months and only when I asked him to send me some and made contact that he told me not a single person had enquired. Lack of pictures will do that.
The car was up for £13k and when I arrived he gave me the background about needing to clear the loan. He told me he owed £10k, so I promptly offered him that. After some deliberation and my walking away at one stage he gave in.
A bit of knowledge can be useful.
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