Selling a Car as 'spares or repair' on Ebay - pitfalls?
Discussion
My other half bought a new car last year, and her old one has been sitting around offroad ever since - mainly due to apathy and other commitments.
I took it for an MoT test last week, which was duly failed on four items. Not 'biggies', but we've decided to let it go anyway - thus the decision to sell as 'spares or repair' on the Bay.
I have a read a few forum posts from buyers who seem to expect a brand-new car for £200 - often spouting 'Consumer Rights' or 'Sale of Goods Act' in attempt to get a seller to either take the car back or repair it.
Do such regulations apply to private sellers, or do I just need to ensure my advert is absolutely factually correct, and correctly worded?
I took it for an MoT test last week, which was duly failed on four items. Not 'biggies', but we've decided to let it go anyway - thus the decision to sell as 'spares or repair' on the Bay.
I have a read a few forum posts from buyers who seem to expect a brand-new car for £200 - often spouting 'Consumer Rights' or 'Sale of Goods Act' in attempt to get a seller to either take the car back or repair it.
Do such regulations apply to private sellers, or do I just need to ensure my advert is absolutely factually correct, and correctly worded?
280E said:
Do such regulations apply to private sellers, or do I just need to ensure my advert is absolutely factually correct, and correctly worded?
Just this, make it clear it's sold as a non-runner or in poor condition, describe all the faults you know of and give them the MOT. No chance of hiding anything etc, no comeback possible. 
I've never sold a car on ebay but having sold other items in a similar condition (non-working phone etc). My understanding is that you should clearly state in the heading "Spares or Repair" and repeat this in the description. Also stay away from any wording implying good running order (eg x, y and Z needs repaired but otherwise good).
Also, for a £200 car I would insist on "Sold as seen, cash on collection". Allowing paypal payments etc opens up too many opportunities for a buyer to dispute.
Also, for a £200 car I would insist on "Sold as seen, cash on collection". Allowing paypal payments etc opens up too many opportunities for a buyer to dispute.
Make sure you post up some good picks of any bad areas on the car, and highlight it also in the ad.
I sold my old V70 on ebay as spares and repairs, got lots of interest very quickly and a few people wanting to visit and sell it there and then. It did have about 1 month of MOT left, and would have needed work to get it through.
I sold it to guy who gave me cash in advance and collected it a few weeks later.
I sold my old V70 on ebay as spares and repairs, got lots of interest very quickly and a few people wanting to visit and sell it there and then. It did have about 1 month of MOT left, and would have needed work to get it through.
I sold it to guy who gave me cash in advance and collected it a few weeks later.
Trading standards advice for traders that they recommend private sellers follow too in this case:-
Make it clear in advertisements that the vehicle is unroadworthy and is being sold only for spare parts or repair.
Display the vehicle separately and mark it 'UNROADWORTHY'.
Ask the buyer to sign an acknowledgement that the care is unroadworthy, itemise all known faults, and mark that the car is being sold for 'spares or repair'.
Give the buyer a copy.
Write 'UNROADWORTHY--SOLD FOR SPARES OR REPAIRS--NOT FOR USE ON THE ROAD' across the sales invoice. Give the buyer a copy.
Do not hand over any paperwork which may suggest that the vehicle is roadworthy such as a current MOT certificate or tax disc.
Make sure that the buyer does not drive away an unroadworthy vehicle. It should be collected or delivered on a trailer.
Make it clear in advertisements that the vehicle is unroadworthy and is being sold only for spare parts or repair.
Display the vehicle separately and mark it 'UNROADWORTHY'.
Ask the buyer to sign an acknowledgement that the care is unroadworthy, itemise all known faults, and mark that the car is being sold for 'spares or repair'.
Give the buyer a copy.
Write 'UNROADWORTHY--SOLD FOR SPARES OR REPAIRS--NOT FOR USE ON THE ROAD' across the sales invoice. Give the buyer a copy.
Do not hand over any paperwork which may suggest that the vehicle is roadworthy such as a current MOT certificate or tax disc.
Make sure that the buyer does not drive away an unroadworthy vehicle. It should be collected or delivered on a trailer.
I sold a car as spares repairs, HG failure.
I listed it as best offer and 'vetted the bidders'. I listed everything correctly and was realistic with the price. Considering scrap price for a car is around £80 think about if it is worth it selling it over just getting rid to the local tinker.
Sold it to a polish guy, collected on a load loader for breaking, no issues.
I listed it as best offer and 'vetted the bidders'. I listed everything correctly and was realistic with the price. Considering scrap price for a car is around £80 think about if it is worth it selling it over just getting rid to the local tinker.
Sold it to a polish guy, collected on a load loader for breaking, no issues.
Relevant words from my eBay ad when I sold a similar car:
Whenever I looked at eBay car ads and saw "relisted due to a timewaster" I always wondered what sort of tool would do that to someone else - sigh, well now I know.
So, for spares or repairs - again.
Always been serviced by our local independent BMW specialist however it now has what sounds like a terminal engine knock - the specialist took one listen and said "new engine" so please don't bid if you're expecting it to last. It seems to run fine and to be honest I probably did 8 or 10 motorway commutes of 125 miles each way in it during July and August without incident when the noise was there before taking it in to be checked - but please buy on the basis it may well die after another 50 yards.
MOT expires in November. Advisories last time were minor exhaust leak and slightly corroded brake pipes.
It has some rust showing on the leading edge of the nearside rear wheel arch.
The check engine light is currently on. It's gone on and off for the last few thousand miles due to emissions. Give it a blast for 20 miles or so and it goes out.
Please be fully aware that the engine may well die imminently and bid accordingly. I have 100% feedback and would quite like to keep it.
Started the auction at £1, sold for £499. Buyer was Latvian - who drove from Latvia to pick it up. Was over here with a flatbed truck and a roll of £50 notes that would choke a horse. From his buying history he bought 6 similar cars that week - shipped them back home and then breaks them for parts to sell on.
Whenever I looked at eBay car ads and saw "relisted due to a timewaster" I always wondered what sort of tool would do that to someone else - sigh, well now I know.
So, for spares or repairs - again.
Always been serviced by our local independent BMW specialist however it now has what sounds like a terminal engine knock - the specialist took one listen and said "new engine" so please don't bid if you're expecting it to last. It seems to run fine and to be honest I probably did 8 or 10 motorway commutes of 125 miles each way in it during July and August without incident when the noise was there before taking it in to be checked - but please buy on the basis it may well die after another 50 yards.
MOT expires in November. Advisories last time were minor exhaust leak and slightly corroded brake pipes.
It has some rust showing on the leading edge of the nearside rear wheel arch.
The check engine light is currently on. It's gone on and off for the last few thousand miles due to emissions. Give it a blast for 20 miles or so and it goes out.
Please be fully aware that the engine may well die imminently and bid accordingly. I have 100% feedback and would quite like to keep it.
Started the auction at £1, sold for £499. Buyer was Latvian - who drove from Latvia to pick it up. Was over here with a flatbed truck and a roll of £50 notes that would choke a horse. From his buying history he bought 6 similar cars that week - shipped them back home and then breaks them for parts to sell on.
Mr GrimNasty said:
Trading standards advice:
Write 'UNROADWORTHY--SOLD FOR SPARES OR REPAIRS--NOT FOR USE ON THE ROAD' across the sales invoice. Give the buyer a copy.
.
Such a load of crap!!! Whenever I see ebay adverts with all this rubbish copy/pasted I assume that the owner is a dishonest, the car is sWrite 'UNROADWORTHY--SOLD FOR SPARES OR REPAIRS--NOT FOR USE ON THE ROAD' across the sales invoice. Give the buyer a copy.
.
te and avoid.If someone buying a sub £500 car with/without MOT cannot understand that it is THEIR responsibility to check the condition plus they are not getting a brand new car they are a f
king moron and it is best to not sell the car to them!I recently advertised my brother's old car ( a 1999 Seat Ibiza) that had MOT, had a slight knocking noise from the bottom end, used a bit of coolant (all mentioned in a VERY honest advert) but had survived 10 months of daily use and had 6 weeks MOT on it for £75!!
£75 and yet dozens of calls from people wanting to know how much it will cost to put through an MOT, how much service history was included, could I deliver the car 50 miles for someone to look at, would I accept £20, did it need a new engine, would it be suitable for a 17 year old, how much does it cost to insure, is it cheap tax, will it drive to XYZ,
I was close to scrapping it on the basis that I was fed up of dealing with muppets that wasted my time. Then I sold it, £60, to a guy who offered me £30 because he wanted to do it up an reckoned it would be worth £300 so he needed to get it a bit cheaper to make it worth HIS while.
Thankfully it's been 4 days now an I've not heard anything.
Honestly, if I had the space I'd simply never sell a car as it's the most frustrating experience in the world.
I listed my old BMW e36 for sale because it failed it's MOT on several things. I searched for all the required parts to get an idea of how much it would cost to repair (£400) and mentioned this as a rough idea of price in the advert. I received a really angry message stating the price was incorrect and would cost £50 more than i said. Really.
Can also be done quickly and easily. I sold a corsa on ebay a few years back as spares or repairs. 5 callers, all seemed genuine. Sold to a dealer in less than a week. Turned up, took one look at it...'yep fine, here you go'. He was here 10 minutes.
I normally put my mobile on there, most people that just text are normally time wasters, but tbh it takes all of 15 seconds to respond to a text so im not too fussed.
I normally put my mobile on there, most people that just text are normally time wasters, but tbh it takes all of 15 seconds to respond to a text so im not too fussed.
aka_kerrly said:
Such a load of crap!!! Whenever I see ebay adverts with all this rubbish copy/pasted I assume that the owner is a dishonest, the car is ste and avoid.
It's how you avoid civil and criminal liability.te and avoid.Selling an unroadworthy car is a criminal offence, otherwise.
Of course trading standards know nothing and you know everything.
Sorry to be Frank, but you just carry on being a Richard.
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