Give us your tales of nightmare buyers/sellers
Discussion
From another thread:
Go.
grantd said:
had a cracker come look at a car I was selling a couple of years ago. Car was looking great, reasonably priced and got quite a bit of interest but one chap got in first and laid a £300 deposit, fair enough. Told him I'd collect him the following week from the train station, a good 20 mile drive for me but he seemed genuine and I had listed the car honestly so there where no shocks for someone willing to come the distance to view.
He arrived and seemed a decent fellow on the drive back to see the car. Upon arriving home I understood he had had a lengthy train journey so offered him a sit down and a cuppa whilst sifting through the service/mot history etc.. but no, he jumped straight in before even within 30ft of the car itsself. "You're cars had a crash mate". When I tried telling him otherwise he got quite upset, eventually becoming more and more aggressive and making more and more of an attempt at being intimidating, I honestly thought he was going to try a swing at me a once or twice, all within 5 minutes of arriving and not even having a turn of the key or a pop of the bonnet. I didn't entertain it very long and soon after offering me around 40% of what the car was advertised at I told him no deal was going to happen. So off he went on his way telling me if I didn't return his deposit AND train fair he'd be back with his mates
The very next day a nice lad with a lovely CTR came to see the car, took it a quick spin and was happy to pay full asking price.
I believe there are good experiences and bad ones when it comes to selling, unfortunately there seems to be more of a recurrence with the bad ones
Reading that got me thinking that I bet PH is full of good stories like this.He arrived and seemed a decent fellow on the drive back to see the car. Upon arriving home I understood he had had a lengthy train journey so offered him a sit down and a cuppa whilst sifting through the service/mot history etc.. but no, he jumped straight in before even within 30ft of the car itsself. "You're cars had a crash mate". When I tried telling him otherwise he got quite upset, eventually becoming more and more aggressive and making more and more of an attempt at being intimidating, I honestly thought he was going to try a swing at me a once or twice, all within 5 minutes of arriving and not even having a turn of the key or a pop of the bonnet. I didn't entertain it very long and soon after offering me around 40% of what the car was advertised at I told him no deal was going to happen. So off he went on his way telling me if I didn't return his deposit AND train fair he'd be back with his mates
The very next day a nice lad with a lovely CTR came to see the car, took it a quick spin and was happy to pay full asking price.
I believe there are good experiences and bad ones when it comes to selling, unfortunately there seems to be more of a recurrence with the bad ones
Go.
I havent heard any like that before! My only story is of buying my second car. The dealer who I first spoke to was sound. He went out with me in the test drive, admitted he thought the previous owner (A reverend) probably wasn't the one driving the car, he seemed honest and I liked him. In the showroom, sat down talking figures. The owner of the showroom came over, telling me about how its a top car one reverend owner from new and its in great condition. I pointed out it'd been de-badged at the back. He said "Oh I think it looks better like that", so I pointed out that it's been modified and I can't see a reverend doing that... He then made a point about the exhaust sounding nice, I said it sounded like it was blowing... He soon got the message, and if he hadn't have shut up I would have walked away as he was annoying me so much with his cheesy steriotypical dodgy car dealer comments.
Turned out the exhaust was blowing
It was fixed at their expense before I collected it.
Turned out the exhaust was blowing
It was fixed at their expense before I collected it.Not personal but my uncle had a similar one.
Sold an E39 tourer on Ebay for lets say £1500.
An asian chap(not discriminating, just describing
) came to get the car from Bradford. My uncle picked him up from the train station, and the car was exactly as described but the guy wanted money knocking off the car in typical whiney arsed fashion.
I never found out if he enjoyed the 2 mile walk back to the station
Sold an E39 tourer on Ebay for lets say £1500.
An asian chap(not discriminating, just describing
) came to get the car from Bradford. My uncle picked him up from the train station, and the car was exactly as described but the guy wanted money knocking off the car in typical whiney arsed fashion.I never found out if he enjoyed the 2 mile walk back to the station
I like that one doogz.Trying to sell my RX-8 at the moment, and the amount of people who simply don't turn up for a viewing is staggering. Most recently had a chap phone me on Sunday asking me a few questions. I got his email and sent him over a link to 55 pictures, the recall history and servicing info, just so he could gain a better insight to the cars history. He was supposed to show up Monday morning at around 10 am, but he was nowhere to be seen and didn't even bother to let me know that he wasn't coming.
This has happened several times now, I'm no longer surprised by it.
This has happened several times now, I'm no longer surprised by it.
Did a striaght swap with my mx5 for a colt with a frsh tax disk. All fine until i had a letter in the post from dvla saying the payment for the tax had bounced so the car was unlicensed. Turns out that w
ker had cancelled the cheque after i drove off.
Went to small claims court (with some excellent advice from resident ph lawyers). Got a ccj against him and bailiffs round but still never got my money back
ker had cancelled the cheque after i drove off.Went to small claims court (with some excellent advice from resident ph lawyers). Got a ccj against him and bailiffs round but still never got my money back
I was selling a Freelander once. I wanted rid of it becasue I hated it so I put it up for sale at least 20% cheaper than the next best.
I got a call from a bloke who wanted to see it on a Sunday. I told him I wanted to go out but he said he was 40 minutes away so I agreed to wait.
So I waited nearly 5 hours for this strange little Somalian bloke to turn up.
I picked him up from the station and then started the most terrifying test ride of my life. He didn't indicate, didn't know the correct roundabout proceedures and had a habit of staring intently at the gearstick whilst taking 4 or 5 seconds to change gear, still travelling at 40 mph+
In the end I made him stop as I couldn't bear it any more.
Anyway, car was fine but he announced he couldn't buy it becasue his wife specifically wanted black with grey interior.
I told him the car was black with a grey interior.
He was adamant that it wasn't grey. I asked him what colour he thought it was but he didn't know. He only knew that it wasn't grey.
His wife might be happy, he said, if he got another £1500 off the car to make up for the fact that the grey interior wasn't grey.
Bye
I got a call from a bloke who wanted to see it on a Sunday. I told him I wanted to go out but he said he was 40 minutes away so I agreed to wait.
So I waited nearly 5 hours for this strange little Somalian bloke to turn up.
I picked him up from the station and then started the most terrifying test ride of my life. He didn't indicate, didn't know the correct roundabout proceedures and had a habit of staring intently at the gearstick whilst taking 4 or 5 seconds to change gear, still travelling at 40 mph+
In the end I made him stop as I couldn't bear it any more.
Anyway, car was fine but he announced he couldn't buy it becasue his wife specifically wanted black with grey interior.
I told him the car was black with a grey interior.
He was adamant that it wasn't grey. I asked him what colour he thought it was but he didn't know. He only knew that it wasn't grey.
His wife might be happy, he said, if he got another £1500 off the car to make up for the fact that the grey interior wasn't grey.
Bye
Had my first car up for sale and one bloke came over, took one look at it and gave me a deposit as he said it's perfect for his son who had just passed his test. I offered to drive it over to his place the next week when he had the money as my Dad lived nearby, I could just go over there when the car had gone.
All went well, exchanged cash etc and his son loved the car. Went back to my Dads place and a couple hours later I had a phone call from the kids Dad.
''My son has rolled the car. I'll have my money back''.
I was gutted my beloved first car (1997 1.4 Clio) had met its end only two hours after I'd left it but obviously told him no and he got angry and made all sorts of threats. For days afterwards he would leave messages on my phone demanding a refund, then gradually getting down to asking for half of the money back until he finally stopped. Mentalist.
I saw a picture of the car a week or so after. The lad driving took a bend too fast, clipped a kerb and rolled it into a ditch. Tit.
All went well, exchanged cash etc and his son loved the car. Went back to my Dads place and a couple hours later I had a phone call from the kids Dad.
''My son has rolled the car. I'll have my money back''.
I was gutted my beloved first car (1997 1.4 Clio) had met its end only two hours after I'd left it but obviously told him no and he got angry and made all sorts of threats. For days afterwards he would leave messages on my phone demanding a refund, then gradually getting down to asking for half of the money back until he finally stopped. Mentalist.
I saw a picture of the car a week or so after. The lad driving took a bend too fast, clipped a kerb and rolled it into a ditch. Tit.
Ari said:
Out of interest, on what basis did he feel that his son writing off a car was justification for the seller to refund? 
He didn't even try and justify it! I was expecting him to say that the car was faulty but not even that. Just kept demanding the money back and telling me I was lacking in morals because I was refusing. His ''Alright. I've had a think and I feel that giving me back half of the cash is fair for both of us'' was pretty amsuing.Them: What's the lowest price you'll take for it?
Me: Why would I tell you that? Why don't you make me an offer?
Them: I don't want to make an offer until I know your lowest price.
Me: If I tell you my lowest price, you'll just offer that, won't you?
Them: Yes....
Me: So, what are you offering?
Them: I'm from Cardiff.
Me: How is that relevant?
Them: Because I don't want to come all the way from Cardiff unless I agree the price.
>some back and forth about the list price with him telling me it's on for £200 lower than it is<
Them: So what will you take for it?
Me: Make me an offer.
Them: £1200.
Me: Good luck car hunting in Cardiff.
>click<
Them: I can only get £1600 off my credit card to pay for it.
Me: That's not my problem, is it?
Them: I know, but I need to know your lowest price.
Me: Again, if I tell you that, you'll just offer me that price.
Them: >laughter< You're very clever!
Me: Yes, yes, I am.
Them: I have seen other cars with lower mileage for less money.
Me: Then why haven't you bought one of them?
Them: Can I come and look at it now?
Me: No, I'm at work. You can come tonight or Saturday morning.
Them: OK! I bring my wife! She will be so excited! She love Mercedes!
Me: Why would I tell you that? Why don't you make me an offer?
Them: I don't want to make an offer until I know your lowest price.
Me: If I tell you my lowest price, you'll just offer that, won't you?
Them: Yes....
Me: So, what are you offering?
Them: I'm from Cardiff.
Me: How is that relevant?
Them: Because I don't want to come all the way from Cardiff unless I agree the price.
>some back and forth about the list price with him telling me it's on for £200 lower than it is<
Them: So what will you take for it?
Me: Make me an offer.
Them: £1200.
Me: Good luck car hunting in Cardiff.
>click<
=======================
Them: I can only get £1600 off my credit card to pay for it.
Me: That's not my problem, is it?
Them: I know, but I need to know your lowest price.
Me: Again, if I tell you that, you'll just offer me that price.
Them: >laughter< You're very clever!
Me: Yes, yes, I am.
=======================
Them: I have seen other cars with lower mileage for less money.
Me: Then why haven't you bought one of them?
=======================
Them: Can I come and look at it now?
Me: No, I'm at work. You can come tonight or Saturday morning.
Them: OK! I bring my wife! She will be so excited! She love Mercedes!
I sold a car to a work colleague a few years back. This was my first mistake, never again. The car was sold as seen but I agreed to let their cousin who works at the local VAG specialist (who should never be allowed to have that on a sign outside their site but that's a different story) to give the car (mk2 GTI) a once over.
The verdict was that the car was sound and the only niggles were ones that were in the advert so the deal was done.
A day later at 11pm I receive a phone call from the kid's dad who is shouting down the phone that I sold him a duff car and it's broken down and he has to pay £X amount since he isn't in the AA to get it recovered.
The following day the guy's dad drives the car back to my house which is a 10 mile journey (not bad for a car that has broken down) pulls up on my drive gets out and starts shouting he wants his money back.
I wasn't really entertaining the idea but after much arguing and him trying to demonstrate the car was somehow faulty I conceded that I couldn't have a ranting scouse knob jockey on my drive any longer an said he could have his money back minus money for the fuel and for it to be valeted as it was filthy.
The net result was he paid £700 for the car, had a days use, got £650 back and I went on to sell the car for £800. Only months later did I overhear the kid trying to impress one of the admin girls by recalling he did have a Golf GTI but the insurance was £3k so he bought a clio "sport" and modified that instead.
The verdict was that the car was sound and the only niggles were ones that were in the advert so the deal was done.
A day later at 11pm I receive a phone call from the kid's dad who is shouting down the phone that I sold him a duff car and it's broken down and he has to pay £X amount since he isn't in the AA to get it recovered.
The following day the guy's dad drives the car back to my house which is a 10 mile journey (not bad for a car that has broken down) pulls up on my drive gets out and starts shouting he wants his money back.
I wasn't really entertaining the idea but after much arguing and him trying to demonstrate the car was somehow faulty I conceded that I couldn't have a ranting scouse knob jockey on my drive any longer an said he could have his money back minus money for the fuel and for it to be valeted as it was filthy.
The net result was he paid £700 for the car, had a days use, got £650 back and I went on to sell the car for £800. Only months later did I overhear the kid trying to impress one of the admin girls by recalling he did have a Golf GTI but the insurance was £3k so he bought a clio "sport" and modified that instead.
aka_kerrly said:
The net result was he paid £700 for the car, had a days use, got £650 back and I went on to sell the car for £800. Only months later did I overhear the kid trying to impress one of the admin girls by recalling he did have a Golf GTI but the insurance was £3k so he bought a clio "sport" and modified that instead.
I'd have been furious.Nothing too bad, luckily all of my cars have sold to the first person who viewed them.
I've have a few call up in the morning to view a car, so I'll go out and give the car a good valet, an hour or so after they're meant to arrive I'll give them a call to find out where they are, it normally goes along the lines of 'O sorry I couldn't get finance (for 3k?!) so I wont be able to buy it'
I've have a few call up in the morning to view a car, so I'll go out and give the car a good valet, an hour or so after they're meant to arrive I'll give them a call to find out where they are, it normally goes along the lines of 'O sorry I couldn't get finance (for 3k?!) so I wont be able to buy it'
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 27th April 15:45
HBLC said:
''My son has rolled the car. I'll have my money back''.
I was gutted my beloved first car (1997 1.4 Clio) had met its end only two hours after I'd left it but obviously told him no and he got angry and made all sorts of threats. For days afterwards he would leave messages on my phone demanding a refund, then gradually getting down to asking for half of the money back until he finally stopped. Mentalist.
If that had been me I would have strung him along and wound him up quite a lot just for being such an utter spanner of a human being. I was gutted my beloved first car (1997 1.4 Clio) had met its end only two hours after I'd left it but obviously told him no and he got angry and made all sorts of threats. For days afterwards he would leave messages on my phone demanding a refund, then gradually getting down to asking for half of the money back until he finally stopped. Mentalist.
Not had any nightmare buyers, but when selling I routinely ignore people who communicate by text message, who use the word mate in emails, and who ask about price before they have viewed. I also ignore emails from people who clearly haven't read the text in my advert.
People who still use the phone as intended, leave clear voicemails when you are busy, and take the time to write in correct (or at least badly structured but polite) English seem to be mainly decent sensible people who are genuine.
I may miss sales by applying these rules but unless I was desperate to shift something I would rather deal with a decent person than have the hassle of unwanted morons in my life.
An old friend of mine many years ago asked me to keep my 205gti for a couple of weeks whilst he sorted out his finances. He gave me a deposit & promised me he would give me the rest within 2 weeks. Anyway 2 weeks comes & goes & still no cash. After 6 months of this happening & me putting new tax on it, he eventally admitts that he can't raise the funds but want's his full deposit back. I declined on giving him this back & based it on the amount of time it took him to tell me etc. Anyway things got messy because he would turn up at my work on a daily basis with his parents & sometimes friends demanding the deopsit money back & even turned up at my parents house & threatend my step dad who had no part in this what so ever. Eventually I thought it best to speak to his dad & explain exactly what had been said & all of the unbroken promises & was told by his dad that I should walk with my back against the wall for the rest of my life because they were going to get me in some way or another! I went straight to the police (which I should have done months before) & they went round & had a word. Seemed to do the trick because the hastle stopped instantly.
Edited by boobles on Wednesday 27th April 15:54
Went I left the UK I had a Saab Convertible I wanted to sell before I left.
Advertised on autotrader and got a call from a guy who lived in Oxford. No big deal, I arrange to meet him at Heathrow Airport (given I wanted to sell the car and this was approx middle distance between us)
All goes well, he likes the car and offers me pretty close to what I wanted. Great thinks I - one less thing to worry about (what with leaving the country and all)...
He starts playing silly buggers. First asks me to deliver the car to Oxford ! (So I'd either have to get someone to follow me down, or hire a car to get back again..not gonna happen). So he acquiesces and says he'll come and pick it up from Brentwood.
He turns up on collection day with his wife and kids in his car and a bankers draft, less 50 quid of what we'd agreed on. I ask him what's going on and he replies "well it cost me 50 quid to get a bankers draft, so I've knocked it off the price"
IF he'd called up and said "hey this is costing me 50 quid for a bankers draft" I'd probably either knocked it off the price or split it 50/50 with him, but because he'd been a complete pain in the ass and then decided arbitrarily to knock the cost off, I suggested he go round the corner to get the missing 50 quid from the Cash machine, or he was not getting my car.
He didn't...Last I ever saw of him was him driving down our road with his wife giving him an earful from the passenger seat. I bet that was a frosty journey back to Oxford.
Sold the car the following week for full asking price to a lovely couple round the corner from me...
Advertised on autotrader and got a call from a guy who lived in Oxford. No big deal, I arrange to meet him at Heathrow Airport (given I wanted to sell the car and this was approx middle distance between us)
All goes well, he likes the car and offers me pretty close to what I wanted. Great thinks I - one less thing to worry about (what with leaving the country and all)...
He starts playing silly buggers. First asks me to deliver the car to Oxford ! (So I'd either have to get someone to follow me down, or hire a car to get back again..not gonna happen). So he acquiesces and says he'll come and pick it up from Brentwood.
He turns up on collection day with his wife and kids in his car and a bankers draft, less 50 quid of what we'd agreed on. I ask him what's going on and he replies "well it cost me 50 quid to get a bankers draft, so I've knocked it off the price"
IF he'd called up and said "hey this is costing me 50 quid for a bankers draft" I'd probably either knocked it off the price or split it 50/50 with him, but because he'd been a complete pain in the ass and then decided arbitrarily to knock the cost off, I suggested he go round the corner to get the missing 50 quid from the Cash machine, or he was not getting my car.
He didn't...Last I ever saw of him was him driving down our road with his wife giving him an earful from the passenger seat. I bet that was a frosty journey back to Oxford.
Sold the car the following week for full asking price to a lovely couple round the corner from me...I once took a 3ltr Capri in part ex.
I put it up at £350.
Yep 350 pounds for a 3ltr capri with a long MOT - it was never going to win "Best Capri"
A guy came around and after looking at it for ages he said
"It has green tinted glass in the passenger side but the rest of the car is blue, so what will you take ?"
(I'd never noticed)
"Well it was probably £8,000 new so find another £7650 of faults then we can talk about the price"
And he was one of the better ones.
I swore I'd rather burn the next cheap Ford rather than put up with the mongs who buy them.
I put it up at £350.
Yep 350 pounds for a 3ltr capri with a long MOT - it was never going to win "Best Capri"
A guy came around and after looking at it for ages he said
"It has green tinted glass in the passenger side but the rest of the car is blue, so what will you take ?"
(I'd never noticed)
"Well it was probably £8,000 new so find another £7650 of faults then we can talk about the price"
And he was one of the better ones.
I swore I'd rather burn the next cheap Ford rather than put up with the mongs who buy them.
Some brillaint stories above.
Had a few when selling my last car, as well as the usual no show monkeys.
I had a guy that was 'definitely going to buy the car', asked me to remove the advert (which I didn't thankfully) and would pay me a deposit tomorrow and collect the weekend. He texts me the next morning saying that the bank refused him credit. I guess I should be happy he phoned and not annoyed that he didn't check he could afford the car, before making such promises.
The one after that was even better. Girl turns up with dad, mom, and cousin who was about 10.
Showed them the folder full of stuff, full history and quick testdrive. I even ignored their child climbing over my leather seats. He then starts saying well he's not sure as I don't offer warranty!! Followed by he thinks the insurance will be very high. I don't see what I am possibly able to do about either of these things? Why do these people not check things before arriving?
Had a few when selling my last car, as well as the usual no show monkeys.
I had a guy that was 'definitely going to buy the car', asked me to remove the advert (which I didn't thankfully) and would pay me a deposit tomorrow and collect the weekend. He texts me the next morning saying that the bank refused him credit. I guess I should be happy he phoned and not annoyed that he didn't check he could afford the car, before making such promises.
The one after that was even better. Girl turns up with dad, mom, and cousin who was about 10.
Showed them the folder full of stuff, full history and quick testdrive. I even ignored their child climbing over my leather seats. He then starts saying well he's not sure as I don't offer warranty!! Followed by he thinks the insurance will be very high. I don't see what I am possibly able to do about either of these things? Why do these people not check things before arriving?
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