I have a video viewing of a car today
Discussion
It looks like lockdown might be extended according to today’s papers. So I have agreed to a video viewing of a car today (Im in Sussex and the cars in East Anglia).
I’ve ssen the videos provided by auction sites like The Market with the whole car slowly circled, interior and engine shot followed by the car starting and idling.
Is there anything else that I should consider asking for at this stage? I might well get the car inspected if it passes the first video stage (but I am quite impetuous at times!)
I’ve ssen the videos provided by auction sites like The Market with the whole car slowly circled, interior and engine shot followed by the car starting and idling.
Is there anything else that I should consider asking for at this stage? I might well get the car inspected if it passes the first video stage (but I am quite impetuous at times!)
Adrian250 said:
Unless you are absolutely desperate to buy, I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would buy a used car without seeing it in the flesh. New, then you can get away with it, but used opens up a whole can of potential worms..
That. Add on the private seller bit and unless it's literally half price (which is where the ebay scams are successful) there's no chance I'd risk it. Always the option of walking away on collection I suppose.mirandamilly said:
Is there anything else that I should consider asking for at this stage?
Depends on how old the car is - the video walk around is a good idea at this stage to see of this is something you want pursue further. Have you seen service history (if its old enough to have one), MOT certs, HPI check done?mirandamilly said:
It’s a private seller.
Maybe you'll be lucky and they're one of the nice, honest, sellers out there. I've met a few over the years.But I'm sad to say they're the minority.
Most sellers will video, and tell you all the positives about the car, show you nice pics of the good bits.
But most will conveniently omit the negative stuff.
So I'm in the camp of you'll have to go see it in person.
I sold a car like this a year ago. Advertised honestly as ‘every panel has a scrape or dent or both.’ Confirmed it by WhatsApp vid. It was a mk4 golf estate 130 with 200k miles. Advertised at £600 and had 3 people chasing it. Sold to a buyer 140 miles away who paid deposit by bacs and collected that weekend.
Not sure I’d be wanting to video buy in many £K’s and described as spotless but a few hundred and met honest description I’d be ok.
Not sure I’d be wanting to video buy in many £K’s and described as spotless but a few hundred and met honest description I’d be ok.
Unless you're buying from a reputable dealer or specialist, this is a terrible idea. There are so many potentially serious issues that could be hidden, or even just not demonstrable on a video. What if the clutch is shot? Does it start from cold? Does it overheat? Does it blow smoke under load? Is there any underbody corrosion that would be difficult to see on a phone video? Does it stink inside? The list goes on...
mirandamilly said:
23 Aston Martin main dealer service stamps helps. I didn’t want to waste my time so the video viewing later will at least establish the overall visual condition.
They really don't though, unless the lighting is absolutely perfect and the video is in 4K you're as well off with lots of good quality photos.I wouldn't go near it without a pre-purchase inspection from a reputable specialist personally. Even an honest seller might have no clue about major issues on the horizon.
I’ll definitely get an inspection done by a specialist. The video viewing was actually really useful. Luckily the vendor was helpful and very knowledgeable (and the car is looks good). I cannot imagine driving 100 miles again to see a car without this type of video first, it’ll save so much wasted time on misrepresentated cars.
The sentiment on here seems quite different from my experience as a private seller over the last five years. The last 3 cars that I’ve sold privately (1967 Mercedes Pagoda, 911sc and Ferrari 360) two were bought without the buyer viewing the car. One was based entirely on my conversations with the buyer (plus history), one was inspected by a specialist then collected by transporter and one was sold to a previous owner. It seems that the posters on are a more cautious bunch!
I’m excited about the DB7 though!
The sentiment on here seems quite different from my experience as a private seller over the last five years. The last 3 cars that I’ve sold privately (1967 Mercedes Pagoda, 911sc and Ferrari 360) two were bought without the buyer viewing the car. One was based entirely on my conversations with the buyer (plus history), one was inspected by a specialist then collected by transporter and one was sold to a previous owner. It seems that the posters on are a more cautious bunch!
I’m excited about the DB7 though!
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