Selling a used car to Gen Z- ask for trouble ??

[Wilmslowboy]

Selling a perfect learner / first car, still under warranty , super low miles etc etc


Have a buyer contact me from Facebook who is "super keen"
However comes across a bit naïve (meant in a nice way)

Their questions have all been about MPG, insurance group, spec etc all stuff that is available from google (or the ad), a couple of questions a day for the last couple of days.

Nothing about service history , condition, outstanding warranty, HPI etc etc

Their profile is of a late teen early 20's gen z type, who lives 250 miles away.

The car is great, and good value (WBAC said just over £7k, retail is just over £8k and we settled on a price of £7,500), and I have nothing to hide BUT

I would rather hope the buyer had a older sibling, parent that would support them in the transaction, last thing I want is them getting buyers remorse and me starting a thread saying used car buyer wants money back as they wanted a different colour, a sunroof that opened or found out they cant get insurance.

Am I just being a patronizing arse ??


I have three said gen z's in my house (between 17 and 19), one is studying medicine and another physics and philosophy, and I wouldn't trust them to buy a toaster never mind a used car.

[Jimmy Recard]

This is what every generation has said about younger generations for as long as has been recorded. It's not unique to any particular generation.

As always, teenagers make mistakes and learn from them.

[HustleRussell]

Looking disparagingly upon younger people and attempting to afflict them all with the same attributes is simply an avoidable symptom of being old.

[limpsfield]

I have to say, whatever generation you are I don’t think I would want to be selling a car to you if you do all this handwringing before anything has actually happened!

Sell the car. Pocket the money. Bet nothing happens.

Don’t believe some PH tropes about millennials/leasers/whatever.

[sxmwht]

Just take their money. If they change their mind later, tough st.

[OddCat]

Who drives 250 miles to buy a run of the mill runabout?

Suggest it is more likely Eastern European scammers lulling you into a false sense of security with their deliberately naive questions

[DRE7]

I don’t mean to sound inflammatory but to someone somewhere in between you and the prospective buyer, you have come across extremely patronising.
Also, what have you got to hide about all the things you mention but the prospective buyer hasn’t? Surely you mentioned things like service history in your advert?
It sounds a bit like you’re the one to worry about in this transaction, not them!

[DaveyBoyWonder]

If WBAC have said just over 7k and you're selling privately for 7500 and opening yourself up to the whole world of potential pain, let alone having to faff around with test drives etc in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, I know where I'd be taking the car to get rid of it.

[Wilmslowboy]

Not all all

Selling a car for someone that has been living with us for the last 8 months (lost both their parents) while they wait to start uni.

So more saint than sinner

Take onboard the points about patronising old git - after all I called it out myself.

DRE7 said:

I don’t mean to sound inflammatory but to someone somewhere in between you and the prospective buyer, you have come across extremely patronising.
Also, what have you got to hide about all the things you mention but the prospective buyer hasn’t? Surely you mentioned things like service history in your advert?
It sounds a bit like you’re the one to worry about in this transaction, not them!

[redandwhite]

Ask them to give you a ring or suggest they view it (Take it or leave it), you may then get radio silence OR you might sell it.

Its just the trials and tribulations of selling privately, dealing with (potential) messers, i dont think it has anything to do with the (fashionable) generation whatever.

[DaveH23]

OddCat said:

Who drives 250 miles to buy a run of the mill runabout?

Suggest it is more likely Eastern European scammers lulling you into a false sense of security with their deliberately naive questions

Whenever I've searched for a car I always leave my search on distance National/open ended. As with most on here travelling for the right car isn't unheard of even for run of the mill stuff.

There maybe a particular something on the car they like that others more locally don't.

I travelled from Northumberland > London > Northumberland in a day for a £3000 106 GTi which you could say was a run of the mill car.

[Bumblebee7]

DaveH23 said:

Whenever I've searched for a car I always leave my search on distance National/open ended. As with most on here travelling for the right car isn't unheard of even for run of the mill stuff.

There maybe a particular something on the car they like that others more locally don't.

I travelled from Northumberland > London > Northumberland in a day for a £3000 106 GTi which you could say was a run of the mill car.

I traveled 4 hours to pick up an MX5 for £269. I always search nationally, for the cost of a train ticket a good car is always worth it if you're keeping it long term.

[jw673]

OddCat said:

Who drives 250 miles to buy a run of the mill runabout?

At a similar age to the OP's buyer I drove ~8 hours (total/round trip) to buy a pair of socks; I wouldn't consider it outlandish to undertake a similar trip for the purchase of a car.

There is another PH thread on signs you're getting old, OP: this thread could be your sign

[mattman]

I’ve noticed that more people seem to willing/wanting to a agree a price before even seeing the car. The days of a viewing, test drive and polite haggle seem to be over

[Jamescrs]

mattman said:

I’ve noticed that more people seem to willing/wanting to a agree a price before even seeing the car. The days of a viewing, test drive and polite haggle seem to be over

Even main dealers are operating that way now from my experience buying two Approved used cars from different dealers in the last couple of months

[Bumblebee7]

mattman said:

I’ve noticed that more people seem to willing/wanting to a agree a price before even seeing the car. The days of a viewing, test drive and polite haggle seem to be over

Certainly been that way for me buying sheds- agreed a price on the proviso that if it starts when I get there it's sold

[mbwoy84]

DaveyBoyWonder said:

If WBAC have said just over 7k and you're selling privately for 7500 and opening yourself up to the whole world of potential pain, let alone having to faff around with test drives etc in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, I know where I'd be taking the car to get rid of it.

I don’t see anything wrong with what the potential buyer is asking, but this seems a valid point.

I wouldn’t sell to WBAC, but if they’re offering £7000 and you’re looking for £7500, I’m absolutely certain that either someone like Evans Halshaw or a dealer that specialises in whatever the car is would be able to offer you at least a figure somewhere in between the two, which would cut down on hassle if that’s what you’re looking to avoid.

[romeodelta]

A few years ago, an international student came to view my 8J TT 3.2 V6.

He was into cars, but clearly very naive with the car buying process. He didn't check any paperwork or anything mechanical, just that his phone could connect to bluetooth and stream music.

I showed him the V5, VIN, HPI etc., educating but not patronising him along the way. Perhaps that's what built trust and got the sale, I don't know.

Alarm bells started to ring when he said his parents in India are transferring his living expenses for the whole year, which he was going to use to buy the car and then he was going to do Uber Eats in it to live.

Sure enough, a few days later, they transferred the funds to him, he transferred them to me and he drove off.

I saw how little he had left in his account and it wasn't a cheap car to run.

I did feel a bit guilty, as it seemed like a disaster waiting to happen when his parents found out or he couldn't afford to live, but I knew it was a good car and he was a grown adult who made his own decisions.

I checked a few days later it had been transferred out of my name and never heard from him again.

Edited by romeodelta on Thursday 10th September 23:49

[InitialDave]

Selling a car to a young person who doesn't know about cars is likely nowhere near as painful as selling one to an old fart who thinks they do.

[WonkeyDonkey]

You guys must get paid extremely well if an hour of hassle is not worth £500