Why do sellers tell fibs?
Discussion
Why can't some sellers of cars just tell the truth over the phone and save us time and money. Been three years since I bought a car but I'm after something very specific.
Saw a 2014 car, top spec, described as immaculate condition inside and out, photos looked great so I emailed and ask for. a phone number. So I phoned on Thursday, ask if it was actually immaculate, any damage, FSH and if it had had a cam belt and water pump done. The answer was yes. So off I set this Sunday afternoon about 100 miles round trip, mixture of motorway and B road and country lanes so took over an hour to arrive.
Turned up and the guy wasn't particularly enthusiastic it was almost like he expected me to hand over thousands and drive off. Engine was fine and even cheekily plugged in my OBD, no faults.Then I started to look around it, dings in the door, scrape in the rear quarter and a big dent in the rear arch, so not immaculate then. Interior hadn't had a dust or hoover in a good while, so interior not immaculate either.
I ask to see the service history "it's all online mate", so he had no way to show me it had a service history or had the water pump cam belt done. He didn't even know that you pushed the badge to open the tailgate. Then it turned out it wasn't his car but his relatives.
So he said he'd had it on for three weeks at £4250 and had it down to £3500. I said it needed a wheel refurb and the damage sorted, "you could fix that for £250", so I offered £3250 and he said 'no chance that's a £4k car all day long. Then said he'd had to other people look at it and they hadn't offered anything, the book price for it in excellent condition was £3450.
I mean why lie, did he honestly think because I'd driven so far I'd just hand over the money and drive off, maybe I'm just a fussy sod but it really grates my gears.
Saw a 2014 car, top spec, described as immaculate condition inside and out, photos looked great so I emailed and ask for. a phone number. So I phoned on Thursday, ask if it was actually immaculate, any damage, FSH and if it had had a cam belt and water pump done. The answer was yes. So off I set this Sunday afternoon about 100 miles round trip, mixture of motorway and B road and country lanes so took over an hour to arrive.
Turned up and the guy wasn't particularly enthusiastic it was almost like he expected me to hand over thousands and drive off. Engine was fine and even cheekily plugged in my OBD, no faults.Then I started to look around it, dings in the door, scrape in the rear quarter and a big dent in the rear arch, so not immaculate then. Interior hadn't had a dust or hoover in a good while, so interior not immaculate either.
I ask to see the service history "it's all online mate", so he had no way to show me it had a service history or had the water pump cam belt done. He didn't even know that you pushed the badge to open the tailgate. Then it turned out it wasn't his car but his relatives.
So he said he'd had it on for three weeks at £4250 and had it down to £3500. I said it needed a wheel refurb and the damage sorted, "you could fix that for £250", so I offered £3250 and he said 'no chance that's a £4k car all day long. Then said he'd had to other people look at it and they hadn't offered anything, the book price for it in excellent condition was £3450.
I mean why lie, did he honestly think because I'd driven so far I'd just hand over the money and drive off, maybe I'm just a fussy sod but it really grates my gears.
The worst is people not showing up when you want to buy a car. Wanted to buy a spares or repairs yaris, called the man had a quick chat and arranged to see the car. Got there, found the car so inspected it before attempting to contact the seller (probably looked very fishy lying down in the road to check the exhaust but some things have got to be done). Tried calling the seller doenst go through. Luckily my dad was with me so he called and turns out he blocked my number because he doesn't want "Time wasters" even though he's literally selling a car
1. I'd say that's more your fault than his, in reference to the scrape.You should be able to see the damage in the pictures. If pictures are missing of certain angles then its a massive red flag, or taken from a distance.
2. "Its a 4k car all day long" - I imagine I'd be able to tell what kind of person is from how he speaks and I'd just not even waste any more of my time.
The history being all online and no receipts ties into points 1 and 2.
2. "Its a 4k car all day long" - I imagine I'd be able to tell what kind of person is from how he speaks and I'd just not even waste any more of my time.
The history being all online and no receipts ties into points 1 and 2.
I'm selling a car, immaculate, 2019, low mileage, warranty and cheapest in its class, no marks on wheels, full dealer history, recalls done, drives faultless. I've spoken with a few traders and they were asking what the tyres were like, I said if I was keeping it, i'd look to change them soon, they wanted them above 3mm, so they used it as a negotiating point, fair enough. When I got it serviced, turns out they were at 4mm in the back, so my standards are clearly higher. It amazes me how people put such faith in traders, my car has a manufacturer's warranty ffs.
Few people said they will come and view but don't turn up, if anyone asks "what's the lowest you'll take mate" I just ignore now.
Few people said they will come and view but don't turn up, if anyone asks "what's the lowest you'll take mate" I just ignore now.
Imagine doing it for a living!
People lie every day. We travel all over the country for stock cars. We ask all the right questions and even get these answers in writing if possible. At least a third of the cars we go to see have had significant lies told about them. Part exchanges that we value subject to inspection, described as immaculate, are often far from it. A customer can see a solitary stone chip on the bonnet of our car and they suck through their teeth and “umm” and “aah”, but yet when their car needs a rear quarter painting that they didn’t declare, “it was like that when I got it”.
It is a minefield. Car sales as an industry is given a hard time, but the general public arguably tell more lies than most dealerships.
People lie every day. We travel all over the country for stock cars. We ask all the right questions and even get these answers in writing if possible. At least a third of the cars we go to see have had significant lies told about them. Part exchanges that we value subject to inspection, described as immaculate, are often far from it. A customer can see a solitary stone chip on the bonnet of our car and they suck through their teeth and “umm” and “aah”, but yet when their car needs a rear quarter painting that they didn’t declare, “it was like that when I got it”.
It is a minefield. Car sales as an industry is given a hard time, but the general public arguably tell more lies than most dealerships.
Any claim that the car is immaculate should be taken with a pinch of salt. People have very different standards which is why you really need to see it for yourself. This is why I wouldn't travel long distance to see a car unless it was something very special.
On the flip side, you can't really expect a 7 year old car to be immaculate unless they've never had it out on the road.
As for service history, on another thread someone said if there is no proof then it hasn't been done which I would agree with. If it's online then surely that could be proven with a quick call to a dealer and the reg.
People are people. Sellers can be liars and buyers can be just as bad. Very sad, and the reason webuyanycar exists.
On the flip side, you can't really expect a 7 year old car to be immaculate unless they've never had it out on the road.
As for service history, on another thread someone said if there is no proof then it hasn't been done which I would agree with. If it's online then surely that could be proven with a quick call to a dealer and the reg.
People are people. Sellers can be liars and buyers can be just as bad. Very sad, and the reason webuyanycar exists.
sutoka said:
Why can't some sellers of cars just tell the truth over the phone and save us time and money.
So he said he'd had it on for three weeks at £4250 and had it down to £3500. I said it needed a wheel refurb and the damage sorted, "you could fix that for £250", so I offered £3250 and he said 'no chance that's a £4k car all day long. Then said he'd had to other people look at it and they hadn't offered anything, the book price for it in excellent condition was £3450.
I mean why lie, did he honestly think because I'd driven so far I'd just hand over the money and drive off, maybe I'm just a fussy sod but it really grates my gears.
I'm sorry my friend but you have wasted your time over £250. How much did it cost you in travel costs and wasted time? I'd say about £200. If the book price was £3450 in excellent condition why did you offer £3250?So he said he'd had it on for three weeks at £4250 and had it down to £3500. I said it needed a wheel refurb and the damage sorted, "you could fix that for £250", so I offered £3250 and he said 'no chance that's a £4k car all day long. Then said he'd had to other people look at it and they hadn't offered anything, the book price for it in excellent condition was £3450.
I mean why lie, did he honestly think because I'd driven so far I'd just hand over the money and drive off, maybe I'm just a fussy sod but it really grates my gears.
If it was worth £3250 of your money there was a deal to be made as you were a fraction out - perhaps you could have got it for £3300 or £3350.
I wish I could do that under the circumstances but I hate wasting my time on relatively small amounts of cash. Not just you but the seller too - why lose a sale of £3500 over £250?
sandman77 said:
maz8062 said:
If the book price was £3450 in excellent condition why did you offer £3250?
Because it wasn’t in excellent condition and needed £250 worth of work. Seems reasonable to me. RVVUNM said:
sandman77 said:
maz8062 said:
If the book price was £3450 in excellent condition why did you offer £3250?
Because it wasn’t in excellent condition and needed £250 worth of work. Seems reasonable to me. Driving 100 miles and investing hours of ones time and then walking away for £250 is not about the car IMO, it could be down to a clash of personalities, or ego.
As soon as you saw a 7 year old car that wasn't a prestigious vehicle and the words 'immaculate' adorned the description, you probably should've had the common sense to realise there was going to be some disappointment if you progressed with an enquiry. There's always the chance that some proud pensioner picked up a 204 fiesta, drove to the corner shop once a day for his paper, meticulously cleaned and polished the car every Sunday and treated it better than his wife, but let's be realistic here and focus on the 99.9% of scenarios and not the 0.1%
Had this recently on a motorbike I went to view, luckily only 20 minutes away so wasn't too much wasted.
Advertised at top end of its worth but looked a clean, good example so gave the guy a ring. Described it as perfect apart from a small scuff on the front mud guard, can live with that so in the car we go.
Arrive and when I'm still 20 feet away can see a fist sized dent in the tank going down a good few centimetres and paint broken away, conveniently forgot to mention that and hidden in the pictures.
Checked it over and wasn't a bad bike mechanically but the fact he had lied by ommision about the tank completely put me off. Didn't trust him at all after that. Mention the tank and his reply is "Oh didn't see that as worth mentioning..." Well I bloody well did! Told him I wasn't interested and walked away. I could have got the tank sorted for probably £120 but I just didn't trust him about anything else so wasn't taking the risk.
Just glad I didn't travel any sort of distance to view it.
Advertised at top end of its worth but looked a clean, good example so gave the guy a ring. Described it as perfect apart from a small scuff on the front mud guard, can live with that so in the car we go.
Arrive and when I'm still 20 feet away can see a fist sized dent in the tank going down a good few centimetres and paint broken away, conveniently forgot to mention that and hidden in the pictures.
Checked it over and wasn't a bad bike mechanically but the fact he had lied by ommision about the tank completely put me off. Didn't trust him at all after that. Mention the tank and his reply is "Oh didn't see that as worth mentioning..." Well I bloody well did! Told him I wasn't interested and walked away. I could have got the tank sorted for probably £120 but I just didn't trust him about anything else so wasn't taking the risk.
Just glad I didn't travel any sort of distance to view it.
ChrisH72 said:
Any claim that the car is immaculate should be taken with a pinch of salt. People have very different standards which is why you really need to see it for yourself. This is why I wouldn't travel long distance to see a car unless it was something very special.
On the flip side, you can't really expect a 7 year old car to be immaculate unless they've never had it out on the road.
As for service history, on another thread someone said if there is no proof then it hasn't been done which I would agree with. If it's online then surely that could be proven with a quick call to a dealer and the reg.
People are people. Sellers can be liars and buyers can be just as bad. Very sad, and the reason webuyanycar exists.
To be fair a I own a few cars and despite being 2, 15 and 20 years old they are truly immaculate inside and out. Using age is no excuse, if a cars well looked after it shouldn't matter what age it is.On the flip side, you can't really expect a 7 year old car to be immaculate unless they've never had it out on the road.
As for service history, on another thread someone said if there is no proof then it hasn't been done which I would agree with. If it's online then surely that could be proven with a quick call to a dealer and the reg.
People are people. Sellers can be liars and buyers can be just as bad. Very sad, and the reason webuyanycar exists.
Edited by sutoka on Monday 12th April 17:32
It depends. People have different standards. My take on immaculate is probably similar to yours but I also know that 99% of car sellers who say mint or immaculate probably just mean they've paid £15 for an eastern European guy to give it a Valet.
That said if it is genuinely well priced for the car and someone wanted £250 off for a wheel refurb on an a £3500 car I'd maybe be a bit arsey but then again I wouldn't have described it as immaculate.
Last car I sold was a VW Transporter. Comfortably the cheapest of it's type around but it was rough around the edges and 255k on the clock. Lots of chances offered me thousands less than advertised and it did take 2 or 3 weeks for a someone to actually come and look at it but they bought it for £100 less than advertised.
That said if it is genuinely well priced for the car and someone wanted £250 off for a wheel refurb on an a £3500 car I'd maybe be a bit arsey but then again I wouldn't have described it as immaculate.
Last car I sold was a VW Transporter. Comfortably the cheapest of it's type around but it was rough around the edges and 255k on the clock. Lots of chances offered me thousands less than advertised and it did take 2 or 3 weeks for a someone to actually come and look at it but they bought it for £100 less than advertised.
sutoka said:
To be fair a I own a few cars and despite being 15 and 20 yeas old they are truly immaculate inside and out. Using age is no excuse, if a cars well looked after it shouldn't matter what age it is.
Unless its a brand new car or has been completely resprayed and every single wear part replaced I don't think a car should be called immaculate as there is always the little stone chip or feint scratch it goes with the territory of owning and using a car. I look after my cars too but there is no way I am respraying the bonnet every 6 months to sort out the inevitable stone chips. In my opinion Immaculate is a bad choice of word as so very few cars would actually fall into that category if they have been used.
MK1RS Bruce said:
sutoka said:
To be fair a I own a few cars and despite being 15 and 20 yeas old they are truly immaculate inside and out. Using age is no excuse, if a cars well looked after it shouldn't matter what age it is.
Unless its a brand new car or has been completely resprayed and every single wear part replaced I don't think a car should be called immaculate as there is always the little stone chip or feint scratch it goes with the territory of owning and using a car. I look after my cars too but there is no way I am respraying the bonnet every 6 months to sort out the inevitable stone chips. In my opinion Immaculate is a bad choice of word as so very few cars would actually fall into that category if they have been used.
We have a 16 plate Citroen C4 with a little over 4k on the clock.
Despite being garaged its whole life and being driven carefully, there's still a few small stone chips and the slightest bit of corrosion appearing on the rear trailing arms.
Whilst it might be very clean and better than 99% of cars the same age, its certainly not immaculate.
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