Poorly advertised cars
Discussion
Have we got a thread for poorly advertised cars?
I would nominate this one. What could be a lovely starter classic for someone (1983 Triumph Acclaim), but let down by terrible photos. Granted they're in focus, but its like looking at pieces of a jigsaw....
https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1426343
I would nominate this one. What could be a lovely starter classic for someone (1983 Triumph Acclaim), but let down by terrible photos. Granted they're in focus, but its like looking at pieces of a jigsaw....

https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1426343
geeman237 said:
Have we got a thread for poorly advertised cars?
I would nominate this one. What could be a lovely starter classic for someone (1983 Triumph Acclaim), but let down by terrible photos. Granted they're in focus, but its like looking at pieces of a jigsaw....
https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1426343
At least they’d got the hang of landscape mode by the time it came to the paperwork.
I would nominate this one. What could be a lovely starter classic for someone (1983 Triumph Acclaim), but let down by terrible photos. Granted they're in focus, but its like looking at pieces of a jigsaw....

https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1426343
At least they’d got the hang of landscape mode by the time it came to the paperwork.
geeman237 said:
Have we got a thread for poorly advertised cars?
I would nominate this one. What could be a lovely starter classic for someone (1983 Triumph Acclaim), but let down by terrible photos. Granted they're in focus, but its like looking at pieces of a jigsaw....
https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1426343
Lovely tidy example.I would nominate this one. What could be a lovely starter classic for someone (1983 Triumph Acclaim), but let down by terrible photos. Granted they're in focus, but its like looking at pieces of a jigsaw....

https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1426343
Mercdriver said:
Businesses who write a listing for a car, about 500 words, no sentences or paragraphs just a block of print which is difficult to read. No organised descriptions jumps from items to items.
Don’t they teach salesmen how to spell and punctuate properly?
I believe it's due to Autotrader formattingDon’t they teach salesmen how to spell and punctuate properly?
The all caps thing is annoying, but they write it for Auto-trader and then copy / paste it to other sites
geeman237 said:
Have we got a thread for poorly advertised cars?
I would nominate this one. What could be a lovely starter classic for someone (1983 Triumph Acclaim), but let down by terrible photos. Granted they're in focus, but its like looking at pieces of a jigsaw....
https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1426343
That’s nothing! How about this for a main picture?I would nominate this one. What could be a lovely starter classic for someone (1983 Triumph Acclaim), but let down by terrible photos. Granted they're in focus, but its like looking at pieces of a jigsaw....

https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1426343
Spotted on Auto Trader a month back…
CarCrazyDad said:
How far away is that!!?!?
God there are so many - as well as the poor photos it’s the lack of care people apply to remove personal effects that winds me up. Bottles of lucozade, usb charging cables across the centre console etc.
But this one made laugh yesterday. A £25k Kia Stinger 3.3 with a Poundland universal car mat that doesn’t even fit. Just throw it away ! This is at a dealer too.

But this one made laugh yesterday. A £25k Kia Stinger 3.3 with a Poundland universal car mat that doesn’t even fit. Just throw it away ! This is at a dealer too.

Its usually the most useless staff member who is given the job of photoing the cars hence they do a crap job.
Some actually employ professional companies to come in and do the stock pics.
Some of our photos at the moment can be a bit slap dash just due to the fact it needs to go on the web as is because most likely it will sell before its prepped to a decent standard.
Had one the other day Mini countryman quick wash and a few exterior pics saying awaiting valet, Customer requested a video and pics of the car dirty ! to see how its been used
that was put on the web and sold within 4 hours
Some actually employ professional companies to come in and do the stock pics.
Some of our photos at the moment can be a bit slap dash just due to the fact it needs to go on the web as is because most likely it will sell before its prepped to a decent standard.
Had one the other day Mini countryman quick wash and a few exterior pics saying awaiting valet, Customer requested a video and pics of the car dirty ! to see how its been used
that was put on the web and sold within 4 hours
aaron_2000 said:
FB marketplace is riddled with them. 3 bad pictures taken too close to the car and a description like this:
no nocks or bangs, ew, pas, ac, turbo blown doesnt effect drive 20£ on ebay easy fix never botherd me, mite swop wot u got. best offers
"How much do you want for it?"
offers
And usually a screenshot of a screenshot no nocks or bangs, ew, pas, ac, turbo blown doesnt effect drive 20£ on ebay easy fix never botherd me, mite swop wot u got. best offers
"How much do you want for it?"
offers

I think its the same everywhere with other items.
I've recently been looking for a cheap mountain bike to go for a ride with my kids.
Barely any info in the advert, no frame size etc.
I buy a reasonable amount of furniture on market place and the amount of folks who just add basic dimensions for stuff like media units is ridiculous.
I asked someone what length a table was and their reply was "its big". Ha Ha Ha.
Obviously these are low value items but seems common across the board.
I've recently been looking for a cheap mountain bike to go for a ride with my kids.
Barely any info in the advert, no frame size etc.
I buy a reasonable amount of furniture on market place and the amount of folks who just add basic dimensions for stuff like media units is ridiculous.
I asked someone what length a table was and their reply was "its big". Ha Ha Ha.
Obviously these are low value items but seems common across the board.
The one consistent thing with those supposedly poorly taken photos is they're quite often not, the seller is deliberately taking it at angles where you can't see the number plate. Obviously never heard of / can't work simple image editing software. I saw one the other day where the chap was taking the photos on one leg with his other foot in the air at a ninety degree angle to obscure the plate lol.
Some great examples on here.
If it's not photos taken from a bedroom window with worrying levels of condensation, it's adverts that say "I don't respond on here message [HIDDEN INFORMATION]" and of course, they don't respond to your messages. Facebook messenger is the place to be for crap adverts though. My favourite term is "future classic" and it's a 1998 1.8 Vectra LS with 180k on. It'll be no more a future classic than my socks. I swear every car on Facebook marketplace that's pre-2005 is a future classic these days.
If it's not photos taken from a bedroom window with worrying levels of condensation, it's adverts that say "I don't respond on here message [HIDDEN INFORMATION]" and of course, they don't respond to your messages. Facebook messenger is the place to be for crap adverts though. My favourite term is "future classic" and it's a 1998 1.8 Vectra LS with 180k on. It'll be no more a future classic than my socks. I swear every car on Facebook marketplace that's pre-2005 is a future classic these days.
vikingaero said:
Tyres are my bugbear on FB Marketplace:
"Trye £20"
No make, size, mm of tread, condition/punctures. And the 2 pics they take manage to miss out the brand and size.
What's wrong with: "Michelin Pilot Sport 4 XL, 235/45/18 W speed rating, 6mm tread, good condition/no punctures/repairs"?
My bugbear is wheels with no centre bore, pcd or offset information. Trying to extract this information is like asking a child to plan a moon landing. "Trye £20"
No make, size, mm of tread, condition/punctures. And the 2 pics they take manage to miss out the brand and size.
What's wrong with: "Michelin Pilot Sport 4 XL, 235/45/18 W speed rating, 6mm tread, good condition/no punctures/repairs"?
Usual response is “come see if they fit bud”.
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