Private sale and test drives?

[Colesie]

Hi

I've been toying with the idea of selling the V12V. I have never sold anything more expensive than a daily runabout privately and always traded my fun car for the next one at a dealer before, but am thinking about the pros and cons of private vs trade sale if I don't want to go straight into another car (the obvious pro being getting more money )

I wondered what the collective intelligence of the forum thinks about letting members of the great British public test drive your p&j? I'm concerned generally about test pilots but basically wouldnt want to let anyone drive it until they've bought it for many reasons including the obvious concerns about valid insurance! It's low mileage and still in warranty and test drives could be had at dealers to evaluate the model so it wouldn't worry me as a buyer if I couldn't drive the actual car but what do others think?

Colesie

[johng39]

I would not be letting anyone drive it without Fully Comp insurance. They would need to arrange this seperately as there own insurance would not cover it for more than third party, if indeed thay have driving other cars on their policy.

As for selling an £80K + car privately, that is an interesting one.

[AMDBSNick]

Interesting one this. Would you buy an £80k + car that you had not driven??

[BingoBob]

What about temporary cover from somewhere like this:

https://www.tempcover.com/Faq.aspx

I've used similar things in the past, but not on £80k cars, admittedly.

I think I would be more worried about having random people round to my house to view the car, but maybe I'm just paranoid.

[yeti]

AMDBSNick said:

Interesting one this. Would you buy an £80k + car that you had not driven??

Not a hope in hell! Would loe to see your advert, "V12V, £80k, test drive forbidden until you've bought it". I don;t think you'll get many calls

If they've paid for a day of fully comp insurance on it I think they're showing sufficient willing to warrant a drive and are a serious buyer. As you say, test pilots can go to dealer to get a drive if they want one that much.

They need to know if yours 'feels' right, brakes straight without pulling left, no judder through the wheel or pedal, throttle response where it should be, gear shift slick etc. I'm afraid you have to offer the drive!

I sold my TVR privately; £32k about 10 years ago - a lot of dosh. If he broke it he bought it, we shook on it, it was enough for me. Those were the old TVR days though, life was different and so were people!

[Richales]

Always bought/sold my cars privately. Test driving is a tricky one though. In the past I've taken out potential buyers with me behind the wheel and actually in some instances they've been happy with that and bought; although I'm not sure I'd commit if I'd not driven it myself.

For the very serious buyers I've taken their details and added them to my insurance short-term, costs about £22-25. At least they're fully comp insured but should they have a prang then it will affect my no claims.

I've found that a £50k+ car is harder to sell privately though as most folk will want finance which is harder (and often more expensive) to organise on a private sale. The more expensive the car, the less likely buyers will have the cash to hand over. An £80k V12V is going to be a VERY limited market for someone who doesn't want finance.

[BingoBob]

I find that if you ask for a fully returnable deposit before test drive then that very effectively weeds out the time wasters.

[Calculator]

I would look to agree on everything else (mainly price!) before allowing a test drive as the final condition.

I would also expect to see proof of fully comprehensive insurance. If you trust that the buyer is genuine, perhaps have them added to own insurance temporarily for peace of mind (at their own cost).

[NigelStn]

I bought my '07 V8V privately, without a test drive, or even being taken out in it but I knew the car and owner!

[jonby]

Richales said:

Always bought/sold my cars privately. Test driving is a tricky one though. In the past I've taken out potential buyers with me behind the wheel and actually in some instances they've been happy with that and bought; although I'm not sure I'd commit if I'd not driven it myself.

For the very serious buyers I've taken their details and added them to my insurance short-term, costs about £22-25. At least they're fully comp insured but should they have a prang then it will affect my no claims.

I've found that a £50k+ car is harder to sell privately though as most folk will want finance which is harder (and often more expensive) to organise on a private sale. The more expensive the car, the less likely buyers will have the cash to hand over. An £80k V12V is going to be a VERY limited market for someone who doesn't want finance.

Agree with all of this except I'd be very wary of having someone I didn't know drive my car of that value on my insurance for all the reasons stated in this post and throughout the thread

I have to say that once you get to that financial level on a newish car, I think I'd prefer to get a little less via nother sales methof but avoid all the problems. For instance even if the buyer doesn't need finance, how will they pay ? Cash ? that's no good at that level for all kinds of reasons. Bank draft ? too risky these days. bank transfer ? Who will be doing what when (i.e. transfer before car handed over or the other way round ?). Life is full of risks but at that level, it would be too risky for me

I don;t want to pry so I won't ask the question, but I would make the statement that if there is finance on your car, that's another logistical hurdle as the buyer will want to be sure that's cleared

If you don't want to take the bigger hit by selling to a dealer (which does have advantages on top of the above, including no spending time in person/on the phone with potential buyers, advertising where you live with the car, insurance & tax until you sell, etc) then perhaps try selling through a dealer ? I think my local dealer for instance would be happy to speak to potential customers for a car like this and then call you if he thinks he has a sale, at which stage he would offer more knowing he has a quick 'turn' in place than he would for a purchase into stock

[Mattt]

Are you not better off going for SOR, as it avoids all the issues about insurance, finance etc?

As the car's covered under AM warranty, I'd imagine you'd get a reasonable spread on the sale.

[Colesie]

Richales said:

I've found that a £50k+ car is harder to sell privately though as most folk will want finance which is harder (and often more expensive) to organise on a private sale. The more expensive the car, the less likely buyers will have the cash to hand over. An £80k V12V is going to be a VERY limited market for someone who doesn't want finance.

Thanks for all the input yes, I guess this actually may be the more apposite question - is there a market for private sale of this kind of car until they get a bit older and is the potential extra cash worth the definite extra hassle anyway?

Looks like it's sale/SOR at a dealer or keep it for a while longer

great advice as always!

[Richales]

Just be cautious with SOR and agree the terms with the dealer before leaving your car there. I had a bit of a nightmare scenario with a TVR a few years back. Having agreed a price that dealer would return to me, dealer then secured a sale but then started a load of work to the car to "prep" it for sale.

First I heard was when the dealer rang me to say he'd found a buyer and was half way through the work that needed to be done - and the £2500 bill would come off the bottom line paid to me!!!

Clearly this was unauthorised as I'd not agreed to any work or drop in price. There was much debate and threats of legal action but in the end I paid for the parts that had been replaced (a service & alleged buckled wheel) and exercised my right of "or return" and drove my car away. Ended up selling privately again in the end.

Worth ensuring the dealer doing SOR for you is crystal clear on if work needs doing to sell the car that this is either factored into the price or at least you're pre-informed.

[peterr96]

Make sure you know exactly what you're dealing with when selecting someone to do SOR for you. There are instances where cars have sold and people have not got their money out.

For example this ones a horror

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=1&a...

Agree that it's unlikely that you'll find a private buyer at this level. Potentially too much risk for the buyer and the seller. Unless you're really lucky and someone on here that you know wants to upgrade ...... then maybe you could make something happen that worked for you both.
Unfortunately it's not me as I don't have the dosh!

[michael gould]

peterr96 said:

Make sure you know exactly what you're dealing with when selecting someone to do SOR for you. There are instances where cars have sold and people have not got their money out.

For example this ones a horror

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=1&a...

Agree that it's unlikely that you'll find a private buyer at this level. Potentially too much risk for the buyer and the seller. Unless you're really lucky and someone on here that you know wants to upgrade ...... then maybe you could make something happen that worked for you both.
Unfortunately it's not me as I don't have the dosh!

There has been several comments recently about the "money" risk of selling your car privately....and I don’t get it.......it’s simple .....you agree a price with the buyer, you walk into a branch of the buyers bank with the buyer,.......he asks for a draft to be made payable to you in your presence.......he hands the draft to you... deal done.....unless the bank goes bust your covered.

[yeti]

michael gould said:

you walk into a branch of the buyers bank with the buyer,.......he asks for a draft to be made payable to you in your presence.......he hands the draft to you... deal done.....unless the bank goes bust your covered.

The draft is guarantedd at that moment in time. Can he then walk back into the bank and remove the money meaning there is nothing to draw the draft on?

Bank transfer seems most logical with both of you present. Takes a couple of hours, have a coffee and talk about Astons with your new pal.

[Richales]

Although sadly even a bank tranfer cannot be 100% secure. If the money used to buy the car are proven to be the from proceeds of crime, that money can be recovered!

In my mind it's a judgement call on the type of chap you're dealing. If they seem a shifty character then you take extra precautions. I always get a photocopy of their photo driving licence with address on it. If the buyer/seller is legit, they shouldn't have any issues about handing it over.

[Mr Overheads]

I bought mine privately and intend to sell privately (offers anyone? Black N400 21500miles May 08 Reg, no finance). When I bought everything agreed on the phone, taken to Aston Edinburgh for the 140pt check. I arranged my fully comp insurance for a year intending to buy, start date on the insurance the day of 'pick up'. If test drive was bad I could cancel insurance under 7 day cooling off terms anyway at no cost.

On arrival had a test drive all seemed good to me, so drove to bank and initiated 2 x CHAPS transfer 1) to buyers account and 2) to Fiance Company. Then we waited at the Aston dealership for the money to arrive and once his bank and the finance house had confirmed cleared funds I drove the Aston home.

[michael gould]

yeti said:

michael gould said:

you walk into a branch of the buyers bank with the buyer,.......he asks for a draft to be made payable to you in your presence.......he hands the draft to you... deal done.....unless the bank goes bust your covered.

The draft is guarantedd at that moment in time. Can he then walk back into the bank and remove the money meaning there is nothing to draw the draft on?

Bank transfer seems most logical with both of you present. Takes a couple of hours, have a coffee and talk about Astons with your new pal.

that is not the case Yeti.....a bank draft is a promise from the bank to pay you and not the person who is buying the car......provided it has been issued in good faith i.e its not a stolen draft (hence the reason you accompany the buyer into the bank) the bank owe you the money ....its the same as cash

[jonby]

michael gould said:

peterr96 said:

Make sure you know exactly what you're dealing with when selecting someone to do SOR for you. There are instances where cars have sold and people have not got their money out.

For example this ones a horror

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=1&a...

Agree that it's unlikely that you'll find a private buyer at this level. Potentially too much risk for the buyer and the seller. Unless you're really lucky and someone on here that you know wants to upgrade ...... then maybe you could make something happen that worked for you both.
Unfortunately it's not me as I don't have the dosh!

There has been several comments recently about the "money" risk of selling your car privately....and I don’t get it.......it’s simple .....you agree a price with the buyer, you walk into a branch of the buyers bank with the buyer,.......he asks for a draft to be made payable to you in your presence.......he hands the draft to you... deal done.....unless the bank goes bust your covered.

That's a great way of avoiding all the pitfalls of drafts Michael. Most people are unaware of the problems of forged & stolen drafts hence your suggestion being seldom adopted but as I say, it avoids all the obvious draft related problems. But there is still an element of trust/judgement by both buyer & seller that has to take place in relation to the rest of the transaction, such as money laundering, i.d., outstanding finance, etc, especially without a written contract. I'm not saying it;s not all possible to be overcome, but it's time intensive, you need to know what you are doing and these discussions may happen with more than one potential purchaser before it goes through, hence a private sale not being for everyone

I'm admittedly particularly cautious in this respect, as I wouldn't even pay an audi dealer by bank transfer the day before delivery on my last purchase and I insisted I pay by debit card at the dealership whilst collecting the car, in case they went bust inbetween ! They tried arguing 'they were audi' ........