Car buying scam (which I fell for..)
Discussion
Just thought I'd share my misfortune. Not looking for any advice on how to proceed, but I was tucked up like a kipper and consider(ed) myself savy enough when it came to cars, so just thought I'd tell the tale...
So was selling the wifes car Audi A4. Had it for about 4 years, and its been incredibly unreliable. Or we bought at at the wrong time/age which meant many expensice parts failed in our ownership. Such is life.
But it had a clean MOT, and deceided we'd get shot of it and let the wife satisfy her new hunger for and SUV.
Listed on Autotrader, had a bit of interest from people all "coming now, paying full price", despite me being at work and not with the car. Anyway, at my next available window a guy (or 3 guys as it turn out) turned up to view. Good look round the car, go for a test drive, which soon worries the guy and suggest we must turn back.
Get back, blue smoke is bellowing out the exuast, together with drips of oil. There is also oil in the water resevouir we now discover. f
k. As a decent guy, my first response is to apologise,and make it clear I was not aware the car was knackered prior to the viewing. I'm feeling bad about wasting their time. I suspect, the head gasket has gone or something to that tune.
Since the turbo went pop a year or so ago, this is not the first time I've seen the car spit a sump-full out the exhaust. I'm gutted, but can quite believe its happening, such has been our ownership.
Anyway, this guy is a trader, and offers me £500 to take it as is. Something feels not right, but I just cant figure a way those symptoms could be manufactured to order. Still, I send him away so I can have a think, and get a rough Idea how much a new head gasket is going to cost.
Car was up for 2k, tentative research suggest I could easily lose a grand fixing it, so when the guy calls back, I say he can have if for a grand. Some to-and-fro and we agree 800. I'm p!ssed, but I just don't need the hassle of fixing it.
I'm still sceptical, but not enough to want this buyer to disappear tonight and face the upheaval of fixing the car. I'm more sceptical still when he drives is away "just up the road to make it easy for his recovery guy".
And then its gone.
I'm now quite certain I was turned over, and that whilst I was distracted with one man, another was putting oil in the water res and the exhaust, all ready to offer me peanuts for the car 'do me a favour' and make a little profit.
I'll never know for sure, but the clues are there, in hindsight. The guy has now gone off the grid. Obviously.
Of course I wish Id not been too hasty, wish I'd listened to my suspicions etc etc but anyway, the false details left on the trader slip, and the speeding tickets which have just landed on my doormat are enough to leave more than a little annoyed/humiliated/saddened etc.
So this is going on, for anyone niave or trusting like me.
So was selling the wifes car Audi A4. Had it for about 4 years, and its been incredibly unreliable. Or we bought at at the wrong time/age which meant many expensice parts failed in our ownership. Such is life.
But it had a clean MOT, and deceided we'd get shot of it and let the wife satisfy her new hunger for and SUV.
Listed on Autotrader, had a bit of interest from people all "coming now, paying full price", despite me being at work and not with the car. Anyway, at my next available window a guy (or 3 guys as it turn out) turned up to view. Good look round the car, go for a test drive, which soon worries the guy and suggest we must turn back.
Get back, blue smoke is bellowing out the exuast, together with drips of oil. There is also oil in the water resevouir we now discover. f
k. As a decent guy, my first response is to apologise,and make it clear I was not aware the car was knackered prior to the viewing. I'm feeling bad about wasting their time. I suspect, the head gasket has gone or something to that tune.Since the turbo went pop a year or so ago, this is not the first time I've seen the car spit a sump-full out the exhaust. I'm gutted, but can quite believe its happening, such has been our ownership.
Anyway, this guy is a trader, and offers me £500 to take it as is. Something feels not right, but I just cant figure a way those symptoms could be manufactured to order. Still, I send him away so I can have a think, and get a rough Idea how much a new head gasket is going to cost.
Car was up for 2k, tentative research suggest I could easily lose a grand fixing it, so when the guy calls back, I say he can have if for a grand. Some to-and-fro and we agree 800. I'm p!ssed, but I just don't need the hassle of fixing it.
I'm still sceptical, but not enough to want this buyer to disappear tonight and face the upheaval of fixing the car. I'm more sceptical still when he drives is away "just up the road to make it easy for his recovery guy".
And then its gone.
I'm now quite certain I was turned over, and that whilst I was distracted with one man, another was putting oil in the water res and the exhaust, all ready to offer me peanuts for the car 'do me a favour' and make a little profit.
I'll never know for sure, but the clues are there, in hindsight. The guy has now gone off the grid. Obviously.
Of course I wish Id not been too hasty, wish I'd listened to my suspicions etc etc but anyway, the false details left on the trader slip, and the speeding tickets which have just landed on my doormat are enough to leave more than a little annoyed/humiliated/saddened etc.
So this is going on, for anyone niave or trusting like me.
blue smoke and oil coming out the exhaust isn't THAT easy to do quickly without somehow contaminating the fuel.
Granted, he may have had you over in terms of not being the trader he said he was such that you're now getting the paperwork for his offences, but that doesn't mean he fiddled the car too
Granted, he may have had you over in terms of not being the trader he said he was such that you're now getting the paperwork for his offences, but that doesn't mean he fiddled the car too
rxe said:
How do they get blue smoke coming out of the exhaust?
Oil in the reservoir - OK. Do they fill the air filter up with oil or something?
"was putting oil in the water res and the exhaust"Oil in the reservoir - OK. Do they fill the air filter up with oil or something?
Damn OP that's harsh, it's just not what you expect from people. I think I could've easily fallen foul of that one, all you'd really need is a pipettes worth in the tank and a bit on the exhaust. Easily tucked up a sleeve.
Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
I had a guy recently look at a £500 Micra I was selling, he went out for a test drive and drove like an absolute
, right to the limit of traction and the car made a grinding sound at the back. When we got back he said I "was trying to hide a problem from him" so he only offered £250. My response was that I don't drive like a lunatic so I wouldn't have heard that sound. Edited by Valgar on Thursday 1st March 17:35
I took my car to a dealer after a chat over the phone offering tempting figure. Anyway another chap from the dealer gets in to check the car is sound. For some reason he drives my car over to a hose pipe gets out and sprays the front of the car with water. I'm thinking WTF then he gets back in. He drives around the dealer and then informs me the airbag light is on. I'm thinking uhhhh it was OK when l drove it down. He offers me a lower price because of the fault and he said take it or leave it so l left thinking he's taking the rip i'll go elsewhere.
When l got back home l noticed the switch to the airbag was off turned it back on and everything was fine.
When l got back home l noticed the switch to the airbag was off turned it back on and everything was fine.
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