When did selling a car become such a ball ache?

[fido]

gizlaroc said:

Sorry, I was sort of agreeing with you saying that the problem isnearly every thread that says "Why can't I sell my car?" then has the seller saying, advertised it for more far more than I want, won't answer texts or emails etc. etc.

I also try and do it all before seeing the car, living in Norfolk I usually have to travel for miles to get a car I want, and generally just want to do that on the day I am buying it.

Tried to buy a BMW Touring from someone in Edinburgh about a month ago, it looked just the job, it was up at a fair price but he said he would take a bit less for a quick sale. I offered him £450 less than his asking (£8450 btw) but he would not discuss price until I had been to see it.
I tried to explain that being in Norwich I would fly up and drive it back or get a driver to bring it down for me, but he was insistent that we needed to do the deal in person.
I would have thought that would have been the perfect sale, he gets the money transferred, driver collects it or I fly up, not in any position to try and haggle more at that point am I?

Why does it matter if someone is buying it to try and sell it on for a profit?
Surely you just sell it for what you want for it?

Hmm .. agree you would have sounded like a good buyer to me .. I would verbally agree a price beforehand e.g. £8250 and told you that's the agreed price (take it or leave it) and it's up to you whether to make the trip or not.
Why does it matter if someone is buying it to try and sell it on for a profit? - I don't like dealing with dealers who don't tell me they are dealers upfront. It matters because they will offer me a Trade price.

Edited by fido on Saturday 28th April 17:39

[Mexman]

Captain_Chaos said:

Too much...

Oh well done teacher.

[Mexman]

Smitters said:

For what it's worth, you're reinforcing a stereotype. Want some salt and vinegar for that massive chip?

No chips involved, perhaps the truth hurts a little too much?

[bearman68]

Sadly, I quite enjoy buying and selling cars. I never buy or sell anything more than about 2k absolute tops,and most are around the £500 mark, but I love it. It's always exciting times. (I know, I should get out more). Dunno as I fancy doing it for a living though.

[HannsG]

ST has been up for sale for a few weeks. I get around 4 email a day from WBAC type outfits. At least 5 calls or Voicemail each week.

Stupid ridiculous offers and then the phone cuts off midway when I say no chance.

Car is cheapest on AT, cheapest for its year and one of the highest specs at ST3.

What is going on. It was never this hard.

The whole experience costs money, hassle and if like me you are busy trying to run a business in the midst of being hassled by WBAC types with stupid offers. Is it any wonder why people don't PX?

[iSore]

hooblah said:

Can't wait til it comes to selling my runabout. I'll be sending those chancers all over the country to fake addresses

Always have a cheap SIM in an old phone for advertising cars. That way, once you've offloaded the car, you can have some laughs giving these tools a taste of their own bullst. I've sent idiots to houses miles away that don't actually exist (street ends at No.60, so No.68 etc) and wound some of these pricks up a treat.

I did get called a racist once.

'No I'm not, I'm a bigot. I hate everyone'

The last time I sold a car (E90 320i) I had a couple of Innits (best price) so I just replied in German until they hung up. A pack of feral Romanians turned up and they were basically told to fk off. Five of them like flies round st. Sold it to a young lad who beat me down from £2300 to £2000, bank transfer, V5 sorted on line, down the road.

I dislike dealing with people more the older I get - anything I want to sell just gets flipped to a trader mate, down the road. I generally buy later model stuff damaged anyway and repair it so it doesn't owe me too much.

[fido]

iSore said:

I've sent idiots to houses miles away that don't actually exist (street ends at No.60, so No.68 etc.

Haha. I’ve done the ‘auction game’ where I entertain one of the crazy low offers - then text them 30 minutes later saying i’ve got a higher offer. Then repeat with subsequent callers. Sometimes i get a vaguely sensible offer by the end of the day.

[Lester H]

Lester H said:

99dndd said:

Wildcat45 said:

You could always go down the pompous advert route. It might put off the imbeciles, but you might attract other tools.

Ordered from the craftsmen at Halewood by a Mr Smith in June 1995, this Ford Escort Finesse is finished in Rosso Red coachwork - accepted as the best colour choice. She passed through the hands of eight keepers before being acquired by a Mr J Jones who ordered a fastidious mechanical overhaul by (Insert name you've never heard of). Accepted in Escort circles as the expert on this model. Applications are now being sought from prospective custodians to continue the story of this remarkable vehicle....POA.

wotz yo best price m8?

Lovely! It hits the old nail on the head, especially for classic ads. Ownership by a doctor is also seen as superior, and most pompously of all, so-called titled ownership. Incidentally, how does seller know which is the best colour ?Add 5% if garage name is double barrelled as in Tim and The Hon Chloe Scott- Smythe. A cut above T & S Autos. The seller’s lot plays a part: On the street, deduct 10% , dire back-street garage deduct 5%, nice smart established independent, add 5%. Ditto posh suburban drive as long as it’s the vendor’s. But of course, the pompous one which started this response will claim to be in a mews.

Edited by Lester H on Saturday 28th April 15:32

[tuga2112]

not 100% car related but heres my 2 cents

Ive recently put my 4 wheel (2 axle) flatbed trailer for sale, both facebook marketplace ans gumtree.
my trailer needs work, but being a twin axle its easily worth the 1k mark due to the fact it can transport any vehicle (previous owner used to transport ford transit vans, you get the picture).

i put a modest asking price of 500 as it needs brakes fixed up and soon will need new tyres.
got the same array of messages. ranging from the 250 to 400 quid for the trailer.

i ended up removing it from sale, i can make use of it again whenever i take up another project, and its just using up the same space my MR2 would be...

i wonder what would happen if the add description said "no offers, if you make an offer, i will say yes, and when you arrive, your not taking it anyway, just to prove i can be direspectul too"

[R53rider]

iSore said:

Always have a cheap SIM in an old phone for advertising cars. That way, once you've offloaded the car, you can have some laughs giving these tools a taste of their own bullst. I've sent idiots to houses miles away that don't actually exist (street ends at No.60, so No.68 etc) and wound some of these pricks up a treat.

I did get called a racist once.

'No I'm not, I'm a bigot. I hate everyone'

The last time I sold a car (E90 320i) I had a couple of Innits (best price) so I just replied in German until they hung up. A pack of feral Romanians turned up and they were basically told to fk off. Five of them like flies round st. Sold it to a young lad who beat me down from £2300 to £2000, bank transfer, V5 sorted on line, down the road.

I dislike dealing with people more the older I get - anything I want to sell just gets flipped to a trader mate, down the road. I generally buy later model stuff damaged anyway and repair it so it doesn't owe me too much.

I love this post. Get a 'burner' phone as they say in the spy/crime novels. Hadn't thought of that, brilliant. Yup the keyboard warrior/social media speak is a fking nightmare. Illiterate aholes ...... or they think it is cool? Who knows. It pisses me that much that if they address me as M8 or just mate, or pal (I'm not their mate or pal nor do I ever want to be) I refuse to sell to them, and tell them either to naff off or try again in English and I might talk to them. Possibly, maybe.
Yes I'm an older, bigoted git!!

[Buster73]

iSore said:

Always have a cheap SIM in an old phone for advertising cars. That way, once you've offloaded the car, you can have some laughs giving these tools a taste of their own bullst. I've sent idiots to houses miles away that don't actually exist (street ends at No.60, so No.68 etc) and wound some of these pricks up a treat.

I did get called a racist once.

'No I'm not, I'm a bigot. I hate everyone'

The last time I sold a car (E90 320i) I had a couple of Innits (best price) so I just replied in German until they hung up. A pack of feral Romanians turned up and they were basically told to fk off. Five of them like flies round st. Sold it to a young lad who beat me down from £2300 to £2000, bank transfer, V5 sorted on line, down the road.

I dislike dealing with people more the older I get - anything I want to sell just gets flipped to a trader mate, down the road. I generally buy later model stuff damaged anyway and repair it so it doesn't owe me too much.

“Speak to them in German” ha ha.

Reminds me of the time I was accosted by a time share tout in the 80’s in Tenerife, I replied
“ nicht sprechen ze English “ only to be reminded by the scruff I had the Daily Mirror sticking out of the beach bag.

[Smitters]

Mexman said:

Smitters said:

For what it's worth, you're reinforcing a stereotype. Want some salt and vinegar for that massive chip?

No chips involved, perhaps the truth hurts a little too much?

Oh yes. The pain. Arrrrrrrrrrrgh.

No, wait. That was sarcasm. But thank you for continuing to drive the point home.

[Paulm4]

I've had most of the above nonsense when selling cars, usually £1-2k range weekend cars that I change every 6 months or so.
Anyone that texts me a daft offer, I just accept right away and tell them to come and collect it pronto. You usually never hear any more from them.

Best is the would be wide boys that call you up from London/Birmingham/etc. They offer daft low money and I accept instantly. They ask for my address and I give them my Scottish Highlands postcode. Hilarious to hear them backpedal when they realise I'm 12 hours drive away

[tuga2112]

Paulm4 said:

Best is the would be wide boys that call you up from London/Birmingham/etc. They offer daft low money and I accept instantly. They ask for my address and I give them my Scottish Highlands postcode. Hilarious to hear them backpedal when they realise I'm 12 hours drive away

i like that idea.. i may do that in future xD

[GIYess]

I've had a few people text me just saying "car" or "500" (presumably meaning will you take £500 for your fine piece of motoring exotica.

[SebringMan]

The issue is that secondhand cars aren't as cheap as they used to be. Nothing really is! With new car sales slowing down and mechanics charging pricey rates (well, £50+ an hour) for someone who won't make your car come back with more faults than it went in, it all adds up! And of course, they're much pricier to maintain!

It's also one reason why older cars aren't around so much. Back then, why change the brakes all round when you can buy another car for £500 to get you around?

Over the years here's a few examples
-1994: '87 MG Metro Turbo rust free : £400. Drove that until 1997 where it blew a 'box. Sold it for £125.
-1997: '89 Escort XR3i 90k with no rust and FSH; £1,800. Sold in 2000 for £700 or something like that with lots of welding in that time and 156k on the clock.
-2004: '91 Volvo 740 GLE 2.0i on 90k, 4 new tyres and a fresh MOT in VGC: £260. Yes really! We sold that in Spain to an Ex-pat for about £100
-2004: '01 Mondeo 2.0 Ghia X on 77k: Bought from a trader with FSH and great conditon for £3.7k
-2006: '00 Focus 1.6 Zetec on 123k with brand new Contis all round and FSH: £1.8k. I sold that in 2008 for £1.4k on 156k.
-2007: '00 Pug 306 GTI-6 on 90k. Great condition and a long ticket. Patchy history but it was £2.3k; that was considered expensive back then! Sold it for £1.9k in 2009.
-2013: A rust free and solid 998 Mini for £1.2k on new brakes and a frash MOT. I later found out it was restored hence its conditon. Try finding that now.

If you compare similar age cars to the above now they're alot more. My Merc was around 5 times more to buy than the Volvo 740 in my list. A good Focus ST is still around £4k+ if not more.

Values have gone up alot for stuff with alot of st being out there for the money these days!

[SebringMan]

Psycho Warren said:

people want everything for nothing these days. seems to have been a change in behaviour or society has just dumbed down over the decades even more than when i first sold a car when younger.

I tend to price things dirt cheap so they go in seconds or put them max price i could posssibly get.

Selling cheap gets rid quick and lessons the pain.

Selling pricey filters out the poor people who seem to want more for thier money. You sell a banger for 500 and people still want the thing to be a minter and perfect yet sell a better car top dollar and you cut out those kind of tards and get people who are more realistic for what is a 10-15 year old car.

You also got much more for your money back then as per my list. Salaries weren't that much lower than they are now either for that matter.

I seriously doubt you could get a clean and usable Volvo V70 now for £400 that isn't a bag of st for example that's only 10 years old. How much are 7 year year old Focus STs now? Alot more than £2.5k if you go by my example.

I must say, there are some lovely people here aren't they?

[Mexman]

Smitters said:

Oh yes. The pain. Arrrrrrrrrrrgh.

No, wait. That was sarcasm. But thank you for continuing to drive the point home.

Stop trying to educate someone who lives, sleeps and breathes the job day in, day out.
Your own posting history in this thread points to the fact that you couldn't sell a black cat to a witch.

[DKL]

Buster73 said:

“Speak to them in German” ha ha.

Reminds me of the time I was accosted by a time share tout in the 80’s in Tenerife, I replied
“ nicht sprechen ze English “ only to be reminded by the scruff I had the Daily Mirror sticking out of the beach bag.

You didnt say you couldn't read it though.

[anonymous-user]

Sold my Cupra R yesterday.

Only had it on eBay and Gumtree since Friday, but the timewasters and people messing about..ohh my God.

I have a deposit securing me a e39 barge so wanted the car gone really.

Cue offerings of 20% of the asking price (not 20 off, 20 OF the asking price!!!)

One guy was adamant I had to cut him a deal because his mate had to drive him down from Birmingham to look at the car

Set him straight then someone offering to swap for a American fridge freezer and a clio...

Where do these bottom feeders all roll up from.

So of you guys are saying because you're older you can't take the hastle and give them loads of st well I'm 25 and I gave most of these losers both barrels..patience was never my thing.

This has all come from hold out your hand wheel dealer bullst and has spread and gone too far now.

In the end my auto response was changed to fk off if the message was just numbers eg £1400 or collect now £1200 or swap etc.

I also had a trader arrive pretending to be a private seller which I have no problem selling to a trader, until he phones up his mate and proudly starts shouting; "yeah going to need 2 new rear doors, new boot, new exhaust new fuel tank (he was looking at the outside of a locked car) new rear bumper price that up for me" I asked when he got off the phone if he wanted me to unlock the car and he said no it's fine do all the windows work??? He then proceeded to offer me £300.. Car was up for £2400 with sensible offers accepted.

I literally walked inside without saying anything and locked the front door....

In the end a sensible lad came with his mate all the way from Kent, asked all the right questions test drove, chipped me a few hundred and drove away in his new car.

Car dealers/sellers have a hard life genuinely!!