When did selling a car become such a ball ache?
Discussion
In contrast, my last couple of sales have been a breeze. I got my E46 330Ci cleaned and shiny on a Sunday, took great pics and wrote a really detailed ad, it was up for £3,750. Had 3 serious calls on the Monday, first caller came to see it Tuesday night and bought it for £3,500. I'd promised to let the other two callers know if it went and did so so they weren't left hanging. My E36 328i went similarly easily - it was up for £1,100 and sold for £950 within a week.
Whilst I had the cars on Gumtree, Preloved and Friday-Ad, both of them sold through PH.
Whilst I had the cars on Gumtree, Preloved and Friday-Ad, both of them sold through PH.
Xcore said:
Try sellIng an old e60 535d, attracts all sorts of bellends as it sits in the price point where the local badmans can afford them.
Xcore said:
Try sellIng an old e60 535d, attracts all sorts of bellends as it sits in the price point where the local badmans can afford them.
Unfortunately, in my experience, selling used BMWs is by far the worst. What shocked me, were the messages just saying ‘best price’, not even a question mark, let alone a full sentence. I used to reply with double the price!When trying to sell my old f10 series for 10.5k which was cheapest in country (that I could find) for age and mileage, I got mainly messages asking me to do silly part exchange detail's.
In end I sold it to a trader for 9750 who I met through bthe website tootle. He even paid a company to come collect it from my work.
A week later they had it up for 12k.
In end I sold it to a trader for 9750 who I met through bthe website tootle. He even paid a company to come collect it from my work.
A week later they had it up for 12k.
About 10 years ago in my previous job we were selling two cars so took an ad in Classic and Sports car with pictures..
Item 1, nice Mercedes 108, priced at 7995, "will you take an offer", yep, go on "5000". Phone gets put down..
Item 2, Giulietta Spider, spent 20 minutes talking about the car then "it's white isn't it?" Yep, like you can see in the pictures. "But I want a red one".
They're all out there and always have been.
Item 1, nice Mercedes 108, priced at 7995, "will you take an offer", yep, go on "5000". Phone gets put down..
Item 2, Giulietta Spider, spent 20 minutes talking about the car then "it's white isn't it?" Yep, like you can see in the pictures. "But I want a red one".
They're all out there and always have been.
Some of it though is bad sellers caused bad buyers. I'm sure the people on this site are honest and price the cars right as we like cars and I would like to think know how to buy and sell. But there are a lot of cars out there that are listed as 'excellent condition' yet are far from it when you view. It causes buyers to become jaded, this and what I've seen recently private sellers listing cars at same price as the dealers leads to silly offers.
Truckosaurus said:
I had a 'best price?' enquiry for some car parts that were currently selling for £1 with no bids on eBay...
They then contacted me again when the auction finished with no bids and were annoyed to learn I'd already taken them down the tip.
Why didn't you reply with the price you wanted? They then contacted me again when the auction finished with no bids and were annoyed to learn I'd already taken them down the tip.
I often ask on eBay what price they want, 9 times our of 10 they say "£xxx" and I buy them.
Often don't want to wait till the end of the auction because I want them quickly, or as I my be bidding on others and don't want to end up with 2.
fido said:
Will you take a lower offer? No.
What's your best price? The asking price.
Job done.
But, through admission on here, more people seem to sell a car with an extra 10-20% on top so they can take the price down when haggling. What's your best price? The asking price.
Job done.
I simply put it up at the price I want, knowing it will be the first or one of the first on Autotrader or eBay etc. when searching by price.
Put it up too much and people just ignore your advert and don't even make contact.
So, you have it up for £11250 knowing you would actually take £9950 and you won't answer potential customers who text or email you, and you wonder why you're struggling to sell your car?
Hmm, let me think why that may be!
gizlaroc said:
But, through admission on here, more people seem to sell a car with an extra 10-20% on top so they can take the price down when haggling.
I simply put it up at the price I want, knowing it will be the first or one of the first on Autotrader or eBay etc. when searching by price.
Put it up too much and people just ignore your advert and don't even make contact.
So, you have it up for £11250 knowing you would actually take £9950 and you won't answer potential customers who text or email you, and you wonder why you're struggling to sell your car?
Hmm, let me think why that may be!
If I know I will take £9950 then I'd put it up at £10,500. I find people who ask stupid questions beforehand tend to bid you in the balls anyway - this weeds out the sort of pr1cks who are looking to sell your car on for a profit a few months (PH stereotypes matter). More often than not, genuine buyers will turn up, look around the car, then try to bid me down in which case I might budge depending on the level of interest. Once they have made the trip they'll be less likely to mess around - just stand firm and be a man.I simply put it up at the price I want, knowing it will be the first or one of the first on Autotrader or eBay etc. when searching by price.
Put it up too much and people just ignore your advert and don't even make contact.
So, you have it up for £11250 knowing you would actually take £9950 and you won't answer potential customers who text or email you, and you wonder why you're struggling to sell your car?
Hmm, let me think why that may be!
As long as the time wasters stick to emails and texts its pretty easy to ignore. Hardly something to be annoyed about.
I don't have a problem with people contacting me in this way, as long as their messages consist of properly constructed sentences etc!
I'm just about to put an E36 up for sale though, so fingers crossed selling it will be painless.
I don't have a problem with people contacting me in this way, as long as their messages consist of properly constructed sentences etc!
I'm just about to put an E36 up for sale though, so fingers crossed selling it will be painless.
It is a colossal ball ache, but it does very much depend on the marque and the price point as to the level of morons you get - Though most things these days attract the 'best price' brigade - That drives me up the wall, just make an offer!... MAKE AN OFFER!
Sold my Subaru WRX wagon recently on eBay, it had an unfortunate gearbox issue so I put all the detail I could in the ad and listed every little issue with the car in order to not waste any interested people's time and also to hopefully filter out some of the time wasters from getting in touch. It made no difference whatsoever, I probably got 50 best price texts or emails and a whole bunch of people who had not read the advert at all... "Any problems at all with it mate" ... Ermm yes they're all listed in the advert quite clearly... "When was it last serviced mate?" ermmm the advert shows two clear photos of all of the service stamps and also has a photo of the full service report and invoice for the service carried out last week... as well as detailing all of this in the text. I just don't understand why they don't read the advert before getting in touch? Why would they not do that smallest of things? Also got one guy on the phone who tried to get me into joining him in a racist rant, I just hung up on that idiot.
Sold my Subaru WRX wagon recently on eBay, it had an unfortunate gearbox issue so I put all the detail I could in the ad and listed every little issue with the car in order to not waste any interested people's time and also to hopefully filter out some of the time wasters from getting in touch. It made no difference whatsoever, I probably got 50 best price texts or emails and a whole bunch of people who had not read the advert at all... "Any problems at all with it mate" ... Ermm yes they're all listed in the advert quite clearly... "When was it last serviced mate?" ermmm the advert shows two clear photos of all of the service stamps and also has a photo of the full service report and invoice for the service carried out last week... as well as detailing all of this in the text. I just don't understand why they don't read the advert before getting in touch? Why would they not do that smallest of things? Also got one guy on the phone who tried to get me into joining him in a racist rant, I just hung up on that idiot.
BUG4LIFE said:
I'm just about to put an E36 up for sale though, so fingers crossed selling it will be painless.
Cash 2dayhow much u wont 4it?---
I once listed a really battered Passat for £200. It had dented wings, mismatched paint, a scruffy interior – however all of this was clearly photographed, and I listed it as 'perfect for tip runs'.
The first chap to view traveled over an hour, but declined to buy it as the interior was too messy – and he was worried that a dog might have previously traveled in the boot (I told him that no dogs had been in the boot under my 1-month ownership, but that it was possible at some point during the last 15 years...).
Eventually, some
scrote bought it, then tried to return it two days later when 'the oil pump failed'. fido said:
If I know I will take £9950 then I'd put it up at £10,500. I find people who ask stupid questions beforehand tend to bid you in the balls anyway - this weeds out the sort of pr1cks who are looking to sell your car on for a profit a few months (PH stereotypes matter). More often than not, genuine buyers will turn up, look around the car, then try to bid me down in which case I might budge depending on the level of interest. Once they have made the trip they'll be less likely to mess around - just stand firm and be a man.
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?
Ean218 said:
gizlaroc said:
Why didn't you reply with the price you wanted?
Err, maybe because he thought, having listed it on Ebay, you know the website where people can place bids for how much they want to pay for things, that the potential buyer would in fact use that feature?I tend to put things on eBay because I want to sell them.
If someone says they "want to buy it, how much?" it has worked.
I put my 36 323 coupe up for sale a few months back, circumstances changed so took it down but I had some good ones, it was £700 with no MOT and advertised as it will need trailer to take it away, it's low and on low offset wheels with a welded diff, long and short of it, it wouldn't turn or drive more than a few feet in a straight line due to tyre rub,
One who insisted he would "drive it away cash today, no messing"
"are you bringing wheels or a trailer?"
"No it has wheels on it, so I'll just drive it"
"yes, it has 16" E39 wheels, with no spigot rings and balloon tyres with an ET20, the arches are on the tyres *provides pictures*"
"No, that shouldn't cause any issues, you don't know what you're one about"
"Well considering it wont even move off my driveway or the steering wheel wont physically turn as wheels are on the wings, I think I do"
"You're a joker go fk yourself"
"Okie dokie"
"£350 cash now"
"It's £700 or I'll break it"
"Take £350 and it'll be gone"
"Well as you asked so nicely, do you want the front half or the back half? I can only provide half due to your asking price"
"No, all of it for £350"
"Well I've been offered a lot more including asking price several times, in the meantime here is one you can afford (provides eBay link to diecast E36 Hot wheels car"
""
Honestly they're a nightmare, I either entertain for sts and giggles or ignore, when you add no part ex or swaps and someone tries to swap you a rotten Transit Connect, you're alright I've got a lwb Crafter.
Usually though a well written advert does stop the knobs
One who insisted he would "drive it away cash today, no messing"
"are you bringing wheels or a trailer?"
"No it has wheels on it, so I'll just drive it"
"yes, it has 16" E39 wheels, with no spigot rings and balloon tyres with an ET20, the arches are on the tyres *provides pictures*"
"No, that shouldn't cause any issues, you don't know what you're one about"
"Well considering it wont even move off my driveway or the steering wheel wont physically turn as wheels are on the wings, I think I do"
"You're a joker go f
k yourself""Okie dokie"
"£350 cash now"
"It's £700 or I'll break it"
"Take £350 and it'll be gone"
"Well as you asked so nicely, do you want the front half or the back half? I can only provide half due to your asking price"
"No, all of it for £350"
"Well I've been offered a lot more including asking price several times, in the meantime here is one you can afford (provides eBay link to diecast E36 Hot wheels car"
"
"Honestly they're a nightmare, I either entertain for s
ts and giggles or ignore, when you add no part ex or swaps and someone tries to swap you a rotten Transit Connect, you're alright I've got a lwb Crafter.Usually though a well written advert does stop the knobs
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