Cars with spurious claims in private ads
Discussion
Like other PHers, I tend to look at for sale adverts as some sort of strange hobby, when I'm not even looking for a car.
What tends to get my goat is when you read an advert with ridiculous claims in it. On things like Facebook it's too easy to challenge/correct, but in reality there's no real point in doing so as you'll likely just get abuse for making a correction (even if it's helpful).
I noticed this one yesterday, which seems to be claiming that a 15 year old 2.0TD Rover can comfortably do ~100mpg ("£10 gives you just over 177 miles").
(Well, technically it's based on who you get your diesel from, I guess)
I see these all the time and it bothers me that someone would buy said car, complain when it actually does 77 miles from the tenner, and then they've basically been hoodwinked (albeit due to their own naivety, but not too sure if the sellers put themselves in a legal situation by making false claims).
Sometimes it's just things like "fully specced out" and it's a mid-spec model, stuff like that.
Am I alone, or does anyone else get annoyed by them?
What tends to get my goat is when you read an advert with ridiculous claims in it. On things like Facebook it's too easy to challenge/correct, but in reality there's no real point in doing so as you'll likely just get abuse for making a correction (even if it's helpful).
I noticed this one yesterday, which seems to be claiming that a 15 year old 2.0TD Rover can comfortably do ~100mpg ("£10 gives you just over 177 miles").
(Well, technically it's based on who you get your diesel from, I guess)
I see these all the time and it bothers me that someone would buy said car, complain when it actually does 77 miles from the tenner, and then they've basically been hoodwinked (albeit due to their own naivety, but not too sure if the sellers put themselves in a legal situation by making false claims).
Sometimes it's just things like "fully specced out" and it's a mid-spec model, stuff like that.
Am I alone, or does anyone else get annoyed by them?
Someone wants to sell an old heap and get money for it, so they tell you what they think you want to hear and are prepared to tell some tall tales. Best to either ignore entirely, go and listen or just tell them to stop drivelling on if they want to sell it as they are insulting your intelligence.
For the rest of us, bound by reality and the Trades Descriptions act, we tend to err on the side of truth.
I swear some sellers would tell you their car has magic powers if it would help you buy the thing
Car dealers are the worst, had a Toyota salesman telling me that the Aygo, compared to the largely identical C1 and 107 (cosmetic, trim, spec differences only) had, when I asked why I would buy the Toyota over the other two,
Thicker, better quality and better protected steel
A better engine with more power
better safety rating
I was thinking maybe spec, resales value, brand perception, dealer network, nicer cloth and warranty consideration, but no, he started talking utter s
t, and continued despite me politely pointing this out, swore blind.
So, remember, the car you are buying has anything you want it to have, whilst you still have your money in your pocket, once that moment passes where the funds change hands then it reverts to what it was, like when Bagpuss goes to sleep....
For the rest of us, bound by reality and the Trades Descriptions act, we tend to err on the side of truth.
I swear some sellers would tell you their car has magic powers if it would help you buy the thing
Car dealers are the worst, had a Toyota salesman telling me that the Aygo, compared to the largely identical C1 and 107 (cosmetic, trim, spec differences only) had, when I asked why I would buy the Toyota over the other two,
Thicker, better quality and better protected steel
A better engine with more power
better safety rating
I was thinking maybe spec, resales value, brand perception, dealer network, nicer cloth and warranty consideration, but no, he started talking utter s
t, and continued despite me politely pointing this out, swore blind.So, remember, the car you are buying has anything you want it to have, whilst you still have your money in your pocket, once that moment passes where the funds change hands then it reverts to what it was, like when Bagpuss goes to sleep....
cj2013 said:
does anyone else get annoyed by them?
pointless getting annoyed, i find them funnythe guy currently trading as
https://www.themodernclassiccarco.com/carsforsale....
always gives me a laugh. He's been through a few company names in his time. Would I ever buy a car off him? Hell no.
Drive Blind said:
pointless getting annoyed, i find them funny
the guy currently trading as
https://www.themodernclassiccarco.com/carsforsale....
always gives me a laugh. He's been through a few company names in his time. Would I ever buy a car off him? Hell no.
He is now trading as West Coast Classic Car Services Ltd. He also has 3 ebay accounts, 2 of these are strathclydesuite & strathclydecarsltd. He's got another one he uses as well. As soon as he receives a number of negative feedback he just begins with another account. He also advertises as a private seller on car and classic when he is indeed a trader. Well known for being an utter con artist. There used to be some cracking threads on here about him. the guy currently trading as
https://www.themodernclassiccarco.com/carsforsale....
always gives me a laugh. He's been through a few company names in his time. Would I ever buy a car off him? Hell no.
I did also think "these cars are hard to come by as they hardly ever get scrapped" was a bit contradictory.
From what I recall, they sold shed loads of 200s, 25s and ZRs and you don't see them any more, so I assume they're going somewhere!
I was looking at a few cheap hot hatches of late, and the trick of sticking Abarth badges on any and every non-abarth FIAT was lost by a few claims that the cars were actually "Abarth special editions"
From what I recall, they sold shed loads of 200s, 25s and ZRs and you don't see them any more, so I assume they're going somewhere!
I was looking at a few cheap hot hatches of late, and the trick of sticking Abarth badges on any and every non-abarth FIAT was lost by a few claims that the cars were actually "Abarth special editions"
GiveItSomeWellie said:
I remember there was a 1995 or 1996 Ferrari 355 for sale a year or so ago.
The ad read something along the lines of "XYZ bought the car new, he was well connected and a good friend of Ayrton Senna, who has probably ridden along in this car"
Ayrton Senna died in 1994.
Makes me think of how everyone selling an NSX up until around 2 years ago claimed that it was 'developed by' Senna. When in reality he drove the pre-production on car on one, maybe two occasions before the car was released. The ad read something along the lines of "XYZ bought the car new, he was well connected and a good friend of Ayrton Senna, who has probably ridden along in this car"
Ayrton Senna died in 1994.
Gad-Westy said:
Emobalisor! That is a solid effort.
I only realised what that was meant to be when I actually read the ad, was racking my brain for a good few minutes! 'Suttle' is another good one. If it's a straight swap he wants then I could do a straight swap for a dictionary (and before anyone starts yes I'm sure he's got dyslexia and is actually a theoretical physicist).sasquartch said:
The ones that I find ridiculous are ads that contain phrases like 'passionately maintained regardless of cost' yet also describe various supposedly easy and cheap to fix faults.
...and the ones that say fully loaded with every option, and then you check and there are plenty of options it has not got.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff