So I sell a car to a bloke in New Zealand....
Discussion
In the summer I sold my Elise 111R on Ebay... A guy contacts me and says will I accept the full asking price... but he is in New Zealand... I was a bit sceptical at first, but he seemed genuine ( I am sure they all are...) in brief...
I agree the sale, he says he will arrange everything...
Two days later a bloke turns up ( a mate of the guy in NZ)to look at the car. he likes what he sees, we have a cup of tea, and he agrees to pay me £16,000. He says he will transfer it to my bank account over a couple of days as he has a £10k a day limit.
Next day £10k pops into my account, and the following day £6k... I pop into the bank and ask if everything is OK and they assure me it is, as actually the guy banks with them.
A couple of days later the guy in NZ contacts me and says to expect collection of the car in 2 weeks time.
A week later he calls me and asks if I would mind if he had a hard top delivered to my house, and would I fit it on the car and put the soft top in the boot... that way he says he avoids a big parcel bill and avoids the import tax...
the following day a new hard top arrives, I pop it on and await collection of the car.
On the agreed day, a covered transporter arrives from the shipping company, we do the paperwork and he takes the car away.
Seven weeks later I get an email from the guy in NZ to say he is very pleased with the car, and thanks for the CD workshop manual and touch up paint I left in the boot. he attached a couple of pictures of him and the car...
in contrast... I sell a Honda Accord on Ebay... Sold as spares or repair as the auto box was playing up, although it drives. I describe it honestly, its not a bad car, but the gearbox has problems.
Two failed sales... winning bidders don't contact me.
Guy bids on it, wins (£600), comes to collect it. He tries immediately to knock me down... I say no. He gets angry, says its not as described (but cant say why)and reluctantly pays up, and drives the car away.
Three weeks on, he is now moaning the gearbox has lost all drive!
For gods sake, I HATE selling cars!
I agree the sale, he says he will arrange everything...
Two days later a bloke turns up ( a mate of the guy in NZ)to look at the car. he likes what he sees, we have a cup of tea, and he agrees to pay me £16,000. He says he will transfer it to my bank account over a couple of days as he has a £10k a day limit.
Next day £10k pops into my account, and the following day £6k... I pop into the bank and ask if everything is OK and they assure me it is, as actually the guy banks with them.
A couple of days later the guy in NZ contacts me and says to expect collection of the car in 2 weeks time.
A week later he calls me and asks if I would mind if he had a hard top delivered to my house, and would I fit it on the car and put the soft top in the boot... that way he says he avoids a big parcel bill and avoids the import tax...
the following day a new hard top arrives, I pop it on and await collection of the car.
On the agreed day, a covered transporter arrives from the shipping company, we do the paperwork and he takes the car away.
Seven weeks later I get an email from the guy in NZ to say he is very pleased with the car, and thanks for the CD workshop manual and touch up paint I left in the boot. he attached a couple of pictures of him and the car...
in contrast... I sell a Honda Accord on Ebay... Sold as spares or repair as the auto box was playing up, although it drives. I describe it honestly, its not a bad car, but the gearbox has problems.
Two failed sales... winning bidders don't contact me.
Guy bids on it, wins (£600), comes to collect it. He tries immediately to knock me down... I say no. He gets angry, says its not as described (but cant say why)and reluctantly pays up, and drives the car away.
Three weeks on, he is now moaning the gearbox has lost all drive!
For gods sake, I HATE selling cars!
I sold my 335i to a guy in NZ, near effortless.
First contact via phone and then subsequently via e-mail. He arranges an RAC inspection, all comes back ok. He does a Bank transfer for the agreed amount which clears instantly, and books shipping company collection.
Car collected a week later and all is good
First contact via phone and then subsequently via e-mail. He arranges an RAC inspection, all comes back ok. He does a Bank transfer for the agreed amount which clears instantly, and books shipping company collection.
Car collected a week later and all is good
JameshGT said:
The guy from NZ has restored some of my faith in selling my car privately!
Sounds like he was a nice genuine enthustiast.
Second guy.... knob!
I'm not saying the whole country is like that (obviously I don't know everyone in NZ!), but when I went on holiday there (for 5 weeks) I was impressed with NZ in terms of people being nice to each other, being straight up etc.Sounds like he was a nice genuine enthustiast.
Second guy.... knob!
NZ, particularly rural areas, is quite a nice place like that. People don't bother to take their carkeys with them when they leave the car. People trust each other implicitly in a way that I doubt has been the case in Blighty for several decades. It works because the "d
head quotient" is quite low.I loved NZ for that amongst many othe reasons.
C
I've had the "not as described" thing when selling stuff on eBay before too, without anyone ever being able to give a reason, then they go off in a strop after paying the asking price.
Muppets!
There should be three eBay sites:
The current one for far eastern seat shops to pedal knock off goods with only buy-it-now options - hardly what an "auction" site is meant for.
Number two, which is slightly better as it is only for people selling by auctions, but muppets are allowed on to buy and sell with ridiculous postage and packing.
Number three, which you graduate into by being a private eBayer (not sure how to police?) with greater than 500 score and 100% ratings. Only auctions, no muppets, no reserves, UK only, realistic P&P costs, and NO TIMEWASTERS
Muppets!
There should be three eBay sites:
The current one for far eastern seat shops to pedal knock off goods with only buy-it-now options - hardly what an "auction" site is meant for.
Number two, which is slightly better as it is only for people selling by auctions, but muppets are allowed on to buy and sell with ridiculous postage and packing.
Number three, which you graduate into by being a private eBayer (not sure how to police?) with greater than 500 score and 100% ratings. Only auctions, no muppets, no reserves, UK only, realistic P&P costs, and NO TIMEWASTERS
similar story to your NZ connection when i sold the old orange 911.
advert goes live on the thursday before NYE, guy rings within 4 hours saying he wants it & will pay the full asking price, but is in france in his winter residence so can't get over to pick it up.
i say no thanks, come over & view it & if it's still available you can buy it. he's quite sure though so i say look, here's some guys who did the suspension geo (he claimed to know them) speak to them & then get back to me.
he rings back the next day & says they must be shut over xmas but he's not bothered, he wants the car. says he'll send over the full amount & pick it up later.
i do a bit of digging on who he is (as does he on me, knew my business & where i trade from etc.) & give hime my sort code & account number.
low & behold the money starts arriving in £10k amounts every working day (it's over the nye holiday period).
then nothing.
not a word.
being a stupid git i didn't even save his phone number & my iphone has knocked it off the recent calls list.
i go to the bank & all the funds are fully cleared & moved into a seperate account.
i email him but get no word back.
then, at the end of january this guy calls up out of the blue saying he's on his way up.
turns up with some bloke off the telly, has a brew & pulls it out of the garage & into the race shuttle. thanks me & is on his way.
best sale i ever had
advert goes live on the thursday before NYE, guy rings within 4 hours saying he wants it & will pay the full asking price, but is in france in his winter residence so can't get over to pick it up.
i say no thanks, come over & view it & if it's still available you can buy it. he's quite sure though so i say look, here's some guys who did the suspension geo (he claimed to know them) speak to them & then get back to me.
he rings back the next day & says they must be shut over xmas but he's not bothered, he wants the car. says he'll send over the full amount & pick it up later.
i do a bit of digging on who he is (as does he on me, knew my business & where i trade from etc.) & give hime my sort code & account number.
low & behold the money starts arriving in £10k amounts every working day (it's over the nye holiday period).
then nothing.
not a word.
being a stupid git i didn't even save his phone number & my iphone has knocked it off the recent calls list.
i go to the bank & all the funds are fully cleared & moved into a seperate account.
i email him but get no word back.
then, at the end of january this guy calls up out of the blue saying he's on his way up.
turns up with some bloke off the telly, has a brew & pulls it out of the garage & into the race shuttle. thanks me & is on his way.
best sale i ever had
Guy's you have no idea how lucky you lot are in the UK when it comes to the second hand car market, no country anywhere in the world has such a cheap car market with bargains galore.
Hence why Malta's roads are practically full of second hand UK imports, even after shipping and registration it still makes it so much worth while, apart from the fact that you have such a huge choice as well.
Hence why Malta's roads are practically full of second hand UK imports, even after shipping and registration it still makes it so much worth while, apart from the fact that you have such a huge choice as well.
mat205125 said:
Only auctions, no muppets, no reserves, UK only, realistic P&P costs, and NO TIMEWASTERS
What, you mean like E-bay used to be like about 10 years ago?I think it's close to getting to the critical mass of crappiness that genuine people will move elsewhere. If it's not passed that point already.
I bung stuff on Freecycle now. I'm not interested in a few quid if it means someone turns up and takes the stuff away pronto.
I've got rid of 16 second hand fance panels recently, all gone within a day, the last lot with 2 hours of placing the post.
Gumtree is worth a look for less valuable items than cars.
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