Thoughts on a prospective buyer much appreciated
Discussion
Possibly a panic over nothing but I want to check, I'm selling my T350 and have had an e-mail enquiry about the car - in itself nothing to worry about but I was after some thoughts as the way it's written the chap doesn't seem to ask any TVR related questions and, with it being an expensive sale, I want to put my mind at rest a little;
First e-mail was simply;
"I'm very interested in your car, Is it still for sale?"
In itself nothing wrong with that so I replied yes, please either give me a call or mail me with the info you need.
Received the below this morning and this is what started some bells ringing at the back of my head and thinking of a scam purchaser;
"I am very interested in this car. Is there a full service history (documented) and is it hpi clear?
does it have the v5 document and is registered in your name?
Please provide me with Reg # and the vin number also (chassis number, 17 characters) so i can run a FULL HPI check on it.If everything checks out you have a cash buyer.
when is the best time for view?"
Theres no specific TVR questions or asking anything about the car but technically what he's asked is fine - just not quite how I'd go about enquiring over a niche 29 grand sportscar. He's mailing from a yahoo e-mail address - again nothing wrong but I'm naturally suspicious - grammar is also not quite right, but then again maybe I've been on PH too long. The history part is fully mentioned in my advert as well.
First e-mail was simply;
"I'm very interested in your car, Is it still for sale?"
In itself nothing wrong with that so I replied yes, please either give me a call or mail me with the info you need.
Received the below this morning and this is what started some bells ringing at the back of my head and thinking of a scam purchaser;
"I am very interested in this car. Is there a full service history (documented) and is it hpi clear?
does it have the v5 document and is registered in your name?
Please provide me with Reg # and the vin number also (chassis number, 17 characters) so i can run a FULL HPI check on it.If everything checks out you have a cash buyer.
when is the best time for view?"
Theres no specific TVR questions or asking anything about the car but technically what he's asked is fine - just not quite how I'd go about enquiring over a niche 29 grand sportscar. He's mailing from a yahoo e-mail address - again nothing wrong but I'm naturally suspicious - grammar is also not quite right, but then again maybe I've been on PH too long. The history part is fully mentioned in my advert as well.
Other posters might well be correct - he might be lining up to clone your car - but to my mind it's completely reasonable behaviour by a prospective purchaser.
I've just pulled up the OP's advert and it's a lengthy account of the car, its history and its condition. There are good photos and it's well written by a well-respected long-time PH-er. What more would I need to know? If I were a buyer, after a T350, I can imagine concluding that the only thing left to ask for is the identification details so I can check it hasn't been crashed or financed.
Probably best to drop him an email explaining you're nervous to hand out the info without a chat first, ask him to phone you and then take it from there.
I've just pulled up the OP's advert and it's a lengthy account of the car, its history and its condition. There are good photos and it's well written by a well-respected long-time PH-er. What more would I need to know? If I were a buyer, after a T350, I can imagine concluding that the only thing left to ask for is the identification details so I can check it hasn't been crashed or financed.
Probably best to drop him an email explaining you're nervous to hand out the info without a chat first, ask him to phone you and then take it from there.
I had a very similar email discussion that started pretty much with the same questions.
He asked no questions about the cars condition, equipment, interior, quite opposite to the real interested buyers.
I thought it was a bid odd, it was certainly more advanced than the clear cut scams. The car in question was a BMW 335d and this bloke didn't know what a chaps payment was and pretended he didn't know what the pistonheads forum was despite contacting me through PH... Then mentioned he only read the forums.
The chaps payment did it for me. If you are buying quite an expensive car you know wha a chaps payment is.
I replied, he needed full proof of insurance, chaps payment and both copies of his driving license if he wanted to drive the car. Laid it clear for him. Resonable requests, any serious buyer would fulfil. Didn't hear anything after.
Sold to a nice bloke who asked plenty of questions, happy to explain, had the car valeted and done deal. Before the buyer I had 2 others both very similar in approach 1 guy very keen but decided he needed to sell his car before completing on the sale.
He asked no questions about the cars condition, equipment, interior, quite opposite to the real interested buyers.
I thought it was a bid odd, it was certainly more advanced than the clear cut scams. The car in question was a BMW 335d and this bloke didn't know what a chaps payment was and pretended he didn't know what the pistonheads forum was despite contacting me through PH... Then mentioned he only read the forums.
The chaps payment did it for me. If you are buying quite an expensive car you know wha a chaps payment is.
I replied, he needed full proof of insurance, chaps payment and both copies of his driving license if he wanted to drive the car. Laid it clear for him. Resonable requests, any serious buyer would fulfil. Didn't hear anything after.
Sold to a nice bloke who asked plenty of questions, happy to explain, had the car valeted and done deal. Before the buyer I had 2 others both very similar in approach 1 guy very keen but decided he needed to sell his car before completing on the sale.
Edited by bp1000 on Friday 5th April 23:33
bp1000 said:
The chaps payment did it for me. If you are buying quite an expensive car you know wha a chaps payment is.
I replied, he needed full proof of insurance, chaps payment and both copies of his driving license if he wanted to drive the car. Laid it clear for him. Resonable requests, any serious buyer would fulfil. Didn't hear anything after.
In these times of faster payments and Paypal I'm not sure a knowledge of SWIFT/CHAPs payments is quite as ubiquitous as it once was. That said, he sounds like a knob.I replied, he needed full proof of insurance, chaps payment and both copies of his driving license if he wanted to drive the car. Laid it clear for him. Resonable requests, any serious buyer would fulfil. Didn't hear anything after.
I think Gruber's hit it to be honest - with such a good advert I wouldn't be asking for much until I was there to view it.
Edited by Krikkit on Friday 5th April 23:46
Last times had the same type of questions asked of me, I was selling on eBay.
I sent some info but no vin number. When I asked if the guy was still interested a few days later, the reply was that his eBay account was hacked, and similar questions sent out about lots of cars for sale.
Must be some sort of cloning scam.
I sent some info but no vin number. When I asked if the guy was still interested a few days later, the reply was that his eBay account was hacked, and similar questions sent out about lots of cars for sale.
Must be some sort of cloning scam.
Gruber said:
Other posters might well be correct - he might be lining up to clone your car - but to my mind it's completely reasonable behaviour by a prospective purchaser.
I've just pulled up the OP's advert and it's a lengthy account of the car, its history and its condition. There are good photos and it's well written by a well-respected long-time PH-er. What more would I need to know? If I were a buyer, after a T350, I can imagine concluding that the only thing left to ask for is the identification details so I can check it hasn't been crashed or financed.
Probably best to drop him an email explaining you're nervous to hand out the info without a chat first, ask him to phone you and then take it from there.
No chance. I've just pulled up the OP's advert and it's a lengthy account of the car, its history and its condition. There are good photos and it's well written by a well-respected long-time PH-er. What more would I need to know? If I were a buyer, after a T350, I can imagine concluding that the only thing left to ask for is the identification details so I can check it hasn't been crashed or financed.
Probably best to drop him an email explaining you're nervous to hand out the info without a chat first, ask him to phone you and then take it from there.
I wouldn't interact with this guy at all. That is undoubtedly a scam.
The Crack Fox said:
ETA - Or try them with a loaded question such as "Are you happy that the car has a de-bobbined scramulator ?" . Scammer will just blindly agree.
He would have to be a fool to fall for that. I think its common knowledge that the T350,s scramulator is and always has been, fully bobbined.Why not give one digit wrong on the VIN? Then if he is genuine and comes back saying its not right then you can feign surprise, double check and correct, of course refunding the extra fee if he buys.
Or do a cheapy check for 3-4 quid, forward that to him to show its clear, explain your concern re cloning and say the cheap check gives him basic assurance it's ok and you are not wasting his time by hiding something. If he is serious then he should understand and see you are serious and trying to find a compromise. He can then obviously run a full check on laptop/ iPad when he comes to view.
Or do a cheapy check for 3-4 quid, forward that to him to show its clear, explain your concern re cloning and say the cheap check gives him basic assurance it's ok and you are not wasting his time by hiding something. If he is serious then he should understand and see you are serious and trying to find a compromise. He can then obviously run a full check on laptop/ iPad when he comes to view.
"I'm very interested in your car, Is it still for sale?"
Scam
If I see a potential purchase for sale I will ring as I want to buy it/arrange a viewing. Most people who don't bother to call are either time wasters or scammers.
Every single time I've purchased a car I have made a call as emails might not be responded to quickly.
Scam
If I see a potential purchase for sale I will ring as I want to buy it/arrange a viewing. Most people who don't bother to call are either time wasters or scammers.
Every single time I've purchased a car I have made a call as emails might not be responded to quickly.
Thanks all - I'm normally pretty quick to spot the scams but this is worded differently to most I've seen, I'll put it down the the bad case of man flu I currently have.
What sealed it though was an e-mail yesterday with exactly the same initial question (including spelling/grammar - or lack of) from a different yahoo address. Hopefully the scams will be followed by some genuine buyers.
Drew - It's time for a change and I'm looking at an Audi R8, either V8 or stretching the budget a little to a V10. Trouble is the V10 then brings into play it's slightly more delicate Italian cousin
Decisions.....
Hope you're well anyhow - would be good to catch up at some point in the year though I know you're going to be pretty busy shortly
What sealed it though was an e-mail yesterday with exactly the same initial question (including spelling/grammar - or lack of) from a different yahoo address. Hopefully the scams will be followed by some genuine buyers.
Drew - It's time for a change and I'm looking at an Audi R8, either V8 or stretching the budget a little to a V10. Trouble is the V10 then brings into play it's slightly more delicate Italian cousin
Decisions.....Hope you're well anyhow - would be good to catch up at some point in the year though I know you're going to be pretty busy shortly
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