Can't see how it would be a scam..
Discussion
So I have my car up for sale, for the small price of £3000. It's a very common car, by no means rare.
Someone has called up and is wants to take the car, but he is coming from France. He's booked a eurotunnel ticket, and is going to drive it back. He will pay in cash, and come collect the car himself.
I can't see how this could possibly be a scam, but it just seems weird to me that someone would come all the way to London from France, to buy a car which frankly, has nothing special about it. He's only seen the pictures that I put on gumtree, and hasn't really pushed me or asked for any specific details of things, either very trusting of me or something is up.
Can you confirm/deny my doubts PH?
Someone has called up and is wants to take the car, but he is coming from France. He's booked a eurotunnel ticket, and is going to drive it back. He will pay in cash, and come collect the car himself.
I can't see how this could possibly be a scam, but it just seems weird to me that someone would come all the way to London from France, to buy a car which frankly, has nothing special about it. He's only seen the pictures that I put on gumtree, and hasn't really pushed me or asked for any specific details of things, either very trusting of me or something is up.
Can you confirm/deny my doubts PH?
Second-hand cars are a lot cheaper in the UK than in a lot of mainland Europe.
Is it a scam? Difficult to say without more details. What sort of car is it?
I'm assuming the car is RHD - is the buyer English or French.
Either way, if he's bringing cash, go with him to the bank to pay it in - that way you'll know the money isn't counterfeit.
After that, fill in the paper work, draw up a document with date & time (in case he drives a bit too enthusiastically and has his photo taken!), and hand him the keys.
Is it a scam? Difficult to say without more details. What sort of car is it?
I'm assuming the car is RHD - is the buyer English or French.
Either way, if he's bringing cash, go with him to the bank to pay it in - that way you'll know the money isn't counterfeit.
After that, fill in the paper work, draw up a document with date & time (in case he drives a bit too enthusiastically and has his photo taken!), and hand him the keys.
Ive sold a car to a German chap through the forums, and I have a friend who seems to sell all his vehicles to Germans for some reason.
Always with cash, not always paid into the banks I have to say. They seem very keen to buy well priced UK cars for some reason, as other have said, used car values in Europe tend to be higher I believe
Always with cash, not always paid into the banks I have to say. They seem very keen to buy well priced UK cars for some reason, as other have said, used car values in Europe tend to be higher I believe
I sold my Exige to a guy from Italy, never again!
After many emails and agreeing a price I obviously said cash on collection or bank transfer is fine but will take a few days to clear so I won't let the car go till it does.
He turns up, agreed to take it so we sort paperwork out and he whips a iPad out to transfers the funds (£18,000) then tries to get in the car to leave, I say it's not as simple as that and it's not gone though yet, he kicks up a huge fuss and insists I drive him to the bank which I do, they confirm its not gone and would be tomorrow at the very earliest, he starts kicking off again swearing at the staff whilst I stand there like a lemon.
He tries insisting he's legit by showing me all this paperwork that's in Italian, I still refuse and point him in the direction of the nearest hotel and tell him I'll ring him when it clears, sure enough it did by 9 in the morning. He never did return my tax disc though the b
d.
After many emails and agreeing a price I obviously said cash on collection or bank transfer is fine but will take a few days to clear so I won't let the car go till it does.
He turns up, agreed to take it so we sort paperwork out and he whips a iPad out to transfers the funds (£18,000) then tries to get in the car to leave, I say it's not as simple as that and it's not gone though yet, he kicks up a huge fuss and insists I drive him to the bank which I do, they confirm its not gone and would be tomorrow at the very earliest, he starts kicking off again swearing at the staff whilst I stand there like a lemon.
He tries insisting he's legit by showing me all this paperwork that's in Italian, I still refuse and point him in the direction of the nearest hotel and tell him I'll ring him when it clears, sure enough it did by 9 in the morning. He never did return my tax disc though the b
d. addz86 said:
I sold my Exige to a guy from Italy, never again!
After many emails and agreeing a price I obviously said cash on collection or bank transfer is fine but will take a few days to clear so I won't let the car go till it does.
He turns up, agreed to take it so we sort paperwork out and he whips a iPad out to transfers the funds (£18,000) then tries to get in the car to leave, I say it's not as simple as that and it's not gone though yet, he kicks up a huge fuss and insists I drive him to the bank which I do, they confirm its not gone and would be tomorrow at the very earliest, he starts kicking off again swearing at the staff whilst I stand there like a lemon.
He tries insisting he's legit by showing me all this paperwork that's in Italian, I still refuse and point him in the direction of the nearest hotel and tell him I'll ring him when it clears, sure enough it did by 9 in the morning. He never did return my tax disc though the bd.
In fairness to the Italian buyer, we are used to instant bank transfers within Europe (maybe due to the Euro - I really don't know), so he may have been surprised that it took longer.After many emails and agreeing a price I obviously said cash on collection or bank transfer is fine but will take a few days to clear so I won't let the car go till it does.
He turns up, agreed to take it so we sort paperwork out and he whips a iPad out to transfers the funds (£18,000) then tries to get in the car to leave, I say it's not as simple as that and it's not gone though yet, he kicks up a huge fuss and insists I drive him to the bank which I do, they confirm its not gone and would be tomorrow at the very earliest, he starts kicking off again swearing at the staff whilst I stand there like a lemon.
He tries insisting he's legit by showing me all this paperwork that's in Italian, I still refuse and point him in the direction of the nearest hotel and tell him I'll ring him when it clears, sure enough it did by 9 in the morning. He never did return my tax disc though the b
d. addz86 said:
I sold my Exige to a guy from Italy, never again!
After many emails and agreeing a price I obviously said cash on collection or bank transfer is fine but will take a few days to clear so I won't let the car go till it does.
He turns up, agreed to take it so we sort paperwork out and he whips a iPad out to transfers the funds (£18,000) then tries to get in the car to leave, I say it's not as simple as that and it's not gone though yet, he kicks up a huge fuss and insists I drive him to the bank which I do, they confirm its not gone and would be tomorrow at the very earliest, he starts kicking off again swearing at the staff whilst I stand there like a lemon.
He tries insisting he's legit by showing me all this paperwork that's in Italian, I still refuse and point him in the direction of the nearest hotel and tell him I'll ring him when it clears, sure enough it did by 9 in the morning. He never did return my tax disc though the bd.
I can kind of understand that though, a rare £18,000 car makes sense. But coming to London to buy a bog standard EP3 just seems absurd to me! Ahh well, we'll see how it goes. After many emails and agreeing a price I obviously said cash on collection or bank transfer is fine but will take a few days to clear so I won't let the car go till it does.
He turns up, agreed to take it so we sort paperwork out and he whips a iPad out to transfers the funds (£18,000) then tries to get in the car to leave, I say it's not as simple as that and it's not gone though yet, he kicks up a huge fuss and insists I drive him to the bank which I do, they confirm its not gone and would be tomorrow at the very earliest, he starts kicking off again swearing at the staff whilst I stand there like a lemon.
He tries insisting he's legit by showing me all this paperwork that's in Italian, I still refuse and point him in the direction of the nearest hotel and tell him I'll ring him when it clears, sure enough it did by 9 in the morning. He never did return my tax disc though the b
d. 
For an EP3, it makes sense. In France, French manufacturers are subsidised by the government (or used to be) - French cars are a lot cheaper than alternatives, which is why 90% of cars driven in France are French. Not like in Britain...
I would say it sounds legit, he probably prefers the EP3 than a sheddy 172 he could get for similar money!
But Gumtree though, only normally attracts scum buyers offering you 1/3 of what it's worth... Best place to sell a snotter or a chav wagon, but not an EP3!
I would say it sounds legit, he probably prefers the EP3 than a sheddy 172 he could get for similar money!
But Gumtree though, only normally attracts scum buyers offering you 1/3 of what it's worth... Best place to sell a snotter or a chav wagon, but not an EP3!
Riknos said:
For an EP3, it makes sense. In France, French manufacturers are subsidised by the government (or used to be) - French cars are a lot cheaper than alternatives, which is why 90% of cars driven in France are French. Not like in Britain...
I would say it sounds legit, he probably prefers the EP3 than a sheddy 172 he could get for similar money!
But Gumtree though, only normally attracts scum buyers offering you 1/3 of what it's worth... Best place to sell a snotter or a chav wagon, but not an EP3!
Yes I have found that people call me up, asking all the relevant questions, and then offer me £1300 under list price. Yeah right.I would say it sounds legit, he probably prefers the EP3 than a sheddy 172 he could get for similar money!
But Gumtree though, only normally attracts scum buyers offering you 1/3 of what it's worth... Best place to sell a snotter or a chav wagon, but not an EP3!
If it doesn't go to this French guy, I'll stick it on AT or eBay instead
I sold my MGF earlier this year, spares or repair (it was well and truly knackered!) for about £245. I specifically stated that I only wanted UK bidders from past experience...
French guy won it, arrived with his van and trailer and took it away 2 days after the auction ended, most strange but a very simple transaction
French guy won it, arrived with his van and trailer and took it away 2 days after the auction ended, most strange but a very simple transaction
ColonelLingus said:
I've just had him say he's paying in cash with a Travelex certificate. He is happy to come to the bank with me.
Any idea what a travelex certificate is?
Travelex are the currency exchange people in airports aren't they?Any idea what a travelex certificate is?
Sounds like a banks draft so you might want some way of authenticating it before accepting it as payment.
barryrs said:
Travelex are the currency exchange people in airports aren't they?
Sounds like a banks draft so you might want some way of authenticating it before accepting it as payment.
I'll probably do the transaction at the bank. I'll give the cash straight to the bank to pay into my account, safest way I can think of. He's happy to do that aswell, but I'm a little scared at a previous poster saying the bank called up a couple of hours later saying the notes were counterfeit! Is there any way to do an honest deal these days? Sounds like a banks draft so you might want some way of authenticating it before accepting it as payment.
Colnol Lingus said:
So I have my car up for sale, for the small price of £3000. It's a very common car, by no means rare.
EP3 isn't that common - I had to Google it (and we've got Hondas in the family).There's a thread on (I think) the HonestJohn website of a guy expressing similar surprise that someone flew over from Poland to buy his old Mondeo. Handed over the cash and set off to drive it home.
Apparently even after converting to LHD it's still worthwhile as used cars are so much dearer there.
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