Has buying a used car privately always been so dodgy?
Discussion
Buying a used car from a private seller is akin to walking through a minefield. It seems that out of 5 car sellers 3 are dodgy characters trying to conceal critical damage to the car.
Has it always been this way? Now even when selling cars you will have an eastern European turn up and put oil in your coolant system or up your exhaust.
Has buying/selling a car always been so dodgy??
Has it always been this way? Now even when selling cars you will have an eastern European turn up and put oil in your coolant system or up your exhaust.
Has buying/selling a car always been so dodgy??
Internet is probably to blame.
It's very easy to compare cars and prices. Most buyers are looking for the cheapest example and then wonder why it turns out to be a pile of crap when they turn up.
If a private seller has a nice well looked after car with good history they understandably want proper money for it. Sadly it just gets compared to the cheap crap ones and the low wbac price which is easily available.
I'm dreading selling my car when the time comes. So many scams and time wasters. But it's a nice car and I don't want to let it go for the peanuts part ex price.
It's very easy to compare cars and prices. Most buyers are looking for the cheapest example and then wonder why it turns out to be a pile of crap when they turn up.
If a private seller has a nice well looked after car with good history they understandably want proper money for it. Sadly it just gets compared to the cheap crap ones and the low wbac price which is easily available.
I'm dreading selling my car when the time comes. So many scams and time wasters. But it's a nice car and I don't want to let it go for the peanuts part ex price.
I think it's always been dodgy. I can go back 30+years and every car you went to look at had some issue that didn't make sense - the car wasn't registered at the address it was being sold from was very common, or the seller had only owned the car for a month and was selling as "the wife doesn't like it".
Cars with one or more rusty panels when the rest was immaculate but "had never been crashed". You'd point out the rust and then they'd tell you about the crash. Etc.
Cars with one or more rusty panels when the rest was immaculate but "had never been crashed". You'd point out the rust and then they'd tell you about the crash. Etc.
ChrisH72 said:
Internet is probably to blame.
It's very easy to compare cars and prices. Most buyers are looking for the cheapest example and then wonder why it turns out to be a pile of crap when they turn up.
If a private seller has a nice well looked after car with good history they understandably want proper money for it. Sadly it just gets compared to the cheap crap ones and the low wbac price which is easily available.
I'm dreading selling my car when the time comes. So many scams and time wasters. But it's a nice car and I don't want to let it go for the peanuts part ex price.
Agree, people see the cheapest one on autotrader as the market price and everything else is overpriced by default. I think this is a fairer assumption to make with newer cars as chances are they haven’t been exposed to much mistreatment. For older vehicles there is much more to consider.It's very easy to compare cars and prices. Most buyers are looking for the cheapest example and then wonder why it turns out to be a pile of crap when they turn up.
If a private seller has a nice well looked after car with good history they understandably want proper money for it. Sadly it just gets compared to the cheap crap ones and the low wbac price which is easily available.
I'm dreading selling my car when the time comes. So many scams and time wasters. But it's a nice car and I don't want to let it go for the peanuts part ex price.
Guess it has always been dodgy in a way but most people can spot a dodgy one .
I have actually been looking for a new car and been looking at private sales , not many about at all guessing the current situation doesn’t help plus the fact a think people just trade in now to take the hassle away .
I have actually been looking for a new car and been looking at private sales , not many about at all guessing the current situation doesn’t help plus the fact a think people just trade in now to take the hassle away .
I've never had an issue either way. I don't spend large amounts or sell for large amounts so maybe that's a factor. I couldn't care less if some chancer thinks the oil in the coolant trick or the smoking exhaust scam will work. He can sling his hook because I'm never desperate for a sale, nor am I a naive fool with no mechanical nous or someone who will be bullied into accepting less than I think the car is worth. All sales and purchases conducted in daylight at the address the vehicle is registered to or not at all. There's nearly 100,000 cars for sale just on here so it's not like the market is not wide open. It's a bit of a ball ache dealing with the idiots and chancers but it's not that hard to just move on to the next one for sale if it looks dodgy. As far as sales go, viewings are at my convenience on days when I don't have to be anywhere else (I'm not usually busy on rest days so that's easy enough). That saves waiting in for people. Either that or I'l tell them if they're more than 15 minutes late I'll probably be going out so they may as well not bother coming. Neither scenario is difficult to control, really.
Jamaica said:
Buying a used car from a private seller is akin to walking through a minefield. It seems that out of 5 car sellers 3 are dodgy characters trying to conceal critical damage to the car.
Has it always been this way? Now even when selling cars you will have an eastern European turn up and put oil in your coolant system or up your exhaust.
Has buying/selling a car always been so dodgy??
re selling - WBAC or trade in to a dealership - always. yes you might lose a few hundred quid but i'd happily forgo £500 on the actual sale than have 3 waste of time/scam visits before the real one!Has it always been this way? Now even when selling cars you will have an eastern European turn up and put oil in your coolant system or up your exhaust.
Has buying/selling a car always been so dodgy??
I've only bought two cars privately and they've both been complete turds. Never again, I'd rather pay the premium of a dealership and have at least some protection. I also now always get a check done on any car I buy.
Sold some privately and thankfully not had a problem yet (touch wood), but again, it's much easier to put the cars in as a P/X, rather than sell privately.
Sold some privately and thankfully not had a problem yet (touch wood), but again, it's much easier to put the cars in as a P/X, rather than sell privately.
It definately does feel like you are more likely to 'get done like a kipper' when either selling or buying privately now, to the extent that it is putting me off now. My last car was from a main dealer and my next one certainly will be.
First car was bought privately but the guy was an absolute gent, a driver for a mayor lol v polite and honest..if only they were all like that..mind you that was 12-15 yrs back.
Also just as an aside, bit unfair to generalise about E.Europeans..yes there are plenty who are dodgy but Ive dealt with plenty who are honest and hardworking and no not in la la land..in good ol' East Laandan. Swings and Roundabouts. Anyway back on topic, do your diligence with private car sales but I'm equally paranoid about a lot of so called "trade" garages.
First car was bought privately but the guy was an absolute gent, a driver for a mayor lol v polite and honest..if only they were all like that..mind you that was 12-15 yrs back.
Also just as an aside, bit unfair to generalise about E.Europeans..yes there are plenty who are dodgy but Ive dealt with plenty who are honest and hardworking and no not in la la land..in good ol' East Laandan. Swings and Roundabouts. Anyway back on topic, do your diligence with private car sales but I'm equally paranoid about a lot of so called "trade" garages.
nickfrog said:
Never had any issues selling or buying privately. Good qualifying and DD are the key.
This is correct. If you have any intuition you can tell on the first phone call whether it’s worth pursuing or not. I’ve bought and sold cars privately from £1,500 to £32,000 and never had a bad experience yet.plenty said:
nickfrog said:
Never had any issues selling or buying privately. Good qualifying and DD are the key.
This is correct. If you have any intuition you can tell on the first phone call whether it’s worth pursuing or not. I’ve bought and sold cars privately from £1,500 to £32,000 and never had a bad experience yet.Selling is usually easy if it's a decent car. People may look at the cheapest one and compare every car to the cheapest one but imo those people aren't worth the time anyway.
It does help that I have always had reasonably sporty, cars which attract people that are willing to pay a bit more for a decent one.
Pothole said:
I've never had an issue either way. I don't spend large amounts or sell for large amounts so maybe that's a factor. I couldn't care less if some chancer thinks the oil in the coolant trick or the smoking exhaust scam will work. He can sling his hook because I'm never desperate for a sale, nor am I a naive fool with no mechanical nous or someone who will be bullied into accepting less than I think the car is worth. All sales and purchases conducted in daylight at the address the vehicle is registered to or not at all. There's nearly 100,000 cars for sale just on here so it's not like the market is not wide open. It's a bit of a ball ache dealing with the idiots and chancers but it's not that hard to just move on to the next one for sale if it looks dodgy. As far as sales go, viewings are at my convenience on days when I don't have to be anywhere else (I'm not usually busy on rest days so that's easy enough). That saves waiting in for people. Either that or I'l tell them if they're more than 15 minutes late I'll probably be going out so they may as well not bother coming. Neither scenario is difficult to control, really.
Interesting. If I'm 15 minutes "late" that's considered early for me!The best cars I've had were private buys, it really is a lot down to common sense. The advert filters out a lot of crap, normally what isn't mentioned rather than what is. Always phone and quickly you can eliminate the dross.
Once you actually get to see a car you should be most of the way there, occasionally you get an unpleasant surprise but jog on quickly if you do.
Buying privately you really are judging the seller and everything about them. Sounds dreadful but it works.
Once you actually get to see a car you should be most of the way there, occasionally you get an unpleasant surprise but jog on quickly if you do.
Buying privately you really are judging the seller and everything about them. Sounds dreadful but it works.
Sheepshanks said:
I think it's always been dodgy. I can go back 30+years and every car you went to look at had some issue that didn't make sense - the car wasn't registered at the address it was being sold from was very common, or the seller had only owned the car for a month and was selling as "the wife doesn't like it".
Cars with one or more rusty panels when the rest was immaculate but "had never been crashed". You'd point out the rust and then they'd tell you about the crash. Etc.
Quite funny we had a car for around 2 weeks and sold it because the wife did not like it. The car was pristine. Cars with one or more rusty panels when the rest was immaculate but "had never been crashed". You'd point out the rust and then they'd tell you about the crash. Etc.
nickfrog said:
Never had any issues selling or buying privately. Good qualifying and DD are the key.
I don't get the bit about Eastern Europeans, what's that about? Just casual xenophobia?
No eastern Europeans have been distracting the car seller and pouring oil in the coolant system. I don't get the bit about Eastern Europeans, what's that about? Just casual xenophobia?
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.kentonline.co.uk/...
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailystar.co.uk/n...
AshVX220 said:
I've only bought two cars privately and they've both been complete turds. Never again, I'd rather pay the premium of a dealership and have at least some protection. I also now always get a check done on any car I buy.
Sold some privately and thankfully not had a problem yet (touch wood), but again, it's much easier to put the cars in as a P/X, rather than sell privately.
What did you buy and what happened?Sold some privately and thankfully not had a problem yet (touch wood), but again, it's much easier to put the cars in as a P/X, rather than sell privately.
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