Something a bit odd with sale of a car

[T 28]

I was wondering what you guys think of this sale? I haven't gone through with it yet as I have a slight reservation.

I had my Insignia (don't judge!) For sale on Facebook market place. Had a few tire kickers and whatnot, but nothing solid. Then I had someone contact me about the car. They said straight off the bat that they are traders sourcing cars for their showroom. Fair enough, as long as I get what I'm after! They said they are gonna send a vehicle collection to come pick it up and do a direct bank transfer before the car leaves me.

Then things started to look a bit odd. He told me his company name, so I thought I'd have a look for his garage (about 40 mile away). He is advertising cars for sale on his website and via Autotrader too looks legit on that part. But Companies House say different. The company was (voluntarily not compulsory) dissolved at the tail end of last year. No new company has been formed in his name and it appears to be still trading under the dissolved companies name. Should this be a red flag? Would the money be clawed back from me by creditors/collectors? The cars up for £4000

It's my first time selling a car privately so am a bit anxious by this.

[Janesy B]

Probably a company name change and a family member as the director to avoid paying out a debt probably. Of no consequence to you as long as you get the money.

Seeing as you're getting trade pricing, why not try wbac or a similar site to shift the car on?

[Alex@POD]

That's bound to be a scam attempt.

If "what you're after" is what the car is worth (i.e. similar price to other cars advertised with same condition/mileage), the dealer will not be able to make any profit on it. Will he spend time and money getting someone to collect a car he doesn't know the exact condition of, if he doesn't have room for profit?

Edited by Alex@POD on Tuesday 15th February 17:13

[MattsCar]

Not the first name a car dealer has changed their name to avoid paying a debt.

Seems totally fine, but ensure the money is in your bank account, and you can see it there on the screen, prior to filling out the logbook/ handing over the keys.

Also write out a sold as seen/ no warranty receipt and include "buyer has inspected and been offered to test vehicle for faults and is happy with the condition of the vehicle in its entirety".

[Janesy B]

MattsCar said:

Also write out a sold as seen/ no warranty receipt and include "buyer has inspected and been offered to test vehicle for faults and is happy with the condition of the vehicle in its entirety".

The AA has a good template for this;

https://www.theaa.com/car-buying/buyers-sellers-co...