Selling a cheap car.

[neilrr]

What a PITA this has turned out to be.

I advertised a C240 for a friend on Gumtree & Autotrader http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/clas...999-c240-classic-2-owners-9-mths-tax-mot.html & have opened the doors of Bedlam. Never have I encountered such a concentrated collection of pedants, armchair experts, unrealistic idiots, fools & saddos.

It ranged from the moron who called me at 4:50 a.m. wanting to come to see it, to the pedantic idiot who was disappointed I didn't have every invoice for everything ever done to the car, ever, to the several pidgin English speaking opportunists who offered £250 to £300ish site unseen - "I come now, I got money", to the guy who wanted to be my friend, to the guy who made an appointment only to call back an hour later 'cos "I have a problem with the money" as in he didn't have enough of it, to the people shocked to hear a 14 y.o. C Class with 131K on the clock had bits of rust & wasn't actually a Pebble Beach contender.

I've sold cars costing hundreds of times what this sold for with far less hassle.

BTW, it sold to the first person who came to see it, an intelligent Polish man who practised & understood Bangernomics, looking for a cheap, reliable transportation car. He said he thought he had got a bargain. He was correct.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Fortunately the purchase of my 210 was much more civilised, but this is one reason I hate selling cars. One chancer asked if I was going to sell my 210, which I was, so he got in touch about a month later. I named a decent price and all I got back was a stream of invective and comments there was one for a third of the price elsewhere, so I suggested he buy that, then another one at half the price so I suggested he buy that, at which point he told me I was f*****g mental, and rang off with my derision ringing in his ears.

Thinking about it, selling my 210 is the first time I've sold privately.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Never have I encountered such a concentrated collection of pedants, armchair experts, unrealistic idiots, fools & saddos.

It always amazes me how much time people have to waste, and as you say it's the 'cheap' cars that seem to attract more of them.

I sold my RR Sport to a bloke that turned up, took it for a two mile drive, came back, had a look under the bonnet and then made an offer. After a bit of bartering, we agreed a price and off he went. The whole thing took less than an hour...

 

[jotter22]

It always amazes me how much time people have to waste, and as you say it's the 'cheap' cars that seem to attract more of them.

I sold my RR Sport to a bloke that turned up, took it for a two mile drive, came back, had a look under the bonnet and then made an offer. After a bit of bartering, we agreed a price and off he went. The whole thing took less than an hour...

He never even kicked a tyre? Result.

Tony.

 

[DSB SL AMG]

sold all my MB's privately...had all of the above + some, I think some people have a hobbie of phoning around...I now just wind them up on the phone (call safe), 'yes of course you can have the car for £10' lol

 

[Deleted member 37751]

sold all my MB's privately...had all of the above + some, I think some people have a hobbie of phoning around...I now just wind them up on the phone (call safe), 'yes of course you can have the car for £10' lol

I've ended up playing the same game a few times but I found it just encourages them; I had someone from Somerset offer me £500 for a van that was worth £1500 as a breaker, I told him he could have it for £400 because he was coming such a long way.

He then offered £350, at which point I become very bored, very quickly and put the phone down.

 

[kinaero]

That looks like a bargain!! Wished I'd seen that earlier!!

 

[Cigano]

I am in the motor trade and i have to deal with Tire kickers every day .
My experience with selling oder cars (dont usually get them ), if you ask peanuts you get monkeys .

 

[Satch]

Bloke next door scorned the PX offer on his daughters car in favour of private sale and has had the full Autotrader trainwreck experience.

Put an 8 year old Corsa on Autotrader and every delusional little 17 year old oik/scumbag/scammer/half wit within 20 miles homed in like flies to ****.

 

[davidjpowell]

Had this experience in the past, but when I sold the Volvo, it seemed to have found the right ground.

Did get a few people trying to convince me that I was mad for holding out for more money on the BMW. Got my way in the end....

 

[Will]

100% agree - selling very cheap cars always attracts a certain type of buyer - whereas more expensive ones or collectable/enthusiast models is normally a better proposition.

I have had much more hassle with selling sub-£1000 cars and anything like old phones/laptops/iPods on eBay/small ads than anything else!

 

[jamesfuller]

I was talking to a friend of a friend who deals in used cars, he said he feels like giving up. So many people make an offer on a car that isn't even half the advertised price.

 

[del320]

I was most apprehensive a few years back expecting a bunch of jokers when I sold my father's SAAB 900.

In the event, the first caller came and paid the asking price (£500) without any haggling.

All he did to satisfy himself the car was OK, was to look at the engine oil then start the car, idle for 30 seconds, throw it into gear and let out the clutch with the handbrake on - thereby stalling it

Job done!

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I was most apprehensive a few years back expecting a bunch of jokers when I sold my father's SAAB 900.

In the event, the first caller came and paid the asking price (£500) without any haggling.

All he did to satisfy himself the car was OK, was to look at the engine oil then start the car, idle for 30 seconds, throw it into gear and let out the clutch with the handbrake on - thereby stalling it

Job done!

Clutch wasn't slipping then.

 

[E55BOF]

I had one f*****t agree on a (very reasonable) price for a bike I was selling, then rang back to say his mum wouldn't let him have it! Another wanted me to take (a different bike) 150 miles to him so he could view it. Yet another rang me three times - from eight miles away - to confirm that he would be coming, then was just about to leave, and finally, was on the way NOW to buy it. He never turned up...

I've never had a problem with selling stuff on eBay, though; maybe it's how I word my ads. I've had hopeful messages after a sale has ended offering me half what a car had sold for 'if it's still available'; perhaps they thought I was shill bidding, though from the selling price it should have been obvious it was a genuine sale.

 

[phoenix550]

I recently put my BMW 523 1999 for sale on ebay and autotrader. Although it was mechanically perfect and needed nothing done to it at all I really hated it. It was small and cramped and I didn't like the way it drove.

The amount of nutters that came to see it was unbelievable.
First there was this time waster couple that won it on ebay and came all the way to London from Birmingham. They didn't want to take it because there was a tiny almost imperceptible scratch the width of a hair on it. What a bunch of time wasters. If they wanted a perfect car they should have gone to a BMW showroom and bought a new one.

Next there was this idiot that took it for a test drive and made sure every single thing worked. He even wanted to see all the Mot's to verify the mileage. He had to check another car after so I told him if he comes back I'll show it to him. Of course he didn't.

Then there are the BMW enthusiasts. I hate them. Never show a car to a BMW enthusiast. They want everything to be perfect. This one guy was shocked to find out that the alloys on a 14 yo car where not in pristine condition. He therefore gave me a lowball offer. I said no and didn't even waste time on a test drive.
I had a couple more enthusiasts lined up to see the car but thankfully I sold it to a normal man before they came to see it.
The man who bought it was a very pleasant gentleman who saw the ad I put on the car's window, asked me to come over and show him the car, he took it for a test drive and it drove well since it was in excellent mechanical condition,we agreed on a price and he bought it.
He was looking for a car to drive,unlike the BMW enthusiasts who were looking for a 1999 car to look like a 2013 car that just came out of the factory

 

[Troon]

I've only sold one car privately via advertising to the general public, and yes: a huge PITA. Mk3 Mondeo in genuinely excellent condition for its age (9yrs) and mileage (149k), attracted loads of scam and time-waster emails, mostly via the AutoTrader ad.

It eventually sold via Buy It Now on eBay, unseen to a Polish bloke living 100 miles away with zero feedback and no prior communication.

Obviously I was suspicious, but he and a couple of mates turned up when they said they would, took a quick test drive (me driving), handed me an envelope containing the requisite amount of cash and drove away happy. I got above "book value" for such a car, yet he got the real bargain as the car was very good. Its registration has disappeared from the DVLA database now: I fear the worst for it...

 

[joecash]

Best way, I have found, of selling a cheap car is on ebay as long as the advert that goes with it sticks to the facts offers the opportunity to inspect before bidding and is honest. Personally I would steer well clear of cheapy car lots the majority of which are run by Arthur Daly and Del boy types trying to sell "scrap" as bargains of the week!!!

 

[DSB SL AMG]

I remember a guy viewing a C230k sport I had a few years ago...he seemed normal bloke, checked car over, took it for a spin, said it was the best he had seen and wanted it there and then full asking price, I was well chuffed...he then then said he would just slip to the bank get the money, back in the 30mins....never saw him again, rang him a few hours later, he was on a golf course, said he had changed his mind total nut job!!!

 

[developer]

I've only sold one car privately recently (you may know it ).

Advertised only on two forums.

Sold after 45 minutes for the full asking price, to a fellow enthusiast .

I do appreciate, however, that this is unusual.

It wasn't a cheap car, so not really aligned to the OP - I just felt the need to gloat .