When viewing a car...

[Deleted member 37751]

just bought a beautiful Alpina from someone who blanked the plate on the photos.

Come on Charles, you can't just throw that one in and leave it there!

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Got to say I'm really surprised at how close it is, I thought it would be wider in favour of the "yes", but I'd not really taken into account those who might be looking for relatively rare cars.

 

[Charles Morgan]

 

[developer]

That said when I've googled my registration numbers, some have been "spotted" and photos posted on spotting websites, so they get out there whether you like it or not.

I though that sounded like fun, so I googled my plate and saw it in the search results of one of those "seen any interesting plates" threads...

Oooh - very exciting I thought, until I opened the thread and found it was my post .

What an anorak

 

[jamesfuller]

Doesn't put me off in the slightest, just bought a beautiful Alpina from someone who blanked the plate on the photos.

Now that is a coincidence!

It wouldn't put me off either.

 

[markjay]

Got to say I'm really surprised at how close it is, I thought it would be wider in favour of the "yes", but I'd not really taken into account those who might be looking for relatively rare cars.

I think you will find that most forum memebers are above average when it comes to being a savvi car buyer. Which is why people here try and read into things such as blanked plates. But if you opened-up the question to the wider population - I suspect you will find that even more people do not care (or even notice) that the plates are blanked.

 

[Mactech]

I just sold my Audi(!) using photo's with covered plates, to the very first viewer.
The ad explained that my private reg would not be part of the sale. I guess that puts me in the 'not bothered' camp

 

[Charles Morgan]

Now that is a coincidence!

It wouldn't put me off either.

Glad to see you had an offer on your Alpina so quickly, had I been in the market for a manual E39 I would have been on the blower straightaway.

It's a strange forum that one. The moment I mentioned I was looking for a B3 I had someone PM saying they might be persuaded to sell theirs if they could get the money back they'd spent on it and seemed to think an aftermarket LPG kit was a USP for a high priced Alpina with high miles, cheap coilovers, tatty wheels and non-functioning aircon. Then someone else just told me that having asked if the black Alpina mats were still made as I have black plain ones in my black interior car, that I needed black Alpina mats.

 

[jamesfuller]

Glad to see you had an offer on your Alpina so quickly, had I been in the market for a manual E39 I would have been on the blower straightaway.

It's a strange forum that one. The moment I mentioned I was looking for a B3 I had someone PM saying they might be persuaded to sell theirs if they could get the money back they'd spent on it and seemed to think an aftermarket LPG kit was a USP for a high priced Alpina with high miles, cheap coilovers, tatty wheels and non-functioning aircon. Then someone else just told me that having asked if the black Alpina mats were still made as I have black plain ones in my black interior car, that I needed black Alpina mats.

I don't go on that many forums, but i have yet to find another like MBclub. I have got chatting to a couple of guys on the Alpina forum but its fairly quiet and some people have some funny ideas! 'My' Alpina is staying local as a friend of a friend bought it.

 

[mj2k]

I don't go on that many forums, but i have yet to find another like MBclub. I have got chatting to a couple of guys on the Alpina forum but its fairly quiet and some people have some funny ideas! 'My' Alpina is staying local as a friend of a friend bought it.

Totally OT, but forums seem to be a bit of a curate's egg generally.

E.g. the 306 cabriolet club is very friendly and informative, the 306 GTi6 club is v techy but slightly less friendly, the 306 owners club is a constant inane flamefest and the Xsara Owners club never has any posts from people who actually own Xsaras! And that's all for just one car platform...

Think my favorites in no particular order are alfaowner, 306 cabriolet owners club and mbclub

 

[gIzzE]

I have never blanked my plates.

In some sort of brain melt moment last year I went and bought an Audi. Hated it after 3 days and advertised it online straight away.

A couple of weeks later I got a letter from a compound in London saying I had 72 hours to collect my car as it would be crushed.

Also a nice bill for £3000 odd.

In the end I had to do some serious digging to get them to leave me alone, me telling them my car was sold to someone local and he can see it on his drive was not enough.

Me telling them the vin of my car clearly showed it being bright blue with gray interior where as the one in their pound was dark blue with black interior was not enough.

My cars vin shows it is manual, this was auto, they had nav, mine not, also no sunroof on mine where as the vin on the car in their pound had one etc.etc.

I even told them who the car in their pound had belonged to until the day it had been sold, which also happened to be the day after it was found abandoned in the middle of east London on a dual carrigeway.
At that point they were still asking for me to prove it wasn't mine.

So car bought at 6pm, false plates fitted and then dumped the next day and they still think it is mine?

Seriously?! Just crush it.


Plates had obviously been cloned from the adverts online. Dead easy to search for a blue A4 Avant and grab the first one that is taxed and insured. But a rare thing I reckon.

 

[rockits]

...on the internet, does it put you off if the seller blanks the plate? It does do me, in fact I completely disregard any car advertised this way.

Just wondering the average of buyers who are put off or don't care...

Wouldn't make any difference to me either way. I don't put anything out on public display such as number plates if I can help it. There are far more potential negatives in my eyes than positives. Easy for someone to clone your plates/car for crime & cause you loads of grief.

If someone wants to know my VRN drop me a message or call me about the car and I will happily tell you the VRN with any information you want about the car.

I don't have my picture on the web anywhere I know of & do not add any personal info or info useful to a criminal. I have spent 25 years in IT/tech & security in general in this country is poor to abysmal.

I just don't see the point of displaying it if you don't need to. A serious punter will contact me.

However I have learnt something as I know you would be a serious punter but wouldn't contact me. I would be missing out but I still will not change my stance. Security is key for me & I try to protect it any way I can. Not as I have anything to hide as I don't but because there are so many frauds & issues you are potentially leaving yourself open to.

 

[Charles Morgan]

I happily post under my own name and really wouldn't be too bothered about masking plates but I entirely understand that a lot of people really do get concerned about both and their reasons for doing. In the scheme of things it is probably the least important issue about a car to me. Even with high volume cars for sale my filtering system is so comprehensive that you can end up with tiny numbers worthy of viewing. With low volume cars like Alpina my filters are actually much more generous - I'd end up without any cars at all if I applied the usual ones!

 

[markjay]

I have been a victim of identity fraud on several occasions, sadly the practice is rife. And it can be very time-consuming getting out of loans you never took in the first place etc etc.

I have no issue with people seeing my plate where they can't associate it with me directly.

But an ad on the internet containing my car, plate, mobile phone number, and then the frausters are a phone call away from also knowing my name and address....

So yes I would try and minimise the anount of raw data that's available about me online.

 

[Petrol Pete]

It puts me off. Same as pixilated pics in lonely heart ads. What they hiding?

Their ugly faces !!

 

[Petrol Pete]

The longer I own my C55 AMG wagon the more I become interested in its 'rarity'. So every time I see a picture of one (still not seen one in the flesh, 8 months and counting) I have quick look on the web for more info.

I have seen a picture of a C55 AMG Wagon being driven on a track. I know the name of the driver, the event and where he came in the standings.

The odd thing is the number plate on the car in the photo is from a SMART car just a few years old.

My guess is this event insisted on a number plate and he either didn't want his insurers/warranty providers knowing he was on a track or it wasn't road registered and he borrowed the plates off his wife's SMART.

Either way the number plate means nothing in this case. I know the drivers name (might not be the owner) but sod all about the car.

 

[MB-Graham]

Doesn't put me off, though the registration is the first thing I ask for if I can't see it.

 

[Lyserman]

Is it that difficult to ask the seller what the registration number is amongst any other questions you may have?
I am more than happy to let a potential buyer know so that they can carry out an mot check.