Reasons that you didn't buy a car.

[The_Equalizer]

Two MGB roadsters.

The first I arrived slightly earily to the arranged viewing time to find the vendor and a friend trying to safety pin the knackered hood to its frame. The rest of the car wasn't much better despite being described as excellent. Normally I would try and be polite and gone thorough the motions. However,  it had been a long trip there and they'd lied through their teeth so I just said, still politely but without reason, it wasn't for me. I do remember vendor and friend being rather indignant.

The second had just been resurrected after been stuck in a garage for a good decade. It had an MoT, but realistic needed a shed load to get make it look presentable and had been described as excellent. What did it for me was the seller explaining the work that had been done to get it back on the road including a very extensive service. Again, normally I would just listen and nod, but I did suggest that he should have a word with the mechanic as this mega service hadn't stretched to changing the oil filter which was just as dirty as the rest of the engine bay. I think it was the lying that got up my nose again. 

I suppose it's all a learning curve, but i now have a rule that if the seller is telling an obvious porkie then it's not for me.

As I was once told, "Otherwise reasonable people do funny things when it comes to selling cars and houses because of the money involved."

[bunglebus]

I looked at a Beetle when I was in my late teens, it was a beige 1302. Not the most desirable model but it wasn't a great deal of money, seemed in pretty reasonable condition for an old bug but - had no chassis number. They're stamped into the central spine of the floorpan in an area that would never need to be interfered with.

I seem to recall older cars don't need to have the number to pass an MoT, but I can't think of a legitimate reason to remove it, either it was stolen or had been swapped onto a donor floorpan, which is what the chassis number and registration belong to. 

Seller was pretty laid back but I walked from that one

[sierraman]

See people complain that the trade are a set of dodgy bastards but in reality private sellers can be a set of liars as well. They seem to get amnesia about the visit to the test station last week where it failed catastrophically. 

[taranaki]

Booked a test drive with a local used car dealer, next morning he was in the local paper for refusing to cancel a sale on a van that was ordered off the road a week after he sold it to the local Women's Refuge.

Took the test drive.

Rolled over on the price and the extended warranty.

Had him get a quote for a sunroof and a towbar.

Got the sale document drafted.

Didn't sign, gave him a serve instead.

 

[Floatylight]

Years ago went to look at a fairly new Mk3 Astra, took a mate with me and the car looked excellent, got my mate to read out the vin no on the vin plate and I checked the one under the flap in the floor pan,  both were different, made.my excuses and left, called trading standards the next morning...

[Richard_FM]

On 11/9/2020 at 7:37 AM, taranaki said:

Booked a test drive with a local used car dealer, next morning he was in the local paper for refusing to cancel a sale on a van that was ordered off the road a week after he sold it to the local Women's Refuge.

Took the test drive.

Rolled over on the price and the extended warranty.

Had him get a quote for a sunroof and a towbar.

Got the sale document drafted.

Didn't sign, gave him a serve instead.

 

It reminds me of when Victor Meldrew got his revenge on a computer salesman who called him a "daft dawdling old arsehole!" in a road rage incident.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

8 hours ago, The_Equalizer said:

.... I was once told, "Otherwise reasonable people do funny things when it comes to selling cars and houses because of the money involved."

You can also substitute the words "selling cars and houses" with "Wills and Estates".....

[Markeh]

A few years back when I was looking to upgrade from my first car, a Corsa B, I wasn't sure what I wanted to replace it with. I had a look at a PT Cruiser (my folks owned one that I'd driven and I for some strange reason liked it) on a forecourt of a small garage in Hucknall. It was in a peculiar shade of metallic gold, but other than that looked in fairly decent condition. Went to take it on a test drive up the road and back, as I'm driving up the road I can hear the central locking going insane. Parked back up outside the garage, left the key in the ignition so the chap could back it onto the forecourt again, and without thinking, closed the door. It promptly locked with the engine running and both sets of keys inside. It did feel a bit awkward leaving him to deal with the problem.

Only other funny rejection story is when I left the dealership immediately after test driving a new Vitara because I nearly fell out of the seat on a roundabout, although this is likely more me being a fat git rather than Suzuki's fault!

[Conan]

Before I bought my yellow Volvo 850 I looked at 5 other examples with various reasons why I didn't buy them.

 

The first one I looked at was years back. Grey Auto T5 Estate. Cheap and well maintained, but the interior was like a dog chewed on it for years. At least the test drive (first time driving them) cemented the fact that I need one in my life.

 

The second one was a few years after the first. Grey Manual T5 Estate with lots of mods, well maintained, very well known car within the circle. The owner came down with some sort of illness (leukemia if I recalled correctly) so I never even got the chance to look at it in metal. Despite keeping in touch with then owner for months, I bought my Corolla about a week before he called me to say the car's available for viewing.

 

The third one was earlier this year actually when I decided it was actually the time to do so. Red Manual Saloon, 850R replica, few choice modifications as well. It's been sitting barely used for years but otherwise in damn near mint condition. The owner didn't mention the extremely chattery and heavy race clutch. A/C was broken, and it was few years out of MOT. I walked away but in my mind thinking maybe I should go back and buy it. I returned home to see the advert's been taken down and thought maybe it sold. Recently (after I bought mine) I found out that the car is parked at the same place with the same owner and still not being used or MOT'ed.

 

The fourth one was a Yellow Auto T-5R Saloon replica. Again with a few mods. Dash lit up like a Christmas tree but otherwise doable. I looked at it thinking it was nice but way over priced. So I put the Corolla on sale and the price of this Volvo dropped by about £2,500 during a period of 2 months. I sold the Corolla and was ready to buy it, called back the owner with intention of a collection tomorrow morning. He said somebody's coming up to look at it. That guy paid and bought it immediately. Dammit.

 

The fifth one was apparently a one owner car as long as you didn't count the guy selling it. Green Auto T5 Estate. It looks like an okay buy provided it was £1,800 cheaper than the asking price. I just walked away didn't even haggled after I went and look underneath. Rotten as fuck although it is probably a nice example had it been in the UK. Probably the most normal reason to not buy a car.

 

I bought the sixth one and still happy about it. Didn't even wait this time I was like JUST TAKE MY MONEY DAMMIT and yet I still had to wait 2 weeks just to do the collection caper. Maybe the universe was telling me the whole time maybe I shouldn't have bought it? Having to look at 6 of them just to get one does make me think like that.

[strangeangel]

I'm willing to overlook most small faults at the price point I operate, as long as the seller is fundamentally honest, which most I've dealt with have been. So I've tended to buy most of the cars/bikes I've been to see.

 

One notable exception was a 205CJ I went to see a few years back. There was an inch of water in the rear footwells; when I pointed this out to the seller he told me the car was still damp from having the upholstery steam cleaned. Given the sheer amount of water present this was obviously bullshit, but also to consider was the fact that the seats looked like a tramp and six dogs had been living in the car for a couple of years. The seller? A serving police officer...

 

[SmokinWaffle]

Went to look at a Nissan Sunny Saloon in London, about an hour and 20 drive. Seller said it was mint condition, just wanted the space.

Arrived to see him topping up the expansion tank with what looked like tap water. Arches full of filler. Drove it and the clutch was slipping so bad I could barely get it up to 30.

Told him that and he said "nah nah it' just the carb needs adjusting as it's sat for a while", to which I literally said "look" and put my foot flat to the floor in 3rd, redlined it while the car made 0 progress.

"Wasn't doing that yesterday" - sure...

Absolute waste of time. 

That's why I'm 100% honest in all my car sales. I hate hate hate people that just lie through their teeth.

[phil_lihp]

Several years back I arranged to buy an MGF in the next town - it was advertised as out of MOT and in need of some work but generally in decent nick and was - crucially - "running and driving".  I spoke to the seller and arranged to come and collect it for a trip straight to my usual garage for a test - at £200 it seemed like I had nothing much to lose on it.  I got a lift 10 miles up the road to the village it was in and told them not to wait.  Oops.  

When I got there, the seller was not home and his wife knew almost nothing about it.  The car looked OK but on closer inspection was a complete disaster.  The battery was completely flat so it wouldn't start, the handbrake was seized on so it wouldn't roll for a bump start - but that was a moot point anyway as it was facing uphill, the gear linkage was so knackered that finding any gear was a mission and reverse was entirely absent.  The engine turned out to have the tiniest amount of very black oil in it but fortunately I found the rest of it in the coolant header tank.  Cost me a taxi fayre home and a lesson learned.  I know it was mega cheap but if the seller had been honest about the condition it was in to start with I'd need not have wasted my time, I looked up the reg a couple of years later and it never did see the road again.

Around the same time, my dad asked my sister, who lives several hours away, to test drive a Suzuki Jimny on his behalf as he fancied one as a runaround and she'd found one near her home which looked decent.  Halfway through the test drive smoke started coming out of the dashboard which put an end to that sale, although credit to the salesman he apparently did his best to continue with his sales patter.  Didn't work.

[Spiny Norman]

One of the most annoying reasons I didn't buy a used car was way back when I was 20, I had no interest in hot hatches or sporty cars. I wanted a big comfy barge to cruise around in and a local dealer had a really smart, fully loaded Renault 30TX up for about a grand which was well within my budget. I examined every inch of it and took it for a quick spin even though the dealer couldn't figure out why someone my age wasn't interested in the rusty XR3 he had sitting in the front of his yard.

This was back when there was no mobile phones or internet and I was worried what a car like that would do to my insurance premium with only two years NCB under my belt so I wanted to know what the damage would be going from a Fiat 128 to a big 2.8 litre fuel injected lump with all the toys.
So I had to go home and ring my broker, who gave me a quote I was  more than happy with so I hot footed it back to the dealer a couple of hours later to get there just in time to see him standing beside another punter pulling the £1195 sticker off the windscreen.  I was gutted.

 

[Rocket88]

About 15 years ago went [ when they weren't worth a lot] to look at a 928 advertised in the local rag........."priced fairly for a quick sale...immaculate condition"...........and the dreaded words........"best offer secures". It was immaculate, it was low mileage........my offer of £5k was exactly £25k short of what he wanted for it...................

[lanciamatt]

The one that sits in my mind the most happened about 20 years ago . Went to look at a fiat regata 100s ie . The only reason I didn't buy it was the woman selling was totally deranged , I mean scaryly . Quickly walked away . We went on a road test and she insisted her probably 100 year old dad came with us . I didn't buy it

[SmokinWaffle]

2 minutes ago, lanciamatt said:

The one that sits in my mind the most happened about 20 years ago . Went to look at a fiat regata 100s ie . The only reason I didn't buy it was the woman selling was totally deranged , I mean scaryly . Quickly walked away . We went on a road test and she insisted her probably 100 year old dad came with us . I didn't buy it

  You posted on the first page of the thread:

On 8/1/2019 at 8:09 PM, lanciamatt said:

Went to look at a fiat regata 100s at Manor top in Sheffield, the woman selling was a cross between the governess off the chase, and a prison warden, car wasn't that bad, but she insisted on taking me on a test drive and took her about 90 year old in her words daddy with us. Scared the shit out of me. When got back she listed all the faults as just bullet points. Didn't buy it 

Not judging, just found it interesting.

[Spiny Norman]

Perils of digging up an old thread.

I once went to view an XJ6 that caught fire.... oh wait.

[dozeydustman]

2002 I went to look at a Hillman [Hunter] GT. always like the look of these and my family loved them back in the day as grandad had a couple being a former Rootes dealer. Unfinished project but had the metal done and also the oily buts, just needed the interior refinishing. £1500 or sensible offer.

Met the bloke, dad with me, gave it a thorough look over and yes it was really good, paint a bit orange peely in places bur solid. Took it for a spin, had a good laugh in it wanted to buy it.

Prat wouldn’t take the £1400 cash I had with me; dad even offered an extra £50 but he kept sayung he wouldn’t take a penny less than £1500, despite sensible offers being welcome, so I bought a Scimitar instead.

He phoned me a couple of weeks later after I had bought the scimitar saying he’d take 1250. Knob.

[lesapandre]

2 hours ago, colc said:

About 15 years ago went [ when they weren't worth a lot] to look at a 928 advertised in the local rag........."priced fairly for a quick sale...immaculate condition"...........and the dreaded words........"best offer secures". It was immaculate, it was low mileage........my offer of £5k was exactly £25k short of what he wanted for it...................

I love the posh ad in Classic Car Mags...POA Price on Application. Or Offers...phew life is too short. 

[Macscrooge]

A little before the lease on my 435d was coming to an end late last year I was contacted by the supplying dealer. Was I, he asked, interested in another BMW, and if so which model?  I replied that I’d consider a 5-series wagon or possibly an X3. Not white, not black and not black interior. Also, no stupid big wheels and I didn’t want to increase my monthly payment. Off he went to check stocks while I quietly fantasised about a blue 530d wagon with tan leather. 
10 minutes later my phone rang. “Good news” quoth Mr dealer “I’ve found you a car.  It’s an X3 in white with black leather, 21inch wheels and only £50 a month more than you’re currently paying.”

Is it  any wonder I bought a used Lexus instead?

[2flags]

We were looking for a car for my daughter. Looked on e-bay and found a Rover 25 with 70,000 miles and 10 months MoT. Went to see it with high hopes. It wasn't on site so he went to get it. As it drove in you could hear the camshaft from  paces. "They all do that, yeah, these Rovers and Vauxhalls, they all do that." He seemed upset when I laughed. "Yes they do all do that if they are not serviced and maintained properly." Needless to say, we didn't buy it.

[xtriple]

Travelled a million mile to go and get a Pug 604 (auto naturally) as I really, really wanted one. Cash was on my hip insurance was in my pocket. Got to the car and hated it, could not get comfortable in it, seat was all wrong. The chap selling it couldn't believe I was gonna leave it, nor could I, but I did.

Took Kyle into the depths of Cornwall to buy a Saxo VTR that he'd organised. When we got there it was in a sink hole estate, car was filthy and the drivers side interior was disgusting and the door trim was falling off. I told him to leave it... we ended up having to run as the woman was outraged that we didn't want to buy her boyfriends car snd she was 'gonna have us!' Took him about thirty miles further in and found the exact same car but in good condition with a nice lass selling it and it was both newer and cheaper. He bought that one.

 

[twosmoke300]

Saxo in St Austell by any chance ?

[Dick Cheeseburger]

6 minutes ago, twosmoke300 said:

Saxo in St Austell by any chance ?

Sounds more like the Wild West to me 😂

[xtriple]

It was somewere down that way, was it yours? If so, scary lasses round your way

[Timewaster]

On 8/2/2019 at 3:39 PM, xtriple said:

Once drove all the way to the land of the Welsh to look at a peugeot 604 which was a rare car even then. Went with a mate and a pocket full of folding so all ready to drive it home, in my mind it was already bought and on the way home.

The BBC would like to apologise for the constant repetition in this show...

 

The BBC would like to apologise for the constant repetition in this show....

[xtriple]

Was it Wales and I'm repeating myself? Senility is not all it's cracked up to be...

[Cord Fourteener]

I (rather my dad) rejected a mini in the late 90s due to rust. I wish we had bought it...

More recently I walked away from a Mitsubishi Carisma because the seller was dodgy. There were a few niggles I could have lived with but the guy dead clearly lying about a slight oil leak, and in the first place tried to avoid meeting my at his house. We did meet at his house but he was obviously full of shit.

The clincher was that the can belt and water pump receipt was scribbled on a random bit of paper; no name, address, date, company details, miles, anything. Just 'new cam belt and water pump'. Deal breaker, what with all the other dodge.

Also a 924 when I was looking for one. To much rust for the asking price.

[Shite Ron]

I have unfortunately encountered a few blatant liars. When I was buying and selling cars I went to look at a 3 year old  K reg Sierra Sapphire at what seemed an attractive price. I asked the seller several times what condition it was in and if it had been in an accident, as soon as I saw it in his drive it was clear  the shell was distorted as it did not sit right, a closer look quickly confirmed poor bodywork repairs. I asked the seller again if it had been on an accident while calling HPI on the phone, you can guess what the HPI report was. The lying toe rag was in a wheel chair and in traction, I assumed hopefully the result of someone he had previously lied to.

When looking for a TVR there was one in Autotrader at a good price, I called the seller and asked the usual questions, he said it was in excellent condition with no issues, never been in an accident. After driving around 3 hours to Nottingham I arrived at the address given and recognised the very strong smell of fibreglass before getting out of my car, when I saw the TVR it was in a dreadful state for such a new car, it was clear the seller was a total scumbag so I was quickly on my way back home.

After eventually buying a very nice TVR I thought maybe I should spend more than £200 on a nice daily car and saw an advert for a well looked after mint Cortina 2.3 Ghia estate for £1,000. I spoke to the seller who said he was selling for his 80+ year old neighbour whose husband had just died. He said that he only saw the car occasionally as the old man would bring it out to wash it and always garaged it overnight. After driving for 2 hours to Slough we had a coffee and a chat with the old lady then went to the garage to see the car, the anticlimax when the door was opened cannot be overstated. The car was full of filler, badly touched up with spray cans with poor if any masking.It was a very sorry sight and far worse than the Cortina I was looking to replace. I realise it would be a bargain now but in 2001 I was not interested even when they quite quickly dropped the price to £50. Fortunately I found a really nice one around 6 months later for £400 which did 16,000 miles in 2002 as my daily plus 3 holidays to Italy, Holland and LeMans.

Most recently was a 3 year old 2008 Mondeo Ghia estate on ebay, described as genuine 83,000 miles good condition. I did the 3 hour trip to Derby in my 2005 142,000 mile Mondeo Ghia estate which I thought was getting a bit tired for a work car where I had a car allowance. The alleged low mileage car was in far worse condition than the car I arrived in with visibly worn seats and steering wheel, comparing it to my not particularly well looked after example the newer one looked as though it had done 3 times the mileage mine had done. It even sounded dreadful and drove like a moon mileage car. I could not believe a car could get so bad so quicky. The seller was not there but had a rant to me on the phone for not buying it, he seemed to think it was fine to blatantly lie about the condition and mileage, it was a good job that he wasn’t there and left an apologetic employee to meet me.

 

[Ghosty]

2 hours ago, Timewaster said:

The BBC would like to apologise for the constant repetition in this show...

 

The BBC would like to apologise for the constant repetition in this show....

Number four, the larch.