Tales of car buying....Meeting a car anti salesman......

[Marina door handles]

I am in the market for a new daily and I thought I had found an ideal candidate... Tried ringing the seller, a drive way trader with his own website. His phone seemed to have an issue so I pinged him an email. About an hour later I got a response. He had been busy but he would contact me today (fair enough). 

I emailed him this morning and eventually got a response saying could we discuss the car at 2pm. I thought this was a tad odd so replied with okay I will meet you at two at your business address (his house). Didn't actually get any response to this which I thought a tad weird but I drove over to his address anyway at the a lotted time.

Chapped the door - nothing - waited a bit, figured there was a gap just in front of his property - maybe he would return in a few minutes with the car? Waited ten minutes, a car appears, parks on the exact spot (wrong car though). Two people emerge and head for the house. I wonder over and asked them if I am at the right place?

Yes I am, they were his parents and apparently the salesman is hiding upstairs in his bedroom!

He eventually shuffles down stairs and mumbles something about appointment only and how he thought I was going to call to discuss the car at 2pm? 

I was a tad boggled by this, I explained I was here for his 2pm appointment! And that like most normal people I would expect to see the car possibly test drive it and maybe make an offer. I didn't want to discuss it especially if I cannot physically see it, I wonder if he was confusing car sales with computer dating or something?

I left at that point as I was getting a very off feeling about the whole thing!

Car buying at the lower end of the market is fun isn't it!

 

 

[vaughant]

38 minutes ago, Marina door handles said:

I am in the market for a new daily and I thought I had found an ideal candidate... Tried ringing the seller, a drive way trader with his own website. His phone seemed to have an issue so I pinged him an email. About an hour later I got a response. He had been busy but he would contact me today (fair enough). 

I emailed him this morning and eventually got a response saying could we discuss the car at 2pm. I thought this was a tad odd so replied with okay I will meet you at two at your business address (his house). Didn't actually get any response to this which I thought a tad weird but I drove over to his address anyway at the a lotted time.

Chapped the door - nothing - waited a bit, figured there was a gap just in front of his property - maybe he would return in a few minutes with the car? Waited ten minutes, a car appears, parks on the exact spot (wrong car though). Two people emerge and head for the house. I wonder over and asked them if I am at the right place?

Yes I am, they were his parents and apparently the salesman is hiding upstairs in his bedroom!

He eventually shuffles down stairs and mumbles something about appointment only and how he thought I was going to call to discuss the car at 2pm? 

I was a tad boggled by this, I explained I was here for his 2pm appointment! And that like most normal people I would expect to see the car possibly test drive it and maybe make an offer. I didn't want to discuss it especially if I cannot physically see it, I wonder if he was confusing car sales with computer dating or something?

I left at that point as I was getting a very off feeling about the whole thing!

Car buying at the lower end of the market is fun isn't it!

 

 

Fronting someone elses cars would be my guess. 

I remember a guy I used to work with, proper jack the lad, always looking to make a few quid on the side, tried to sell a fiesta to another guy in work that he'd seen advertised on the "in house" notice board. 

It was all going well until the pointer asked him what colour it was which was the only thing not put in the advert " ummmmmm red I think" was Jack the lads reply to which the punter said " ah sod that I hate red cars, they always fade". Not wishing to lose the sale he says " oh sorry, it's white, my daughter's one is red, I got her one as well they're such good cars", punter replies " nah you're alright Kev, there's one on the noticeboard for £100 less than you want but I hate white cars even more than red" 🤣🤣🤣🤣.

I always find "viewing by appointment only" means they either don't own the car or it's not quite as described for whatever reason, won't start from cold, body damage etc etc. 

I get if you're a trader you'll sometimes advertise cars before they're quite ready for sale as it's your livelihood to keep stock moving but in my experience the decent ones will be honest with you about it and say it needs xyz.

The bullshitters just want to meet you in the dark, nowhere near where they live, follow them round for about 40 minutes into a shit part of town to try and get you into a car you don't really want but as you're there now, you might as well buy it kind of thing. 

I can remember being fucked about so much one night going to look at an rs turbo for my mate with a chancer we met at 8pm  through the free ads.

It was getting onto about 10pm, we'd driven about 20 miles here and there following this prick and we still hadn't seen the car, which clearly didn't exist.

Flashed him over and asked wtf was going on and he started making a load more excuses so we just fucked him off and wrote it off to experience. 

[Lord Sterling]

Similar type of thing happened with me last year when I was in the market for a Jag.

I spotted this R-reg X300 3.2 down just north of the M25 (Hatfield area iirc) again, driveway type of trader. I like the look of the car and have a chat over messages about the car. I inform the seller of when I'll be coming down and book the tickets (£35 one way) when the day arrives, I keep him informed, yet I get no response... so I'm feeling a tad uneasy about this, I feel like I won't be seeing this car, so I start searching again for another and spot a nice red X308 in which I eventually have a chat with @Captain Slow about. Just then as I arrive in Oxford, the seller of the X300 informs me that he's ill and won't be around today. So I get off the train at Oxford and wait for the next one heading back up to the Midlands.

I speak to the seller of the red X308 and arrange a viewing the next week. The seller of the X300 informs me that he'd happily pay me back my train fare which was never forthcoming. I put it down to experience. It was a nice day for a little train ride if that.

[Marina door handles]

As its Saturday night I thought I would trawl my mental archive for some random car buying occurrences from the past.

About 2 years ago I was on the hunt for an emergency car as my Forester had broken..... again.

I went to look at a boring Ford Focus in a small sales lot in Stoke, the car didn't seem too rough apart from a slightly knackered  parcel shelf, yes this time not only had I  actually seen the car but a test drive was on the cards.... I hopped in as the salesman moved another car out of the way. I dipped the clutch fired up the motor, put it in neutral. Took my foot off the clutch and thought, that doesn't feel right. Went to depress he clutch again but the pedal was still on the floor.........

I explained to the salesman what just happened and he told me "you must have pushed the pedal in too far! Just flick it back up with your toes". I was mildly stunned by his stupidity/optimism.......

 

[lesapandre]

With your trader - me I'd just walk away - we don't need to work out what oddities are in other people's heads. Leave them to it. 

Good lesson -  if something, anything, doesn't feel right at the beginning - trust your instinct and stop. Always the best way.*

Plenty more cars out there.

*I learnt this on the hard anvil of bitter experience...

[Split_Pin]

I've just realised it's been nearly 3 years since I bought a car from outside AS, and I've bought at least 6 or 7 in that time!

[maxxo]

Oh excellent

i can tell the story of BT04 VFA I believe the reg was

it was a 220k mile C5 automatic I had interest in buying (Christ knows why)

anyway went through the usual 

“yeh yeh bro man be round den dw” was his response when I asked if it would be possible to view the vehicle at 11am

so I turned up to a sinkhole estate in Middlesbrough, think shameless on steroids that sort of thing

i had intentions of driving it away so got the bus, with £900 in my wallet, excellent idea I must say

after he turned up, saying I should have rang him I ended up having to wait another hour while he disappeared to go and get it

sure enough, he turned up in the car

i use the term car loosely, more like a pile of scrap on wheels

so where do I start

4 bald tyres with cords showing

Every panel dented

gearbox in limp mode

eml on

abs light on

airbag light on

no fuel in it

windscreen cracked

both door mirrors held on with tape

3 broken door handles inside

blue seats were brown with filth

it was making the unmistakable noise of a knackered crank pulley

the seller was extremely dodgy, spent the whole time I was there smoking weed 

i decided not to buy the car, surprisingly 

[Marina door handles]

1 hour ago, maxxo said:

Oh excellent

i can tell the story of BT04 VFA I believe the reg was

it was a 220k mile C5 automatic I had interest in buying (Christ knows why)

anyway went through the usual 

“yeh yeh bro man be round den dw” was his response when I asked if it would be possible to view the vehicle at 11am

so I turned up to a sinkhole estate in Middlesbrough, think shameless on steroids that sort of thing

i had intentions of driving it away so got the bus, with £900 in my wallet, excellent idea I must say

after he turned up, saying I should have rang him I ended up having to wait another hour while he disappeared to go and get it

sure enough, he turned up in the car

i use the term car loosely, more like a pile of scrap on wheels

so where do I start

4 bald tyres with cords showing

Every panel dented

gearbox in limp mode

eml on

abs light on

airbag light on

no fuel in it

windscreen cracked

both door mirrors held on with tape

3 broken door handles inside

blue seats were brown with filth

it was making the unmistakable noise of a knackered crank pulley

the seller was extremely dodgy, spent the whole time I was there smoking weed 

i decided not to buy the car, surprisingly 

At least you got to see the motor!