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Car Selling Advice And Help


Anees
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Hi guys,

As many of you know I recently got a Lexus RX300 for my mum. I have been trying to sell her old Yaris on eBay and Autotrader for the past couple of weeks.

Someone came to look at the car on Thursday and then brought a mechanic with them on Friday. Turned out the mechanic knew my dad from years back. Anyway they podded and poked the car and couldn't find anything wrong. We agreed £2150 for the car and shook on it! The buyer was supposed to come yesterday (Monday) to collect the car.

On the way home from work, I did get a call from a lady called Elga from Devon.I told her the car was sold (expecting it had been picked up) but said I would get back to her in case anything changed.

I got home at almost 7pm from work and was surprised the car was still there. I had text the buyer at lunch time so he knew he could collect the car anytime after 4.30pm, when my dad is at home. Told him my dad was expecting him and had all the paper work.

So I rang him twice and left him a message yesterday and have not got anything back......... :unsure:

Anyway, I checked my emails and had one from the lady called Elga.

Hello,

I have seen your car on ebay and it looks realy nice. Are there any hidden problems with it?

I would like to buy the car the problem is the distance. It is very difficult for me to collect it and I was wondering if you got a solution to that. I am living in Devon about 20 miles from Exeter. When you would deliver I can pay you cash upon delivery. Please let me know.

Regards Elga

I rang a mate of mine that works in bodywork/car repairs and he said to get the car tailored down to Devon (around 350 + miles) its going to be £350 - £400 minimum. So I looked at driving the car down to Devon and then getting the train back. Email below.

Hi Elga,

I think you rang me today about the Yaris and I told you it was sold? The buyer was supposed to be picking up the car today, but the buyer has not turned up, so I will give them until tomorrow to contact me otherwise it is back up for sale!

I will be 100% honest with you, the car has no faults or hidden problems to the best of my knowledge. It has been Hpi checked and has no recorded accidents, finance and the mileage is genuine. I can bring the car down to you if you really can not travel up to me, but to make it worth the effort, I would need a good sized deposit non-refundable (at least £500 with the rest payable on delivery). I don't want to drive 4 hours and then find that you have changed your mind. It would be better if we could meet half-way (say Birmingham).

I have found out that if you would like the car tailored and delivered on a low loader it would cost around £350 - £400 (approx 350 miles). I can drive the car myself and will only charge £220. The is for my time, fuel and the cost of a train ticket back home! (The train ticket is £123!) If you can travel half-way to say Birmingham then I would charge only £120 (train ticket is £60) and the rest would be fuel and my time.

Please let me know.

Thanks,

Anees

I got a phonecall at almost 11pm from a landline number, but I was asleep due to an early start today (it was her number) so missed it.

I also got this email today:

I found out that your email adress is not the same as this one.So just to avoid mistakes I write the same message. Yes I would like to buy your car. Would you accept £ 2500 ?

We could meet at the service station on the M5 at

Exeter. I can than take you to the trainstation.

How can I give you your deposit of £ 500,?Please let me know? My phone number is **** ******** Hope to hear from you soon. Regards Elga

So she is offering me £2500 if I deliver the car, which is more then the original buyer. :D

I have replied with the following email:

Hi Elga,

Hope you are well.

I just need to give the original buyer of the car a chance to get back to me. They have until 6pm today, otherwise the car is yours. I shall ring you in the evening to go through things. Sorry I missed your call last night at 10.50pm - I had a early start for work so was asleep!

You are welcome to paypal me (****@*****.com) the £500 deposit.

I would prefer to meet you at your closest NatWest bank if thats convenient? We can meet in town, you can check the car and then we can go straight to the bank and put the money into my account. I am uneasy carrying a large amount of money back home on the train with me so this would be the safest option. I hope that is ok with you?

Could you let me know the name of your closest train station and your closest NatWest bank? Thanks :)

Do you want any close up pictures of any parts of the car too? I can take you some when I get home tonight?

Take Care,

Anees

This is her eBay profile:

http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...mp;myworld=true

The problem is that for some reason I am a bit uneasy. This may sound silly but she seems a bit too eager and on a serious note, someone on the Aristo forum was attacked by four people that had come to buy something from him through eBay. It just makes you weary. Also, being really silly now the name Elga keeps making me think scam, not sure why!

Once I get the PayPal deposit I am also aware that it could be reversed too.

Any tips or suggestions. Have I handled the situation properly so far?

Thanks,

Anees

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Judging by the eBay feedback on what she's bought, she has bugger all fashion sense lol!

I would feel the same as you I think. Think rationally - would you ever agree to buy a car for £2500 that you had never seen? Also, aren't there any Yaris's for sale in the south? Why buy one from Manchester?

Hmm, mesmells a rat somewhere. I would certainly decline her offer of a lift to the trainstation if you did meet her on the M5!

I think you've handled it right although for the cost of a train ticket I'd pay a friend to drive down in another car with you to bring you back.

It's a tough one to call by the sounds of it - keep us posted with what happens.

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Anees, take a deposit cheque £500 and wait for it to clear, or take a direct bacs transfer to your bank

(or into a seperate account with little money in it), and withdraw the money right away.

Then arrange to deliver the car, and take a mate or two with you for safety :winky:

If she genuinely wants the car, she will happily do it. Otherwise I would walk away mate.

btw check her feedback in 2002 !!! :o

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My gut feeling - somethings iffy about this - and I wouldnt take the risk.

Most normal people are eager to ensure they know the address of where the car was purchased - to ensure all the ppwk matches up etc. Its the number one thing to consider when buying a car - so for her to be too eager to buy a car several hundred miles away that she hasnt seen and isnt exactly a special or rare car - doesnt make sense. Rather than pay you to deliver etc - would make more sense for her to come to come to you on the train and drive back....not the other way around.

Best case - you sell the car to her - but its taken a good day of your time and the risk in driving all that way.

Worst case - You get attacked, car nicked and you end up in a Hospital in Exeter.

Its not worth it - someone locally will buy the car - think I'd be willing to wait - For a couple of hundred quid its just not worth the risk and effort.

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Mate. Sounds a little strange maybe. But could easily be genuine. Some people are a little odd and you may just be paranoid? If the deposit clears OK, then would seem genuine then.

In case you did wanna know, Exeter Central Station is 2-3min walk from Nat West in the High Street. I'm in central Exeter, will happily come along if ya fancy any backup?

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Phew.................glad it wasn't just me being paroniod!! :D

When she first rang me, she did sound like an eccentric and a bit loopy. It will probably be that I am getting worried about a little old lady into strange fashion beating me up but you never know :o

I was planning on getting someone to come with me in another car as extra backup anyway (and I could't face the 7 hour train journey back home!)

The Yaris is actaully a Yaris Verso and they only have 69 listed on Autotrader (its because its the height of cool this car :P..... its the new celeb Prius) My mums is the third cheapest on Autotrader and has much lower mileage then the two cheaper cars:

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/c...3/search.action

so the low price and relative rarity does explain why she has looked further afield.

@WileCoyote - I do have here landline number, starts 01647 and her email address is an aol.com address.

@Wozza - I like your idea of a BACS transfer, that way I can't be screwed over by PayPal.

Hmm....... will ring this original buyer at lunchtime today and try and see where I stand

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@WileCoyote - I do have here landline number, starts 01647 and her email address is an aol.com address.

This number is on the Moretonhampstead exchange and covers several villages/areas on the outskirts of exeter, such as Chagford, Cheriton Bishop, Christow, Tedburn St Mary.

(Local knowledge!)

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Normally I'd say give it a chance, but I've actually heard this story so many times that I don't believe that there can be that many people that genuinely say the same thing.

Personally I'd walk away, but if you feel like giving it a go, make sure you take some muscle :)

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This is a direct copy and paste from an email I had on 13/9/08 about my car which was advertised on a few websites:

am interesting in buying your lovly Car,and what is the lastprice??and

also tell me the present condition.i will like to let you know that i will

be needing the car urgently for my business partner before next month.I

will like to see some of the pictures of it so as to send them to him if he

loves the car. ok if its still for sale let me know.

Best Regards.

frank.

edit - the guys name is frank ikekwem - hmm, kosher? Methinks not!

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This is a direct copy and paste from an email I had on 13/9/08 about my car which was advertised on a few websites:

am interesting in buying your lovly Car,and what is the lastprice??and

also tell me the present condition.i will like to let you know that i will

be needing the car urgently for my business partner before next month.I

will like to see some of the pictures of it so as to send them to him if he

loves the car. ok if its still for sale let me know.

Best Regards.

frank.

edit - the guys name is frank ikekwem - hmm, kosher? Methinks not!

He he...... I get at least one like that a day mate, but they are obviously cons, this one seems more borderline....

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:tsktsk: Just rang the original buyer twice, and the first time the phone rang once and then went straight to answerphone. The second time, it just rang through to answerphone :tsktsk:

Looks like someone is ignoring my calls................... :whistling:

EDIT:

Just put Elga's number on google and this is the only hit, not sure what to make of it:

http://www.phonespamfilter.co.uk/phones.php/01647433

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This is a direct copy and paste from an email I had on 13/9/08 about my car which was advertised on a few websites:

am interesting in buying your lovly Car,and what is the lastprice??and

also tell me the present condition.i will like to let you know that i will

be needing the car urgently for my business partner before next month.I

will like to see some of the pictures of it so as to send them to him if he

loves the car. ok if its still for sale let me know.

Best Regards.

frank.

edit - the guys name is frank ikekwem - hmm, kosher? Methinks not!

He he...... I get at least one like that a day mate, but they are obviously cons, this one seems more borderline....

I know, one could almost be convinced this one is genuine - justa slightly mad woman who dresses like, well, like we assume she does lol who wants a cheap Verso. If she deposits £500 and you withdraw straight away when they're cleared, maybe it's worth the risk - just take a couple of friends in another car - a) for transport back and B) for safety. The good thing about meeting on a service station car park is that it's public and monitored by cctv - that would

go some way to easing my concerns if I were you. Just meet in the daylight right by the entrance or on the fuel station forecourt smack bang in front of a camera.

At one time I'd have said just definitely walk away as there's loads more buyers out there, but in the current climate having seen how hard it is to sell a car, I'm not so sure you'd be inundated with calls.

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I know, one could almost be convinced this one is genuine - justa slightly mad woman who dresses like, well, like we assume she does lol who wants a cheap Verso. If she deposits £500 and you withdraw straight away when they're cleared, maybe it's worth the risk - just take a couple of friends in another car - a) for transport back and B) for safety. The good thing about meeting on a service station car park is that it's public and monitored by cctv - that would

go some way to easing my concerns if I were you. Just meet in the daylight right by the entrance or on the fuel station forecourt smack bang in front of a camera.

At one time I'd have said just definitely walk away as there's loads more buyers out there, but in the current climate having seen how hard it is to sell a car, I'm not so sure you'd be inundated with calls.

That is so true, the current climate does make you consider any offers harder then before which is why you always think twice (if not three times!)

In my last email I did say that I would like a £500 deposit and that we meet in town by Natwest bank. I like Wozza's idea of a BACS transfer because at the end of the day in my first email I did state the deposit was non-refundable anyway and its much safer then PayPal for me.

The funny thing is the last few cars I have bought I have travelled all over the country and met people at places where if there was ill intent they could be thought of as slightly dodgy.

Lexus IS200 was from Exeter Train Station, BMW 330D was from Cardiff town centre, Aristo (well, to be fair was at the guys house so no danger really except it was dark), RX300 (Southend-on-Sea at 10pm) and carrying a bag full of cash..... :o But in all these cases I got a good feeling about the person I was dealing with and felt abit of mutial trust. I will ring tonight and see how she sounds on the phone. If I am not happy with the impression I get over the phone then I will just leave it and walk away.............

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Well me being cautious I would be a little bit wary, suggest an email / phone call back saying you are a little nervous driving that distance due to ( your age / disability / something else ) would she be happy meeting at the local Police Station ..................

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Right........... just got off the phone from Elga.

She comes across as a sweet little old lady to be honest. I asked her why she wanted the car and explained that I was a bit uneasy because of her over egarness. She said she is eager because her car has been written off and she is relying on her partner, so she can't wait for independence back.

She also said that she lives in a village where many people do not even lock there doors, and because I have very good eBay feedback and the advert is clear and I come across as genuine she is willing to trust me with a £500 non-refundable deposit. She knows in other areas (i.e Manchester) you can not be so free.

I have said I would prefer to meet in Exeter Town Centre by NatWest bank. She is going to deposit £500 cash into my bank account tomorrow, once I have checked the money has cleared then I am going to go down to meet her at NatWest Bank in Exeter.

She even told me about her son dieing in a motor accident so told me to drive slowly and be careful.............. :)

The phone call has reassured me quite a bit.

During the phonecall I was thinking "I wonder how much an IS-F would cost to insure with your post code!" :lol:

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During the phonecall I was thinking "I wonder how much an IS-F would cost to insure with your post code!" :lol:

Thinking of proposing and then moving in eh mate.... LMFAO! :lol:

Make sure you post up in the "how did you propose thread".... well it's started with my mums Yaris........... :lol:

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During the phonecall I was thinking "I wonder how much an IS-F would cost to insure with your post code!" :lol:

Thinking of proposing and then moving in eh mate.... LMFAO! :lol:

Make sure you post up in the "how did you propose thread".... well it's started with my mums Yaris........... :lol:

PMSL!! Not quite that desperate for an IS-F...........now a GT-R..........maybe.........:whistling:

Going to meet here:

http://www.viamichelin.com/b2b2c/gbr/dyn/c...=1&ie=utf-8

Natwest branch open 10am - 3pm on a Saturday. :D

Anees

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