Blunderbuss Posted October 16, 2010 Report Share Posted October 16, 2010 (edited) Just advertised a car on Autorader and within minutes had 5 people phoning and offering near asking price after scant questions about the car 2 said they were dealers, the others said not, but didn't sound like private buyers to me :blink: . All sounded, or clearly were from their names - Asian. All claimed to be in High Wycombe/Bucks area which is nowhere near me (must be 120 miles or more away). A couple asked if they showed me ID and paid cash, could they drive away there and then! Yeah right In hind sight, poss a mistake - but I've got one of them coming for a look see later. This seems a bit sus to me. I'm aware of the basic scams, fake bankers draft, bouncing cheque, fake cash, or asking for a test drive and leaving their keys as security then doing a runner. Is there anything else I should be aware of? I've said to this bloke he can leave a cash deposit, then come back during banking hours where he can come with me to pay cash into my bank. Anything else I should be wary of? Edited October 16, 2010 by Blunderbuss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gloker Posted October 16, 2010 Report Share Posted October 16, 2010 My advice would be~ trust your gut. If it feels dodgy, then it probably is. A genuine buyer wont mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted October 16, 2010 Report Share Posted October 16, 2010 (edited) I had loads of "english not their first language types" ring after advertising on autotrader and the first that saw it bought it cash. Good idea though to pay it in the bank before they take it. Edited October 16, 2010 by harrycatcat1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death from below Posted October 16, 2010 Report Share Posted October 16, 2010 Tell them you're concerns re scam artists and state that you don't mind them coming and picking it up for cash - be specific on a time to arrive as 'your mate who is a copper will be present with his cash marking kit to identify dodgy cash - if they are still happy to turn up then you're probably safe - never take any form of cheque no matter how genuine they seem - you'll also encounter (if you haven't already) the Nigerian 159 scammers (or its called something like that) where they offer to pay asking price or more to have the car shipped - I had one of these try it on when I was selling a motor and I gave it a run out of interest - a cheque for well over the asking price turned up from Africa although it belonged to Hertfordshire council (stolen batch of cheques). I sent him a rather outragious return e-mail telling him where he could shove his scam and that I had notified the police - funnily enough I never heard anything again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blunderbuss Posted October 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2010 Tell them you're concerns re scam artists and state that you don't mind them coming and picking it up for cash - be specific on a time to arrive as 'your mate who is a copper will be present with his cash marking kit to identify dodgy cash - if they are still happy to turn up then you're probably safe - never take any form of cheque no matter how genuine they seem - you'll also encounter (if you haven't already) the Nigerian 159 scammers (or its called something like that) where they offer to pay asking price or more to have the car shipped - I had one of these try it on when I was selling a motor and I gave it a run out of interest - a cheque for well over the asking price turned up from Africa although it belonged to Hertfordshire council (stolen batch of cheques). I sent him a rather outragious return e-mail telling him where he could shove his scam and that I had notified the police - funnily enough I never heard anything again. Yeah aware of the Nigerian scam. The suggestion about the copper/cash marking kit sounds good :blink: No sign of him yet, and it's getting dark so starting to doubt if he'll turn up, but then it is a long drive from "High Wycombe" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ME Posted October 16, 2010 Report Share Posted October 16, 2010 I have bought and sold a few cars in my time. I had two over the years that I was sure were scammers and werent. The first one was a guy from Malta that flew in from Malta, bought a £45000 car by bank transfer and drove it back to Malta (via Italy) Recently, the second was a lovely chap from Ireland. He flew in to Stansted, paid me for the car in cash and drove it back to Ireland without even looking round the car. As long as you get cleared funds, complete the V5 and keep proof of sale you are in the clear. I would insist on any large amounts of cash being paid over the bank counter as you suggested. Good luck with the sale :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun4860 Posted October 16, 2010 Report Share Posted October 16, 2010 I have bought and sold a few cars in my time. I had two over the years that I was sure were scammers and werent. The first one was a guy from Malta that flew in from Malta, bought a £45000 car by bank transfer and drove it back to Malta (via Italy) Recently, the second was a lovely chap from Ireland. He flew in to Stansted, paid me for the car in cash and drove it back to Ireland without even looking round the car. As long as you get cleared funds, complete the V5 and keep proof of sale you are in the clear. I would insist on any large amounts of cash being paid over the bank counter as you suggested. Good luck with the sale :blink: what the hell were you selling..... shaun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ME Posted October 16, 2010 Report Share Posted October 16, 2010 what the hell were you selling..... shaun SL55 AMG Mercedes My brother shipped it back to the UK and asked me to sell it for him. It was a complete money pit, he spent £10k keeping it on the road. For example a headlight bulb went and it cost £500. I had it for a few weeks and got it up to 150mph. It was an import so didnt have a speed limiter - my brother reckons he had it up to about 190mph somewhere in Spain. The guy that came over from Malta reckoned that it would sell for £100k+ over there. He was purely buying it to sell on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gloker Posted October 17, 2010 Report Share Posted October 17, 2010 Sold my ex police volvo t5 recently, to a *****! went for over the odds and he paid cash. was a right dodgy ****** and his entourage were all over the car like ants. (I did the deal at work but I was still uneasy) They were asking all sorts of stupid questions, "Can we have a spare blue light for the roof?" Got any batteries?" I think he gave me a made up name and address. (it was something groovy like granville or grenville) Cash was real though. (Bank opposite work accepted it all BEFORE I gave him keys.) "Do you not trust me fella?" "NO" He wanted twenty quid of the cash back 'for luck' told him to poke it. They drove off like they had just nicked it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
955i Posted October 17, 2010 Report Share Posted October 17, 2010 he spent £10k keeping it on the road. For example a headlight bulb went and it cost £500 Blimey, they saw him coming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utectok Posted October 17, 2010 Report Share Posted October 17, 2010 It's bussines I say it don't matter who buys ur car so long as the cash clears! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blunderbuss Posted October 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2010 (edited) It's bussines I say it don't matter who buys ur car so long as the cash clears! Very true......... He turned up, with his mate and their two sons. They were all in the security business (doors and building sites) and were a rough looking lot, deffo "duckers and divers" But, despite appearances, he was genuine enough and just wanted a nice car as a business run around. He knew didley squat about cars and went through the motions of kicking the tyres and looking at the docs. His haggling was useless and he offered near asking price and more than I was expecting to get He paid me £500 cash deposit and was willing to pay the whole lot but as the banks were shut I said no. So he's going to have to make another round trip of 250 miles to pay me the balance when they're open! He was OK with this and understood my reasons. So all in all a result, and I now feel a little tiny bit sheepish for jumping to conclusions about peoples motives Edited October 17, 2010 by Blunderbuss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gloker Posted October 17, 2010 Report Share Posted October 17, 2010 Dont feel bad. always best to trust your gut and as said before, a genuine buyer really wont mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiho Posted October 17, 2010 Report Share Posted October 17, 2010 dont use autotrader pistonheads is alot better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun4860 Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 SL55 AMG Mercedes My brother shipped it back to the UK and asked me to sell it for him. It was a complete money pit, he spent £10k keeping it on the road. For example a headlight bulb went and it cost £500. I had it for a few weeks and got it up to 150mph. It was an import so didnt have a speed limiter - my brother reckons he had it up to about 190mph somewhere in Spain. The guy that came over from Malta reckoned that it would sell for £100k+ over there. He was purely buying it to sell on. nice looking car though.... Shaun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death from below Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 SL55 AMG Mercedes My brother shipped it back to the UK and asked me to sell it for him. It was a complete money pit, he spent £10k keeping it on the road. For example a headlight bulb went and it cost £500. I had it for a few weeks and got it up to 150mph. It was an import so didnt have a speed limiter - my brother reckons he had it up to about 190mph somewhere in Spain. The guy that came over from Malta reckoned that it would sell for £100k+ over there. He was purely buying it to sell on. Now I know where you live I shall come around for tea and bikkies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluke2 Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 Just advertised a car on Autorader and within minutes had 5 people phoning and offering near asking price after scant questions about the car 2 said they were dealers, the others said not, but didn't sound like private buyers to me . All sounded, or clearly were from their names - Asian. All claimed to be in High Wycombe/Bucks area which is nowhere near me (must be 120 miles or more away). A couple asked if they showed me ID and paid cash, could they drive away there and then! Yeah right In hind sight, poss a mistake - but I've got one of them coming for a look see later. This seems a bit sus to me. I'm aware of the basic scams, fake bankers draft, bouncing cheque, fake cash, or asking for a test drive and leaving their keys as security then doing a runner. Is there anything else I should be aware of? I've said to this bloke he can leave a cash deposit, then come back during banking hours where he can come with me to pay cash into my bank. Anything else I should be wary of? Sold a vauxhall corsa two weeks ago for cash 5100 the guy came to the post office with me and let them run the money through their machine to check it so no probs,charged me 2 quid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.