Selling an old car

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Mon 31 Jan 2005 11:59
Selling an old car - holly1
Desperately need to sell our 1983 mini, but heard so many horror stories recently about private sales going wrong I'm really worried.

Been several cases recently where sellers have given their address to potential buyers, only to find they dont turn up at the arranged time .... but turn up at a later date to just take the car (or any other sitting on the drive for that matter).

Got me really worried. Don't like the idea of giving my address to strangers, but cannot drive the car to them as its currently SORN (and the carb needs looking at).

Tried advertising through the local club, but its only members who get to see the ads. Considered the auctions but not too sure what to do there.

Thanks
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Mon 31 Jan 2005 12:30
Selling an old car - stokie
You'll certainly sell it at the auction as long as you don't set too high a reserve.

You'll be asked to fill out a form stating any defects, maybe say 'needs carb tune'.

Also opt for 'sold as seen' which means the buyer doesn't get an hour after the sale to reject the car.

Also give it a good clean and polish, surprising how that sways people to bid. Good luck.

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Mon 31 Jan 2005 12:50
Selling an old car - Truckosaurus
Not wishing to be harsh to the original poster, especially being the owner of an old Mini myself, but not many fraudsters will be in the market for a twenty year old Mini. Especially when they could probably steal it with a bent paper clip. :-)

An advert in the local paper is probably the way to sell such a car.
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Mon 31 Jan 2005 16:08
Selling an old car - VTiredeyes
ebay
local newspaper
bargin pages
fish4cars.co.uk

dont be worried about someone stealing it.
i have left a car open for 2 weeks in an open car park whilst on holiday. it never got pinched. toyota landcruiser woth about 31 grand.

if a thief really wants your car, they would have it.
if you can hold on to it, i would say spring time on ebay for someone, would be good timing.

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Mon 31 Jan 2005 16:31
Selling an old car - GrahamF1
How much are you looking for Daisy?
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Mon 31 Jan 2005 17:50
Selling an old car - StevieC
At the risk of asking a silly question, Have u tried the classifieds on here? I would say most of the readers here are probably mature honst peeps...........apart from me of course...Where did u say u live, what time do u go to work?
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Mon 31 Jan 2005 20:56
Selling an old car - Hugo {P}
Daisy

What do you want to get for the car? Do you want to get as much as you possibly can or just move it on for a few quid and get shot?

Decide the minimum you would allow it to go for, add a tenner to pay for costs and stick it on e bay with the starting bid at that figure.

Be totally comprehensive about its known condition, take plenty of photos, give the auction 10 days, be sure to state Cash on collection only etc. And above all, make it clear that you will not entertain any other form of payment. There are a lot of western union type scams going on, but if you're picky about cash they won't bother you.

My advice would be to ask for a non refundable deposit within 3 days of the auction ending and the balance and collection of the car within 7 days. All payments cash and make sure you've got a bloke with you when they come. I don't wish to sound sexist but you will feel less vulnerable. Genuine people will abide by that without grumbling.

You'll hopefully get a lot of interest from mini enthusiasts and the like and may get a good price. I was prepared to scrap my old van with a transmission fault, that sold on E Bay for £290!

Hugo
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Mon 31 Jan 2005 21:13
Selling an old car - mfarrow
Have you got a garage?

When the seller rings up wanting your address don't forget to mention that the cars in good nick considering its age and is garage stored at the moment. If it's a genuine buyer, they don't need to see in the garage!

... but it will put off most theives it they know there's garage security to get past too.
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Mon 31 Jan 2005 22:58
Selling an old car - frazerjp
I think ya best bet Daisy would be ebay!! There are loads of minis on their & loads of enthusiasts will b lookin through everday. Go on go for it!!!!!
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Tue 1 Feb 2005 08:21
Selling an old car - holly1
Was hoping to get £300 for him, that would cover what we paid and the bits we have done. Local papers were a waste of time, cost £12 and all we got were nutters asking if anyone had "done it" in the car .... don't know anyone who has been sucessful in selling through our local papers. Probably check out Ebay, mini mags are a good month behind so it would be March at the earliest before the ad appeared. He aint in wonderful condition, but he does have an MOT so suppose thats a bit of a bonus.
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Tue 1 Feb 2005 09:28
Selling an old car - nick
Go for eBay - start at £1 with no reserve, you'll get more bids than if you start at £300. You could well get more than you think. People love to think they're getting a bargain. Do a 7 day auction and start/end it in the daytime on a sunday - lots of bidders at home getting carried away. As for value, don't think a car is worth what you paid for it plus any money you've spent on it. It's worth what the punter will pay on the day.
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Wed 2 Feb 2005 21:49
Selling an old car - Chris M
Advertised the wife's Uno at the weekend in one of the Loot type papers, i.e. free to advertise, but punters have to pay for the paper. It's a 1.4ieS, 94M with 73,000 miles and in pretty good nick and nearly a years MoT. I asked £400 which seemed a fair price to me. It's group 5 insurance so probably wouldn't appeal to young drivers.
Anyway, got a call on Saturday, chap came to view with mate 'who knew about cars', agreed £375 and off they went. Result! Have had 5 other calls since. It amazed me as I really didn't think the market in 10 year old Unos was that strong.

Chris M
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