I need your help please!
I have been "advising" a friend on a car purchase. I found one particular car which was 1 mile from where she lived and a price (on autotrader) at least £1.5K less than everything else advertised.
Long story short - she's looked at it and fallen in love with it and wants to pay a £1K deposit tomorrow! (20%).
BUT!!! The guy took the car to a car park for her to view, it's got a Northern Ireland reg, he says it belongs to his Dad in Northern Ireland, not him, she didn't see any documentation. I've found out where the car and the guy lives but for some reason I've got alarm bells ringing.
I'll try and call the supplying dealer tomorrow (it's 4 years old) but I'm not sure what that will prove.
I've told her to be careful but short of seeing the V5 is this a "walk away" from job?
Thanks!
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Sounds fishy to me!
Before paying anything over (including a deposit) i'd want to see some proof of ownership, proof of where he lives and a full HPI check.
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walk away, Everything about this sounds fishy.
Not his car, viewed only in a car park, no documents seen, too cheap, every alarm bell in the book is ringing here.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Be *very* careful. Someone I know bought a car in very similar circumstances - turned out to be stolen. Number plate had been switched, log book tampered with etc. So even if you see the V5 (or NI equivalent), you still might be in trouble.
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Number one rule of the majority of deals in life-if you have doubts, forget about it.
This has dodgy written all over it-for crying out loud, why take the risk? Just to save £1.5k, when you're already paying out £5K? I wouldn't do the deal, on the basis of what you have posted.
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Number one rule of the majority of deals in life-if you have doubts, forget about it. This has dodgy written all over it-for crying out loud, why take the risk? Just to save £1.5k, when you're already paying out £5K? I wouldn't do the deal, on the basis of what you have posted.
Completely agree. Wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. That sort of money's not worth throwing away on a vehicle which may be stolen, or have outstanding finance etc etc. Keep looking out for deals, I'm sure you'll find some less shady cars for a similar price.
Run away fast.
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We are taught to repress our instincts in the west, but you should learn to trust them, the sixth sense should be nurtured.
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I was looking for a similar car myself (Honda CRV) a couple of months ago and saw this one on Autotrader. I sort of dismissed it but when my friend suddenly needed a replacement car I found this was still available and as it was local, mentioned it.
If I (she) did an HPI check, I assume this is not foolproof but would be worth the £40?
I'm having difficulty getting her to walk away now and there is a chance it could be genuine?
I could post the link to the ad if that's allowed?
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Actually, rereading your posts your unanimous message isn't too ambiguous....jeez, I'm even trying to talk myself into this car...
I'll let her know....thanks guys!
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"Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread"
Read 'Component part's post again,and memorise it.It will serve well.
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If I (she) did an HPI check, I assume this is not foolproof but would be worth the £40?
Car could be cloned so it has taken on the identity of a genuine vehicle so the HPI would show clear. The actual vehicle could be stolen, damaged, on finance or even all three!
I can't see why you can't post the link to the ad - let us have a look and then we'll really convince you not to buy it. I bet there is only a mobile contact number!
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Is it a trade sale? If not, always buy at the seller's house. A private sale in a car park? No documentation? Run away ... very far indeed.
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i wouldnt buy it ......on the terms as stated....
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I think she'd be absolutely mad to touch it, it sounds very dodgy from what you have said. Walk away and look for a better deal, theres always one out there somewhere.
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Sounds really dodgy to me, I was going to view a BMW at the weekend (I never mentioned this particular one in my thread) I rang the seller up (and apparently woke him) and the first thing he told me was that his already fairly low price was negotiable as he wanted to sell it quickly, then he gave me the address but told me to ring him when I was nearly there so he could be sure he was the address was actually his mum's.
I never found out if the car was genuine, as soon as I put the phone down I realised that every alarm bell in my head was ringing and my gut just didn't feel right, I rang back a minute later with some sort of excuse and went and bought one from a trader who lived in a nice house local to me instead, both him and his son who I eventually bought the car off were very good at putting me at ease and my gut felt fine throughout.
Moral of the story is simply to re-iterate what others have said, if your gut doesn't feel right then there is normally something fishy going on!
Blue
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And another thing! If this car is so keenly priced, why's it still for sale a couple of months later??!
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"I can't see why you can't post the link to the ad - let us have a look and then we'll really convince you not to buy it. I bet there is only a mobile contact number!"
Please don't post the link to the ad... unless of course you are also going to get the seller to register and have his right to reply?
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Walk away, Irish plates car parks I would not buy a box of matches this way never mind a car and do not trust a hpi check in this situation .
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If you do your homework properly and everything checks out ok, you could have a bargain.
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>>If you do your homework properly and everything checks out ok, you could have a bargain.>>
The two words in that sentence that sum it all up are "If" and "could".
There are many thousands of used cars on sale at any given time, so why take unnecessary risks with dubious sellers who work on the basis of one being born every minute?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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In reply to stuartli
Correct
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I bought a Peugeot 106 on NI plates for oldest son and it was £500 less than anything comparable. It was, however, a dealer with premises who had been in business for >5 years and who passed all theusual tests and had no fast sales patter. It is still going strong 50k miles later.
But the one described I would not touch. No fixed address .No comeback. No documentation. As far as I am concerned it would fail the first hurdles and I would not consider it: too risky.
And as Stuart says: "why bother?"
If the seller can't even get the basics of selling right (lazy sod who can't be ####'d imo) then what else will be wrong? Answer: probably lots.
madf
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I only buy cars from:
Established trader with premises
or
A person whose name and address matches the details on the V5.
Missing / incorrect / lost / "with a mate" paperwork or public meeting places = walk away.
No exceptions. Most mass produced cars are common enough that you can afford to be picky, and it's better to miss a bargain than line a thieving toerag's pockets.
Cheers
DP
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Keep away. There's no good reason, from what we've heard, to trust the car is genuine and plenty cause to have doubts.
If its genuine, why isn't it selling at the price? If its not, you risk losing the car if its stolen or has outstanding finance - or at the very least you face considerable hassle to put matters right. Why gamble?
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Update. She has walked.
Although I did sort of get told off for the "meeting in a car park bit".....apparently that was by mutual consent for some reason. But after the responses here, the aggravation trying to find who actually owned it and whether they'd authorised it for sale, the absence of paperwork (although my friend didn't ask to see it, I would have expected it to be there) it wasn't looking good, she conceded.
Plus although an HPI check came back clean the fact that this car was £1500 cheaper than the next closest and £2.5K less than the second closest spec....
I think she's off to a dealer next. Thanks for your input and I'll think twice next time about providing "helpful" advice :)
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was probably best to have walked away.......an HPI check is no good if the registration number is cloned..
by that i mean the car to which the registration number relates to might be legitimate, but if the made up plates are on a stolen car (ringer) then you are buying a stolen car with plates on it that relate to a decent one,...... that you've just paid £40 to check........ & somewhere else will be the real one.
The only sure way is to check physically the engine and chassis numbers and if necessary get right down under the car or into the engine bay, to ensure the numbers haven't been welded in from a wreck,(thereby hiding a stolen car's true identity).
If you buy something stolen, the original owner (or insurance company if they take on ownership after a payout) still own it, now matter what innocence you prove.
any decent seller won't mind you attending their home, you'd expect to see a number of bills etc to go with the car, old MOt's, previous garage documents maybe, when they purchased it etc, etc.
if in doubt take a mechanic ask them to check thoroughly for the chassis number (in more than one place)and then ring the old bill and say that you're concerned you might be about to buy a dodgy motor...(and why e.g. car park sale)...explain that you're not after info from the Police National Computer (which would have them fall foul of the Data Protection Act) but just to make sure the vehicle is not stolen (thereby preventing crime).
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