BHM

MODERATOR, please move this to mumsnet.

So he’ll have about £3900 in it assuming there are no repairs or prep costs I work for that if I’ve had a car in stock 3 or 4 months but if that’s the sort of margin some think they can work for then it’s no wonder I buy very little from the block.

That’s clearly an arsehole tester.

Whenever I’ve came across a very very low mileage car (admittedly rarely & at today’s prices, never) I’ve found them to be unserviced, drive like a sack of shit & clearly uncared for - usually with a Hyundai badge on the front, I think the punters were greedy (who’d of thought that!!) The only decent low milers I ever did were them horrible CityRovers. Don’t laugh but they got so cheap at the block, no one in the trade wanted them but the punters loved them (and they were nice pleasant punters too) - I don’t think I ever had one in stock for more than a week.

Haha, I’m sure that offer’s coming.

It’s the first time someone has ever been prepared to pay for one, I think usually punters say it to call our bluff. I have no objection although next time (if ever) I’ll insist I get a copy of the report. Tbh the car is a heap of shit & is being sold as such with a short list of trivial faults & a few lumps & bumps - it’s half-price and its faults are all there in black & white but the greedy ebayer clearly didn’t read beyond the first line and, as ever with greedy people, they only focus on the price. I’m happy to have helped a thicko waste £120 of his own money inspecting a defective car. Who the f*** in their right mind pays £120 to inspect a scruffy 10yr old Peugeot?

Very very true, I’ll use that the next time a punter is trying it on. I’ve a couple of cars with recent cambelts, tyres & clutches etc. and after quizzing me about them a punter tried to chip me £500! I nearly choked!! So I offered to reinstall the old clutch & the worn out tyres. He then proceeded to pull out his phone to show me a Facebook advert - you couldn’t even see the registration no. of the car, never mind the lack of information regarding service history etc. “F***ing Facebook” I cried! “Go on, fill yer boots!!”.

An offer to unwind the contract that cuts absolutely no ice with a judge if the customer doesn’t want to. I know of two traders who’s defence was based on “I’ve offered a full refund but it was rejected”. Both got the same brush off & ended up paying out handsomely for a list of absolute trivial items but both were fussy & adversarial customers. You are correct about calling a punter’s bluff, tbh a simple “f.o., stop extracting the urine” often suffices Of course, as always if you smell a difficult punter don’t sell to them in the first place.

No, you have absolutely no right to instruct a retail customer to terminate/reverse the contract.

I’ve often wondered that myself. I told a greedy punter last week (asking why they existed as I thought they’re Mickey Mouse) that it was to get a couple of quid from gullible punters at the supermarket. He didn’t seem impressed & although I’m still awaiting him phoning me the car he was attempting to barter on has gone. Perhaps Parker’s has supplied him with one!!!!!

Don’t you have trade plates?

Sorry but I’m going to sound argumentative here but this job is about two things - the CARS & the PUNTERS - and if either one of them is shite then you’ve potential for a problem. To my mind the paperwork is just a side show. Yes, if you want the best defence on the very rare occasion you may be taken to court then make sure you’ve done as much paperwork as possible. This forum seems to be half full of traders thinking getting dragged to court would be a regular occurrence without a paperwork trail. It’s not. Simply get your cars right, don’t promise the earth & chase away the arsehole punters and your business should be fine. Just my two penneth worth & I know many will disagree.

Contrary to Arfur my interpretation of this (after my day in court) was that the judge CLEARLY was only interested in how the vehicle was advertised. As an example, if your advert does not mention faults but your subsequent receipt/PDI/discussion does then it makes little difference because, in the first instance, you misled a retail consumer with your advert. Say you’ve given a punter a big discount to get a ‘sticky’ car away, got them to sign a spares or repair invoice “trailered away”, it counts for nowt unless this matches the original advertisement. This is based on my 1 experience of being taken to court but I can assure anyone that THE JUDGE WAS ONLY INTERESTED IN THE ADVERTISEMENT. To him, any differences marked on the invoice had no bearing on the contract, only to point out my failings in trying to remove a consumer’s rights. Separate to this, with regards to small items which wouldn’t render the vehicle unfit for purpose (such as A/C not working) my understanding is that if the items are not on the advert then they are not deemed part of the sale. So in the case of a car with faulty A/C you should either write “A/C not working” or simply make no reference to A/C. I’m sure some of you will disagree with these two paragraphs but the first is based on my one day in court years ago & second paragraph after I spoke to a Trading Standards dept.

Cos when she sees you she thinks “here’s that punter that’s always trying to get something for nowt”

Really!?!! I think you mean 124.9p Asda 118.9p pl today.

You must have the patience of a saint. I mentally cannot tolerate greedy fussy buyers with over ambitious expectations so as they say on Dragon’s Den, I’m out! Don’t waste your time - the greedy thicko punters see only one thing (the price). I’ve just sold a 4x4 double cab Ranger that came in for pennies, I clearly advertised it as battered & bruised but I MOTed & serviced it then priced it at the bottom end of the market at 2.5K. The phone was red hot for over a week with absolute f***ing morons thinking I was selling a new truck. The fact my adverts all clearly state “No texts” is no deterrent to idiots who can’t afford a phone call. Honestly Arfur, if you saw some of the emails with offers & ridiculous questions you’d be embarrassed by how stupid & greedy our fellow man is!!

God knows, we need to be inside the mind of the tester to answer this. Yep, some looking for work, some covering their arses and some fussy failed spiteful mechanics.

Well, the mechanic turned up & to be fair he appeared to be very thorough & went through just about everything on the car (the punter had paid £120 for the best inspection). Unfortunately I don’t get a copy of the inspection but he told me what he’d written (no doubt with a few issues added) so I guess I’ll be none the wiser unless the punter chooses to contact me. Now I’ve never had a claim under Manheim Surecheck but he said when things ‘go wrong’ on an assured car, if the assessors decide to repair it’s clickmechanic.com’s mechanics that execute the repairs.

Here’s what to say; ”Hello Mr. XXXXX, Sorry but you are mistaken, the warranty was for 6 months, it’s on your paperwork. I’m afraid I cannot help you, it’s your car & you are responsible for it. Thanks & goodbye” The end.

Sorry, no. It’s was down to 113.9ppl in Asda today.

She sounds a right cow & fancy that, a fussy VW buyer

WRONG. You have to prove the fault wasn’t there at the point of sale - very different. Whether or not you refund is up to you but in theory all they have to allege is a specified fault & reject. The best thing I’ve found is to f*** them off - it works 99% of the time.

Correct. If you don’t want the slim chance of ending up before the judge then do not retail anything to retail consumers.

As with any small car the only way to sell it is sell it f***ing cheap. There’s no way I’d want a forecourt full of 10year old C1/107/Aygos priced at £1999 and dealing with young punters & parents messing about & sweating over a bumper graze. What I do not understand is WHY ON EARTH DO ALL OF THESE SMALL CAR LOONS EXPECT A DISCOUNT BECAUSE THEY CAN’T AFFORD THEIR INSURANCE!?!!!! Why don’t they ask the insurers for a discount instead???? 6 months ago ‘my’ mechanic had a relatives battered Aygo for sale, 86K, drove lovely but a mark/ripple/dimple on every panel. He sells the odd 1 or 2 by word of mouth but was sick of the sight of it!!! “Give me £450 for it, that gets me a drink & covers my relatives bill that he can’t afford”. Anyhow two hours later it was back at my place, photoed as it was, advertised at £999 “Plenty of marks - all for free”. My phone nearly melted but even at £999 the first punter was umming & ahhhing and wanted to come back with his daughter - I refused his test drive on the grounds he wasn’t buying now (this nutter thought I’d hold it until his daughter meandered along “sometime today or tomorrow”). 20 minutes later it sold but that’s the only way with them small car/small pocket punters - sell cheap, sell fast & get the greedy bastards off the premises! I have no idea how you lads who sell small cars retain your sanity.

See TRADEX’s posting “Are Golf owners wired differently?”