EPV

No and they wouldn’t as they are told verbally and by email that the deposit is non refundable and is essentially my finders fee. If I find them the car and they change their mind i’ve done my bit.

The minute you mention payment they all go quiet. They seem to actually think you’re going to buy their ideal car for them to inspect and change their mind. I offer it just as a service but before I even open an internet page to look I spell out that it’s a £250 deposit followed by full payment once we’ve agreed that’s the car for them. Anyone seriously looking for a specific car wouldn’t shirk at that.

https://www.hpi.co.uk/content/diesel-news-the-future-of-diesel/hpi-euro-emission-standards-checker/

You could explain all this to mr customer and be open and honest with him. Perhaps if your margins allow, get the car delivered for him if he pays full whack and leaves a cash deposit with bank transfer for the rest? You can then get the car a ticket and pdi done and get him to sign and return a scanned copy. Like everyone you want a sale and life shouldn’t be this fucking hard but in a world where arse covering is mandatory you have to look out for number one. If he likes the car and you can agree terms where you deliver it for him and he’s serious he should be happy to meet you in the middle. I used to have third party warranties but now I run my own or in other words, stand by my obligations under the cra.

Horses for courses I think. My cheapest car at £5,350 I haven’t opened the door on in 35 days and I sold a £10k merc Estate in 2 days last week plus another £10k merc in 22 days earlier this year. There’s a market for £500 bangers and £500k super cars and everything in between.

The only problem I see here is you are potentially selling a car to someone that may need things doing. Unless of course you’ve done a pdi. As for being suspicious, believe it or not there are people out there who just want to buy a car and not fuck around. Especially if he was close to buying one before but lost it, he’s probably eager to make sure he gets this one. I think we get so many “just looking” types it seems alien when you find someone who just wants to actually buy a fucking car.

Sounds like bloody expensive cheap advertising to me! Nothing ventured etc...

Not at risk from whom? Who do you think is going to batter your door down at 6am on a Monday morning? You’re buying and selling. Fundamentally it’s no different from buying and selling tea towels or gravel. You buy, you sell, you keep records you abide by the law. There’s a whole load of crap to deal with in between the word buy and records by the way.

CAP, I reckon

Yeah, that’s what I said.

There’s definitely some products out there that will do the job. Basically the same stuff that a windscreen repair firm will use. Resin pressured into the chip, goes off, scraped/cut off excess when hard.

I had a dream of a punter today, confessed to knowing SFA about cars, offered me a very low mileage full MDSH Qashqui in chop, michelin's all round and took a below book offer on it and paid full price on the car he wanted. Didn't want to talk cars with me, offer his worldly knowledge etc, just wanted to buy my car and trade in his. They are a rare beast but they are out there!

Exactly this. They have clearly stated they don’t want a refund, seems to me that a tank of fuel is £50 worth of customer PR well spent. OP, think about it. Someone had bought a car from a complete stranger and they haven’t received it. The internet is awash with stories about people being ripped off. IMO you should have made a gesture offer of something in the first place. This isn’t your fault but it certainly isn’t the customers fault. Life, shit happens but get them on side early. Photos of the car on a recovery truck, copy of correspondence to garage etc.

I have a bloke who does it for £135. He won’t travel as far as you but it’s evidence that you can get keys cut and programmed for sensible money.

Possibly. I sold one with 72,000 miles on it within a week about 5 weeks ago. I wouldn’t touch anything with starship miles on anyway

People who buy these cars don’t give a toss about tax discs and mpg mate. The bloke who bought it has a 911 as his toy and wanted a daily driver. Another enquiry was from someone who already has one but wanted to chop it for mine which has half the mileage. They are cars for petrol heads.

15 days was pessimistic, just took a deposit on it. Collected on Monday, sold by Thursday morning.

I reckon some supermarkets run on £200 mark ups and upsell finance and warranties and diamonbrite coatings to make the £7-800.

No, you just lean out of your front room window, shout out the VRM really loudly and the DVLA know the car belongs to you.

Do you have retail checker?

Not that it will help you sell it any quicker but the price on your website is the previous price. £4,995 is definitely on the money but £5,495 is probably on the heavy side. When did you reduce it? I also wonder if people are put off because it’s a bit leggy and a 1.6 Diesel engine maybe?

Not sure anyone is getting their knickers In a twist mate, the OP said he’s offered a repair but the customer has said he wants a refund.

Yes I suppose that does come across as a bit high horsed. I meant really if the "expert" is as the OP said, leaping on every cosmetic fault. I do realise some people want the comfort of a second opinion which is fine.

No idea mate, all I know is that I am an IAR for a broker I partner with. I don't have any licences per se.

I wouldn't mind a mechanic coming, he'd be hard pushed to find much wrong with my stock. The DIY/Amateur mechanic can fuck off though. In such a situation I'd be upfront in asking him; "Are you a qualified mechanic sir?" "erm, no but I know my way around a car" "yes, so does my qualified mechanic and the tester who on behalf of VOSA has assessed this car to be 100% roadworthy" "Well, they don't cover things like gearboxes and clutches do they?" "No sir but my warranty does (Turn to buyer) I do appreciate you have said you don't know anything about cars but without wishing to cause offence, your friend possibly doesn't know anything either so with all due respect, I won't be spending the next hour of my life listening to a non qualified person tell me what's wrong with this car when I've had a qualified person tell me that nothing is wrong with it. If the 12 months MOT, service history and PDI doesn't convince you this car is in a condition commensurate with it's age and mileage but a non qualified person does then perhaps you might not be best placed to consider a used car as your next purchase"