Car Sales Agencies

wendegs

Hi

I am trying to sell my car - a vauxhall corsa. This has low mileage (23k), has just been MOT'd and taxed. It is in good condition, an 02 plate and priced at £3100.

The only calls I have been getting is from car agencies saying they have buyers waiting but I need to pay them an upfront fee of circa £80.

Has anyone used these companies - do they sell your car or I am likely to be out of pocket and still not sell my car?

Any comments from you would be really helpful. I am trying decide whether to use one of them or not. Thanks.

Wendegs

frugallass

personally I wouldn't go near them - where have you advertised your Corsa so far ?

wendegs

Thanks for replying.

I have advertised in autotrader and in the Liverpool Echo & a group of north west weekly /daily papers.

I have had calls from about 5 vehicle agencies - all saying they have buyers.

I thought it might have been too good to be true.

Wendegs

pianeet

the man i bought my car off recently fell for this scam not once but twice,£90 each time,.
i know people say it is quiet on the car sales front but i sold my 04 plate passat tdi for 4800 about six weeks ago to the first caller and had about another 10 genuine calls for it plus about 10 from sales companies.

i think if your car is properly priced and well prepared you should find a buyer.

i sold mine through the local paper which for me was the rugby advertiser.

frugallass

I don't know if they are a good or a bad thing but there are other options...

have you tried gumtree ? http://www.gumtree.com/

you can upload your own pics and it's free to advertise

try putting those little ads up in the local co-op or newsagents, ask friends or relatives to put signs on their notice boards at work

pianeet

just checking autotrader your car seems quite dear,there are lots of 03 and 04 reg cars with low mileage around the £2700 mark,i think a price of around £2500 might be more realistic.

wendegs

Thanks Pianeet - I will definitely steer clear of them.
- I was just about to agree to it when I thought I would just double check with this site first. so much appreciated.

I must admit I didnt know what price to put - so I based it on what I could see at the time on other websites.

I have just had a look at the gumtree site (as suggested by frugallass) so I think I will add it on their this afternoon with a lower price and see what response I get.

Hopefully I will get a repsonse.

Wendegs

tankerpaul50

hi looking for a code or somthing to reduce my £ when crossing from plymouth/santander in november 2x adults and car any info most welcome

frugallass

hi tankerpaul - you might get a better response if you create a new thread x

goldspanners

i would agree with others, 3100 is a bit over priced, that seems like a high price even at a dealers.
i would be looking to advertise this car at 2400 and expect to come down about 100 when haggling. if i wanted to sell it.

steer clear of any of these agencies,they are all a con,if a corsa doesnt sell in autotrader priced correctly then you will never sell it.

in51der

wendegs wrote: »

Hi

I am trying to sell my car - a vauxhall corsa. This has low mileage (23k), has just been MOT'd and taxed. It is in good condition, an 02 plate and priced at £3100.

The only calls I have been getting is from car agencies saying they have buyers waiting but I need to pay them an upfront fee of circa £80.

Has anyone used these companies - do they sell your car or I am likely to be out of pocket and still not sell my car?

Any comments from you would be really helpful. I am trying decide whether to use one of them or not. Thanks.

Wendegs

In the current downturn in the used car market we are hearing regularly about so called “car matchmakers” and the dubious service they offer.
These scams have, however, been going on for quite a while.

I have a friend who, believe it or not, is as sharp as a knife and he rang me after he’d been trying to sell his car with Autotrader with no success.
He really was quite desperate, he told me that a representative from some company had contacted him and told him he had a buyer for his car at the agreed price but he could not action this contact until he had been paid a £75 “finder’s fee”.
I, of course, told him that in my opinion this was a scam and that if there really was a buyer waiting why not suggest signing an agreement to pay a commission on the successful transaction. Of course this was not acceptable to the “matchmaker” as it was basically a scam.
However my ’sharp’ friend needed to sell his car urgently as he had to buy another car that he had already committed to so decided to take a chance as the representative sounded genuine. Of course when he had paid his fee the scammer became increasingly more difficult to contact until finally my friend realized he’d been had.
I had a similar experience myself a few years back and decided to string the guy along. He made approximately 20 calls to me and I kept saying that I had a buyer for my car but could he keep in touch just in case. It was very enjoyable knowing that this shyster was wasting his time and money trying to con me whilst I had no intention of ever doing business with him
Motor Trade Insider Tips:
If you have advertised your car on an internet car website and someone calls to say they have a “customer” but wants money upfront it will always be a con. If this person/company has seen your car advertised then the chances are a genuine customer would have also.
There are no guarantees. No matter how desirable or cheap your car may seem it doesn’t mean it will sell quickly, there is a massive choice of cars out there and the best way to sell it is to advertise on the biggest site, currently Autotrader and remember the 3 “P’s” Preparation, Price and Presentation. If you follow these guidelines and have as many pictures as possible you will have a good chance of making that sale (Your car is 6 times more likely to sell with at least 1 picture than just a description)


Lastly never, ever give your details to someone claiming to have a buyer for your car, if it was that easy to match someone with an exact car we would have done it years ago.
All secondhand cars are unique and no one will buy it from you until they have seen it, touched it, driven it and haggled over it.