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Unhappy Car Sale - Interesting Update
We recently sold a car on Ebay. It was sold for spares/repair (which was put in the title), and this was reflected in the very low starting price. We were very careful about the ad and were totally honest about the condition of the car. I wrote in bold letters that the car did not have a current MOT. The car also has damage to the bonnet and headlight and we made it clear that it was a non runner.
When the auction came to an end we had a lot of bids but the final price was not high and similar cars in good condition are fetching much more.
The top bidder phoned my husband and he told him we wanted cash. That was okay but then he started asking us lots of questions about the car and seemed to think it should have an MOT. He asked my husband to take it for an MOT before he collected it. My husband told him that the whole point of selling it for spares/repair was so that he did not have to bother with the car. He refused to take it for an MOT and frankly if it was in a condition to pass we would have expected more money for it. The buyer told him that he would collect it this Saturday. He lives 300 miles away.
The buyer phoned again today. Apparently he is coming by bus on Saturday and wants a lift from the coach station. He is going to drive it 300 miles home and when he reaches his destination he has it booked in for an MOT. This is what he is going to say if he gets stopped by the police. My husband strongly advised him not to do this but he took no notice.
We think as soon as he gets onto the motorway it will flash up as having no MOT and he will be stopped. The problem is, the car will still be in my husband's name. Without an MOT I am not even sure if he will be insured. We were expecting someone to turn up with a pickup truck to collect it.
As well as the registration document, I am going to type out an invoice and state on it that the buyer has been advised that the car has no MOT and ask him to sign it. I am just wondering if we are liable in some way if he gets stopped. If we are then I don't want to sell the car to him. My husband said that if he bought a car from a garage without an MOT then the garage would not be liable once the person drove away so we are not responsible. We just wanted rid of the car. Its been stuck on our drive since October.
See last post
When the auction came to an end we had a lot of bids but the final price was not high and similar cars in good condition are fetching much more.
The top bidder phoned my husband and he told him we wanted cash. That was okay but then he started asking us lots of questions about the car and seemed to think it should have an MOT. He asked my husband to take it for an MOT before he collected it. My husband told him that the whole point of selling it for spares/repair was so that he did not have to bother with the car. He refused to take it for an MOT and frankly if it was in a condition to pass we would have expected more money for it. The buyer told him that he would collect it this Saturday. He lives 300 miles away.
The buyer phoned again today. Apparently he is coming by bus on Saturday and wants a lift from the coach station. He is going to drive it 300 miles home and when he reaches his destination he has it booked in for an MOT. This is what he is going to say if he gets stopped by the police. My husband strongly advised him not to do this but he took no notice.
We think as soon as he gets onto the motorway it will flash up as having no MOT and he will be stopped. The problem is, the car will still be in my husband's name. Without an MOT I am not even sure if he will be insured. We were expecting someone to turn up with a pickup truck to collect it.
As well as the registration document, I am going to type out an invoice and state on it that the buyer has been advised that the car has no MOT and ask him to sign it. I am just wondering if we are liable in some way if he gets stopped. If we are then I don't want to sell the car to him. My husband said that if he bought a car from a garage without an MOT then the garage would not be liable once the person drove away so we are not responsible. We just wanted rid of the car. Its been stuck on our drive since October.
See last post
The forest would be very silent if no birds sang except for the birds that sang the best
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Comments
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dated and signed receipt also when the V5 is filled in make sure he only gets the new keeper part,and you will be okI
MOJACAR0 -
Put a time on the receipt.0
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Will it get him home?0
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Make sure its got about 50p worth of fuel in it. Wait until he drives off an report him.
Sold for spares he should be trailering it away or a recovery truck.
Is it taxed and insured? If you have insurance it will showup as insured. Make sure you cancel otherwise your insurers maybe liable...Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...0 -
Time and date the V5c, give over only the new keepers piece (no matter the great story he has for needing all of it) and make sure the cash is real and forget about it. No longer your problem and I know you will have printed out your ad for future reference.0
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Chopper_Read wrote: »Will it get him home?
Probably. Though he might get lost. He doesn't even know where Kent is! (We are in Kent)The forest would be very silent if no birds sang except for the birds that sang the best0 -
forgotmyname wrote: »Make sure its got about 50p worth of fuel in it. Wait until he drives off an report him.
Sold for spares he should be trailering it away or a recovery truck.
Is it taxed and insured? If you have insurance it will showup as insured. Make sure you cancel otherwise your insurers maybe liable...
We are cancelling the insurance and the tax runs out at the end of this month.The forest would be very silent if no birds sang except for the birds that sang the best0 -
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hartcjhart wrote: »dont be surprised if he doesnt turn up:D
Oh, I think he will, the amount of times he has phoned. He is dead keen as he knows what he could sell it for.The forest would be very silent if no birds sang except for the birds that sang the best0 -
Be careful with this one.
I have no idea whether or not the police would be likely to take ation but, if you go through with the sale of an unroadworthy car knowing that he's intending to drive it away then YOU are commiting an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 S.75(1) by selling or supplying a vehicle in an unroadworthy condition.
The way the Act's been constructed that is an offence, with a statutory defence in S.75(6)(b) where the seller "had reasonable cause to believe that the vehicle or trailer would not be used on a road in Great Britain, or would not be so used until it had been put into a condition in which it might lawfully be so used".
The sale of the car occurs at the point you take money and hand everything over, not at the time the EBay acution ends, so if he turns up planning to drive it and you carry the sale through, you could be charged under the above and, if you were, you would be convicted.
As I say, I have no idea how likely the Police are to do so (assuming he gets spotted) but you should be aware of the possibility.0
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