Buying a used car, is it a scam?

Chibisan

Apologies for the typo. Typed on mobile phone.

Went to visit a private seller in london today. When i arrive, there is 3 car on the driveway. 1 one them has no number plate. The other one is the car that im viewing. On the side of the house, there is a car door left on the floor. Doesnt look like it is from those 3 cars.

Car smells of cigarettes and dog. It is dusty and has brownish mud marks and looks like they didnt bother cleaning it properly. Exterior is fine for an old car. Small scratches. Im guessing it is trader car although he said it is for his wife.

I took it for a test drive and the signal lights didnt work. When we got out he said he must have forgotten to connect the cable. I ask if he can fix it. He unscrewed the satnav and took it out. Connected the cable and it all works. Now im thinking he repairs his own car. He said he isnt a mechanic and showed me the MOT. It all looks fine. Im thinking whether this guy is really dumb or trying to scam me. I haggled 300 off the price. He agreed. He asked me to do online bank transfer, i agreed and we proceed to sign the v5c form. Car is under wife name. But the wife just went out after she signed the papers. So i asked to see the id of his wife or at least a photo of the id. But he couldn't, he showed me an id of a eastern european name. I called the deal off until he can produce the id. He said he can show me the wife passport later when she gets back.

The engine and everything sounded fine, he even turned off the music during the test drive. The mileage is around 1.5k off the advertised mileage. When im speaking to him, i can tell he isnt a very smart person. Either that or he is really good at acting. Also the v5c address isnt the address that we met at. He said i know where he lives so there isnt a problem and i have all the paperwork for the tranfer.

While i was waiting in the house, there were so many people around. His friends and families. Must have saw like 6 to 8 different people. All eastern european. However the house is quite clean inside and organised. Just smell of cigarette everywhere.

Anyway, what do you guys think, scam?

Chibisan

I asked him why he removed the satnav. He said he took it to the garage to fix the satnav. But they couldnt. He did advertise that the satnav is broken. So i guess he wasnt lying, but then im still kind of worried.

boliston

sounds very odd re the v5 address - i'm sure it's an offence to not inform dvla of address change

phill99

Your 'gut feeling' or virst impression is there for a reason. An element of doubt is doubt enough!

Marvel1

Gut feeling is the one I go with, any questions of doubt, no sale.

For future:

1. I would want the address the vehicle is registered at to be the address I'm viewing if private seller. I don't care if they just moved and forgot/didn't get around to changing it.

2. Do a MOT history check: https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

3. If you are happy to go ahead, get a HPI check done first.

arcon5

So what was dodgy about it and where was the scam exactly?

Chibisan

Its my first time buying a car and im a very paranoid person. The scam is that they cant provide an identification of the registered owner? We also met at a different address. I did do a online mot check and a HPI. They all came out clean.

When i search online, the advice is that you need a v5c. Which they have. Also the wife might be European but the name is a British name, including the surname.

Hoof_Hearted

There are plenty of cars for sale. If it doesn't fell right, just move on.

Chibisan

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

There are plenty of cars for sale. If it doesn't fell right, just move on.

Yes but it seems like a good deal. 1 owner and the price is just right. Low mileage. I also need to get a car before the end of the month.

He might be just a humble person and not trying to scam me.

I aware that your v5c form need to be at the registered address or else they can fine you.

agrinnall

Is it really low mileage though? As cjdavies suggests, check the MoT history.

AdrianC

Chibisan wrote: »

The scam is that they cant provide an identification of the registered owner? We also met at a different address.

When i search online, the advice is that you need a v5c. Which they have.

The V5C doesn't tell you who the owner is, anyway. It tells you who is legally responsible for the car. While that might seem like a pedantic difference, it is a very important one - just because somebody's name isn't on the V5C, doesn't mean they can't legitimately sell you it. Just because it is, doesn't mean they can.

The V5C advice is to avoid back-street traders. TBH, I've never quite figured out why. If you think you're buying off a private individual, you have no legal comeback against them anyway.

Simple question - do you WANT to buy that car for that price?

If yes, I wouldn't sweat too much about whether the seller's kitchen is tidy or whether his wife is Eastern European or not.