Buying a used car, is it a scam?

sheramber

Do you have proof he does actually live where you met him/ Will he be there if you go back or will whoever is there deny any knowledge of him.

securityguy

There are loads of second hand cars. Loads. And Loads. And Loads.

Why buy ones that worry you? Yes, there are reasons why the address on the V5 might not be the address you've gone to, and some of them are legitimate. But so what? A lot of them aren't legitimate, and as the world is full of cars whose V5 address matches the owner's address and that's where you're doing the deal, why mess around taking the chance? Maybe he is selling it for a friend: why do you care? Walk away, and leave them to it.

There are so many cars where there aren't red flags, that it's not worth worrying about why any particular red flag might be a false alarm. Treat them all as real. There are lots of cars.

wrightk

Chibisan wrote: »

First time buying a car for myself. I didn't know about statutory legal rights at all. I just thought buying off trader and private is all the same.

Is there a time limit on how long they are responsible for the car?

My advice would be similar to others. Go with your gut.

I've recently just purchased another car. I was set on a specific model and make and there were 3 within a 50 mile radius. One had sold, one was from a well known local independent dealer, the other was from a trader. All were the same price once haggling had been taken into account- around 5k

Once i investigated the trader i found that there was no registered company with the name he used. The 'company' address he provided didn't exist and instead directed me to a heavily built up housing area and he was far more willing to move significantly on the price than the other.

Not saying there was anything wrong with the car or trader but, like you i had a gut feeling about it and went to the local dealer instead.

almillar

Yes, it is.

But what's the problem, as far as the buyer's concerned?

AdrianC - you've been on this forum long enough to know what happens. If it IS a trader, he's trying to get out of those responsibilities, be a private seller, sold as seen, goodbye.
How many posts do we see about faults with cars after being purchased, and the seller saying 'sold as seen mate, caveat emptor and all that' and people being stuck with faults, or having a lot of work to do.
You're saying (implying) we'll be getting a nice cheap private price car, and it'll turn out we'll get lovely trader facilities and rights. I don't think that'll happen without lots of heartache for the OP, and I think he should walk away before potentially getting into a lot of bother.

AdrianC

No, I'm suggesting that if you go into the deal thinking you've got no come-back...