Anyone dealt with online car buyers for cheap 2nd hand car?

arcon5

Where you based?

pappa_golf

Lulu58 wrote: »

Thanks for the tips, pappa golf. I've got nothing to lose by giving it a go!

no matter what price you put , even if you state "this is the price" , you will get txt saying "will you take XX" so add £50




put on the advert "the phone number is a number that transfers to my landline" I cannot txt from my home phone , please ring , I cannot answer TXT


disable email as you cannot communicate via gumtree easily , go for voice only and whittle out idiots

Lulu58

We're in Hertfordshire, arcon 5.

bigjl

Lulu58 wrote: »

I'm selling an 2001 VW Polo for someone and have been looking at webuyanycar.com, wewantanycar.com and so forth as I don't have the time or energy to trawl around second hand car dealers - the car no longer has a tax disc and the insurance is about to expire. Most of the reviews I've read seem to suggest they rip you off one way or another so I wondered if anyone on MSE has used one of these companies and been treated fairly.

Also, does anyone know of any comparison sites for this type of thing? I haven't been able to find one as yet.

No they don't rip people off.

People just have an overinflated opinion of what their car is worth.

I have sold cars to both, WBAC pay less than WWAC in my experience.

As an example I sold a 116D to WWAC last year, the price after chip from WWAC was more then the initial offer from WBAC. And the car had been rear ended since the valuation, if I remember correctly they took about £150 the initial quote.

But apart from the small bit of damage to the rear bumper the car was in showroom condition with full BMW history.

The price offered for the car you mention will be negligible, probably around £150/200 and that is if it is in very good condition.

The best advice has already been given

Stick it on eBay accurately described with a 99p start and no reserve and it will sell.

If you think you are going to get more than £5/600 for it then you will be disappointed either way.

Lulu58

Thanks, bigjl. Sounds like you had an awful experience. We were hoping for £500-£600, but the 'initial' offers we've had so far are £350, £433 and £500. We anticipate we'll come away with a lot less, but my husband doesn't want the hassle of people coming to the door, test driving the car, haggling etc if we sell it privately or through a dealer.

jimjames

bigjl wrote: »

No they don't rip people off.

People just have an overinflated opinion of what their car is worth.

I have sold cars to both, WBAC pay less than WWAC in my experience.

I disagree. They pay the low price so they can make a profit, maybe not a rip off but certainly not what a car is worth.

They offered me £500 for my Golf, I sold it privately for £1500 and had multiple calls that wanted it.

bigjl

jimjames wrote: »

I disagree. They pay the low price so they can make a profit, maybe not a rip off but certainly not what a car is worth.

They offered me £500 for my Golf, I sold it privately for £1500 and had multiple calls that wanted it.

You disagree when I say they aren't a rip off then say they aren't a rip off, which means you agree.

You sold your car PRIVATELY which means you had to field calls, run the risk of being he subject of one of the threads on here where a buyer wants to sue for a fault that was described in the private sale.

WBAC and WWAC are indeed Businesses.

These things called Businesses need to make something called Profit. They use this profit to pay staff Wages. The staff then have an Income.

What differnce does the price you obtained for your car privately make to this thread?

Nothing.

It is not relevant. Clearly you will get more for it.

The trouble is many people don't fill in the appraisal form truthfully, then they moan about every undeclared mark or scratch being spotted by WBAC or WWAC

By not declaring who is ripping off who?

A car is worth what somebody will give you for it, nothing more.

A Business will buy it today, subject to condition and an inspection.

They will then sit on it to obtain a price they find acceptable.

If somebody offered you £500 for your Golf privately would they be ripping you off?

Or simply making a lowball offer in the hope to get it for next to nothing?

Many traders do just that, they phone every advert and make a silly offer, if they don't get hung up on they arrange a visit and offer even less after inspection.

You will have seen the people advertise in the back of local papers etc.

It is only a rip off of you are made to accept the lowball offer.

WBAC and WWAC don't make you sell to them.

And I would rather take a bit less for a car than deal with private car buyers these days, they are invariably !!!!!! and cheapskates that want champagne for lemonade money.

Hopefully the buyer of your Golf doesn't try and make you take it back or sue you for some perceived fault.

One last point by quoting my posts then deleting most of it you are putting my comments out of context.

dannyrst

I'd say before WBAC came along and offered an alternative, most people would just trade the car in. When I've traded all my cars in, a quick glance at the car to understand general condition is done. Twice, they never even drove the car.

Compare that to WBAC, where any stone chip is marked down and price is lowered, and people are bound to get annoyed. As bigjl said, WBAC is a business and they are offering you a price for your car based on its condition, the exact same as when you go to a dealership to sell your car. They just pay closer attention to minor defects.

Lulu58

I can understand that they are a business and want to make a profit, but suely there are degress. It would make me cross if someone was to try and knock the price down to silly money on the basis of things like stone chips on a 15 year old car - as I said earlier, it's a nice, clean, tidy car and I've been completely honest about scuffs, scrapes etc,

I tried to convince my husband to put it on Gumtree, ebay etc but he just can't face it. I don't think £500-£600 is unreasonable, but I doubt I'll come away with that.

walwyn1978

We Buy Any Car offer more for stuff they can sell on quickly and easily. They'll offer buttons for a 2001 Polo because there's not much market for it due to age (as opposed to say a four year old popular car like a Focus or whatever). So they will chisel money off for every paint chip, every tiny scratch because it reduces their risk of being out of pocket at the other end of the deal. There was a thread on here a while ago where someone was upset they were offers less than £100 for their rare old camper van from WBAC the sad truth is that it's simply a quick turn around moving metal operation, they don't sit on cars for ages finding the 'right' buyer, which you can do privately.
eBay is the answer, I know it's more of a pain. Or take the lower offer from WBAC to be shot of it, but expect an amount of chiselling down on the quote by the company when you turn up with the car.