struggling to sell my car

kmb500

d123 wrote: »

It looks neglected and dirty, as if you haven't cleaned it in years, it's got corrosion and dirt everywhere. To me, it says you don't care about maintenance.

Take a wire brush or something to the top of the engine and get rid of all the flaking, give it a wash and try and brush/treat the rust.

Even just spray the pipes etc with a bit of a WD40 or similar to cheat and make it look cared for.

It's my first car and I've only had it a year. Never realised thought there was anything wrong with what it looked like under the bonnet. Only cosmetic issues though so doesn't bother me.

AdrianC

custardy wrote: »

Sorry,that is utter nonsense.
If its listed honestly then it is not an offence.

Correct.

...just so long as you do not let a potential buyer test drive it, or the eventual buyer. If you do, then you are deeming it roadworthy.

s75 RTA88 doesn't - as far as is relevant here - differentiate between a private and a trade seller.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/75
Notice the exception in para 6b. The only differentiation is that para 6b doesn't apply to traders, unless they've been very explicit in their description (para 7)

kmb500

custardy wrote: »

However a fresh fail list would let the buyers know the total issues.

problem then is that the car immediately has to be taken off the road, which means 1) I can't use it while I'm selling it, 2) can't take anyone for a test drive, 3) can't be driven to someones house.


As far as I'm concerned, I am being open about the work the car needs doing to it, but it is currently driveable (as I said it's my daily car). Passing the MOT, fixing up the rust, etc, is up to the buyer once that is due.

verityboo wrote: »

If you sell a vehicle it needs to be roadworthy. If it would not pass an mot today it is arguably unroadworthy and you could be commiting an offence by selling it. It doesn't just need to be mot worthy on one day of the year, it should be able to pass every day and maintained as such. Just one example:

https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/images/ft35_tcm44-242752.pdf

you see loads of cars on autotrader that need work doing to them, it's not illegal, I'm declaring up front its problems and they can inspect it for themselves if they want to view the car.
what's that latin sounding phrase about buyers beware.

AdrianC

kmb500 wrote: »

problem then is that the car immediately has to be taken off the road

No, it wouldn't affect the legality of the car at all.

You currently have an MOT. That MOT doesn't expire for months. That MOT is not cancelled by a fresh fail.

You currently have an unroadworthy car. That car is currently illegal because of its unroadworthiness.

If you had the car welded now, it'd be legal until the current MOT expired.
If you took it for another MOT, failed, had it welded, and didn't retest it, it'd still be legal until the current MOT expired.

but it is currently driveable (as I said it's my daily car).

Not legally, it isn't - because its structural condition means it is not roadworthy.

you see loads of cars on autotrader that need work doing to them, it's not illegal, I'm declaring up front its problems and they can inspect it for themselves if they want to view the car.

Yep, perfectly legal - so long as you don't allow it to be driven away.

what's that latin sounding phrase about buyers beware

Caveat emptor. But that ignores s75, RTA88.

facade

kmb500 wrote: »

It's my first car and I've only had it a year. Never realised thought there was anything wrong with what it looked like under the bonnet. Only cosmetic issues though so doesn't bother me.

But it puts off buyers.

You want top money for a car that screams "Neglect" & "Rust", it isn't going to happen :eek:

Either accept pocket money (less than you could get for the hood & interior*), get the sills welded (which will cost more than you could sell it for), or at least polish some money into it by t-cutting the rust marks off the body and cleaning up under the bonnet.


Personally, I wouldn't touch a rusty MX5 in the first place, but if the body was 100%, one look under the bonnet at the go faster air filter (have you still got the original air box?) and corrosion would see me off.

You want punters to think it is a much loved and cared for car, that is showing signs of rust that you can't fix yourself, not a shed that is just an imminent MOT failure away from the breakers.


*You could break it yourself, but as the MX5 is pretty much bullet proof mechanically, all that will sell is the interior and roof, maybe wheels as well, leaving you with an immobile pile of scrap that you have to pay to get removed.

kmb500

facade wrote: »

But it puts off buyers.

You want top money for a car that screams "Neglect" & "Rust", it isn't going to happen :eek:

Either accept pocket money (less than you could get for the hood & interior*), get the sills welded (which will cost more than you could sell it for), or at least polish some money into it by t-cutting the rust marks off the body and cleaning up under the bonnet.


Personally, I wouldn't touch a rusty MX5 in the first place, but if the body was 100%, one look under the bonnet at the go faster air filter (have you still got the original air box?) and corrosion would see me off.

You want punters to think it is a much loved and cared for car, that is showing signs of rust that you can't fix yourself, not a shed that is just an imminent MOT failure away from the breakers.


*You could break it yourself, but as the MX5 is pretty much bullet proof mechanically, all that will sell is the interior and roof, maybe wheels as well, leaving you with an immobile pile of scrap that you have to pay to get removed.

That's a nice thought. Very helpful....not


And no I don't have the original air filter box, as I didn't fit the intake. Why would anyone want the original anyway? Makes the car faster.


I am not going to be attempting to fix the rust, and have no idea what "T cutting" is anyway.


And I'm not trying to get "top money", I don't see how wanting 5-600 pounds is top money.

custardy

kmb500 wrote: »

problem then is that the car immediately has to be taken off the road, which means 1) I can't use it while I'm selling it, 2) can't take anyone for a test drive, 3) can't be driven to someones house.

With a fail list on a £600 quid car. I would be willing to take a no test drive risk given I know Im going to be welding it up.
Especially if its bought as a likes of a track car.
I bet many others would too.
As you say,it isnt shifting. When you see it,you wont have a daily driver either.
Only my opinion but a fresh fail list suits me better than guessing the rust extent.

almillar

kmb500, Adrian's right. Your car's not roadworthy if the rust is bad enough (I can't judge it). You passed an MOT in a rusting car. It has rusted further since then.
Think of tyres. Your tyres could have had enough tread on them to pass 6 months ago, but the could have worn below the legal limit since then. You've still got a valid MOT, but your car still isn't roadworthy.
Looking very quickly at the surrounding adverts, we've got 8 adverts between £695 and £850 on that page. Yours is advertised at £795 and needing rust work. I'd be immediately discounting yours and looking at the rest. If one of them isn't rusty, even the £850 one, it's worth spending the extra £150 on it because the work's already done. Sorry, but it just pushes down the value of yours if a perfectly good MX-5 is only worth £1,000.

Herzlos

kmb500 wrote: »

Why would anyone want the original anyway? Makes the car faster.

Insurance. Your non-standard filter (and whatever else) will potentially make a huge difference to the insurance premiums for someone looking at a sub-£500 convertible.

And I'm not trying to get "top money", I don't see how wanting 5-600 pounds is top money.

It's a lot of money for something that's unsafe, looks neglected, and will need major work to get through an MOT that runs out in 5 months.

In current condition your target market is someone who wants something to run about in for the summer, until it falls apart or fails the MOT, and doesn't care too much about the condition of it.

Your ideal punter is an enthusiast who has access to cheap welding, and/or wants to use it as a track toy.

Replacing the sills is presumably at least a £400 job, and anyone without access to do it cheap will be factoring that into the price. So you should be aiming to price it as (cost of a good one) - (welding work) - (something for the convenience of having to get the work done).

What else will it fail it's MOT on?

Herzlos

custardy wrote: »

With a fail list on a £600 quid car. I would be willing to take a no test drive risk given I know Im going to be welding it up.

But I bet you'd be quite likely to make a cheeky offer on it, like £200, rather than agreeing to the £600 asking price.