Car Seller Is Not The Owner

efunc

OK, here's one. Went to see a local car advertised privately (on ebay). When I went to see it the seller explained that it's not his car, it's his friend's/business partner's who is in hospital with cancer, and he's selling it on his behalf. The seller has the keys and V5, etc, but they're not in his name, they're in the name of the owner.

Now, irrespective of whether or not I believe the story (there are a number of holes in it), how does one go ahead with a sale like this. At the very least I imagine I would need to see the owner's ID/driving license/passport etc to verify he exists and is still in touch? Is there any value in getting a signed receipt/letter from the Owner agreeing to the sale? Presumably this could be written by anyone, so not much use.

The seller did say that he can register the car in his name prior to sale if I feel more secure that way, but since it's only had one one 2 registered keepers, bumping it up another one would devalue the car a bit, so I'm looking into all options and legal positions here.

Any advice welcome. Auction ends tomorrow however. Thanks.

daveyjp

Unless its the only car of its type available and another will never become available, move on.

fatrab

What's the seller's feedback like on eBay? (I don't just mean score and percentage, what else has he been buying/selling)

Have you HPi checked the car? Have you got the name and address of the owner? Can someone at their address verify the story? I'm assuming if they're business partners they don't live a million miles apart.

Personally, it wouldn't necessarily put me off. But I would be very wary. Unless you absolutely want that vehicle perhaps best to forget it and find one with less baggage..

tacpot12

I would want to see the bill of sale for the car to the current owner. If the seller can't produce that, then there is no proof that the registered keeper is the owner either.

motorguy

efunc wrote: »

OK, here's one. Went to see a local car advertised privately (on ebay). When I went to see it the seller explained that it's not his car, it's his friend's/business partner's who is in hospital with cancer, and he's selling it on his behalf. The seller has the keys and V5, etc, but they're not in his name, they're in the name of the owner.

Now, irrespective of whether or not I believe the story (there are a number of holes in it), how does one go ahead with a sale like this. At the very least I imagine I would need to see the owner's ID/driving license/passport etc to verify he exists and is still in touch? Is there any value in getting a signed receipt/letter from the Owner agreeing to the sale? Presumably this could be written by anyone, so not much use.

The seller did say that he can register the car in his name prior to sale if I feel more secure that way, but since it's only had one one 2 registered keepers, bumping it up another one would devalue the car a bit, so I'm looking into all options and legal positions here.

Any advice welcome. Auction ends tomorrow however. Thanks.

It sounds an awful lot like hes a trade masquerading as a private seller. The "cancer" touch would prevent most people from digging more deeply to contact the "owner".

I'd say if you scratched around a bit - maybe google his phone number for example - you'd find its not the only car hes had for sale recently.

Probably for that reason - i'd move on.

For info, having your name on the V5C doesnt prove ownership, it just means you were the keeper of the car.

comeandgo

I have sold two cars that did not belong to me. Nobody asked or checked anything. One was my deceased dads, the other my daughters, my name is different from both of those. I think my husband sold one of my cars, he certainly sold his ex wife's one.

davidwood681

Even if he's a trader or not have a read of the front page of the V5, about two inches from the top.

missile

It is always a risk when you buy a car as private sale. It could be genuine or an elaborate ruse.

Did you view the car at the sellers property?

If you can verify his address, is the seller a named driver on the insurance. You can phone 101 and ask if has been reported stolen. That would make me feel more secure.

[Deleted User]

How much is the car? If it's a £500 bangernomic then just send the V5 off and carry on with your day. Obviously if its a decent car worth quite a few grand then I'd probably walk away.

I bought a car for £400 on eBay once, collected it from a body shop type garage, yet the name & address on the V5 were for another address 10 miles away.

Had the car 2.5 years before I sold it.

efunc

Well, alarm bells did ring when I looked at the Service book. All the services done by the owner were in Scotland, but the seller is in London. And they're supposed to be in the business of doing up properties and construction from what I gather. He told me they used to drive it around looking at new places to do up. But both at opposite ends of the country?

This is the auction, and it makes no mention of the ownership details:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-08-AUDI-TTS-QUATTRO-S-TRONIC-AUTOMATIC-COUPE-PETROL-2-0/202278118541

Of course the transfer of ownership to the Seller is a different matter. It makes it a relatively normal sale, however it means there will be 3 previous owners on the log book.

Herzlos

First find out if the seller is a trader - call his number from someone elses phone to ask about the car. If he says "what one?" he's a trader.

Where does the "current keeper live"? Local enough to you to knock on the door, or to look up in the phone book to check?

I suspect that he's a trader and bought the car from Scotland, drove it back to London to sell on (because cars are cheaper up there), and is trying to pretend it's a private sale.