Second hand car nightmares! (Experiences)

Casamir · 05-06-2012 10:28pm #1

Anybody have any bad dealings when buying a car online?

Nissan doctor · 05-06-2012 10:29pm

Donedeal don't sell cars so I don't see the need for their name to be associated with any bad experience.

Casamir · 05-06-2012 10:31pm

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Donedeal don't sell cars so I don't see the need for their name to be associated with any bad experience.

I'll edit it

shane. · 05-06-2012 10:34pm

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Donedeal don't sell cars so I don't see the need for their name to be associated with any bad experience.

in the op first post before he edited he said on donedeal not from donedeal so i think everyone would understand that their not buying directly from donedeal, no need to edit imo

Casamir · 05-06-2012 10:37pm

shane. wrote: »

in the op first post before he edited he said on donedeal not from donedeal so i think everyone would understand that their not buying directly from donedeal, no need to edit imo

True

Some people complain about the slightest things :rolleyes:

Nissan doctor · 05-06-2012 10:48pm

Casamir wrote: »

True Some people complain about the slightest things :rolleyes:

Well you wouldn't write a post starting with the heading: 'aviva insurance nightmares' and then write has anyone had any bad experiences with insurance companies?

couldntthink · 05-06-2012 10:53pm

now now ladies

wonski · 05-06-2012 10:57pm

How about that?

couldntthink · 05-06-2012 11:00pm

I've had a lot of calls from a timewaster about a gttdi golf. I said no timewasters in the ad and everything.:D

wonski · 05-06-2012 11:02pm

Casamir wrote: »

I'll edit it

THANKS

coylemj · 05-06-2012 11:04pm

I saw an ad. on DD, I viewed the car and it looked like what I wanted, the price was good but not that good. What made me suspicious was that the guy was 'selling it for a friend' and couldn't produce the vehicle cert, he gave me some unconvincing excuse about the owner being away abroad on business.

So I went home and paid my money to motorcheck only to find that there was finance outstanding on it which had not been declared to me by the seller. I informed DD but they didn't want to know, told me to report it to the Gardai which would have been a waste of time since I'd have to buy the car and then have it seized before any crime would be committed.

At the very least, if a person can send DD a motorcheck or similar link to show that car for sale on DD has outstanding finance (which I did), they should pull the ad. However DD do not seem to have this policy so they are putting the interests of their customers (the crooked advertiser in my case) before the interests of the consumer.

Anan1 · 05-06-2012 11:04pm

Casamir wrote: »

True Some people complain about the slightest things :rolleyes:

Maybe you explain exactly what you do mean - the closest i've come to buying a car online is through ebay.

05-06-2012 11:09pm

Casamir wrote: »

Anybody have any bad dealings when buying a car online?

... if they did they'd only have themselves to blame.

shawnee · 05-06-2012 11:13pm

Bought a car on one of the most ""well known websites" Met the guy in a town near his home. Paid him, he had the log book and we both signed it. Said he would post it but it never reached Shannon. Rang him several times and phone didn't answer. Didn't even have his address and it was really difficult to get a replacement book. Learned a bit from it though

:D

wonski · 05-06-2012 11:13pm

coylemj wrote: »

I saw an ad. on DD, I viewed the car and it looked like what I wanted, the price was good but not that good. What made me suspicious was that the guy was 'selling it for a friend' and couldn't produce the vehicle cert, he gave me some unconvincing excuse about the owner being away abroad on business.

So I went home and paid my money to motorcheck only to find that there was finance outstanding on it which had not been declared to me by the seller. I informed DD but they didn't want to know, told me to report it to the Gardai which would have been a waste of time since I'd have to buy the car and then have it seized before any crime would be committed.

At the very least, if a person can send DD a motorcheck or similar link to show that car for sale on DD has outstanding finance (which I did), they should pull the ad. However DD do not seem to have this policy so they are putting the interests of their customers (the crooked advertiser in my case) before the interests of the consumer.

Sorry to hear that, but - to be honest with you - they are not there to give you any protection/guarantee etc...,
It is up to us - buyers - to do all the checks, and to make a call.
I do understand your view, and your issue, but there is no chance DD, or any other site will prevent anyone from putting an ad up.
DD is the best at the moment, with a lot of people selling/buying, so there is a lot of chancers out there. It is you who buys off the individual, and they have nothing to do with that.

Anan1 · 05-06-2012 11:19pm

shawnee wrote: »

Bought a car on one of the most ""well known websites" Met the guy in a town near his home. Paid him, he had the log book and we both signed it. Said he would post it but it never reached Shannon. Rang him several times and phone didn't answer. Didn't even have his address and it was really difficult to get a replacement book. Learned a bit from it though :D

Did you, or does the website just host ads for sellers?

coylemj · 05-06-2012 11:20pm

wonski wrote: »

Sorry to hear that, but - to be honest with you - they are not there to give you any protection/guarantee etc...,
It is up to us - buyers - to do all the checks, and to make a call.
I do understand your view, and your issue, but there is no chance DD, or any other site will prevent anyone from putting an ad up.
DD is the best at the moment, with a lot of people selling/buying, so there is a lot of chancers out there. It is you who buys off the individual, and they have nothing to do with that.

Are you a DD shareholder? You're completely ignoring the point. I told DD that there was a car for sale on their website which had outstanding finance, a fact which the seller had not declared in the ad or to me when I met him face to face.

When informed of this fact, you would expect any responsible newspaper or web advertiser to pull the ad. but they refused.

I don't expect DD to do the background check in advance but when handed the evidence, I do expect them to do something about it.

shawnee · 05-06-2012 11:20pm

Think you know the website ! my own view is that there is a huge increase in cowboys advertising on that site and not as many private sellers

Anan1 · 05-06-2012 11:26pm

shawnee wrote: »

Think you know the website ! my own view is that there is a huge increase in cowboys advertising on that site and not as many private sellers

If it's Donedeal then you didn't buy the car 'on the website', you bought it from the seller.

wonski · 05-06-2012 11:35pm

coylemj wrote: »

Are you a DD shareholder? You're completely ignoring the point. I told DD that there was a car for sale on their website which had outstanding finance, a fact which the seller had not declared in the ad or to me when I met him face to face.

When informed of this fact, you would expect any responsible newspaper or web advertiser to pull the ad. but they refused.

I don't expect DD to do the background check in advance but when handed the evidence, I do expect them to do something about it.

I am not DD shareholder, but you can't expect them to be on top of every ad they hold. Honestly - i know of some people posting here who had DD ads taken down (i mean they asked DD to take them down), but - if you look at the numbers - there is no chance to take them down on the spot.
Also - you only sent them screenshot/copy of the report, so they have no right/obligation to take it down really.

coylemj · 05-06-2012 11:50pm

wonski wrote: »

Also - you only sent them screenshot/copy of the report, so they have no right/obligation to take it down really.

I did not 'only sent them a screenshot/copy of the report'.

I sent them a link direct to the motorcheck report on the car I had viewed so there could have been no doubt that the car for sale on DD had outstanding finance, the registration number was visible on the ad.

They have a moral obligation to remove ads. where the seller is clearly bent on defrauding an innocent buyer. It would also be good business practice to do so as it would (1) deter cowboy sellers and (2) reassure the buying public that at least when DD knew there was potential fraud involved, they did something about it.

F-Stop · 05-06-2012 11:52pm

No wonder there are so many chancers on DD if people are this stupid. DD is a classified ads newspaper, but on the internet. They are well covered in their terms and conditions, and while it is in their own interest to respond to dodgy ads when they are reported, they are in no way responsible for the sales that take place. And no, I don't own or work for them, I just have half a brain is all.

coylemj · 05-06-2012 11:55pm

F-Stop wrote: »

No wonder there are so many chancers on DD if people are this stupid.

I didn't buy the car nor did I even put down a deposit. Is doing something to protect other punters 'stupid'?

Gumbo · 05-06-2012 11:56pm

coylemj wrote: »

Are you a DD shareholder? You're completely ignoring the point. I told DD that there was a car for sale on their website which had outstanding finance, a fact which the seller had not declared in the ad or to me when I met him face to face.

When informed of this fact, you would expect any responsible newspaper or web advertiser to pull the ad. but they refused.

I don't expect DD to do the background check in advance but when handed the evidence, I do expect them to do something about it.

It is not up to Donedeal to make a judgement on whether a car has finance or not. For all donedeal know, the motorcheck report could be out of date and then DD would be left red faced.

you are free to advertise the car with finance on any website, not just DD.
be different if it was a robbed car, or a cloned car or a cut and shut car, but again, DD would have to have proof of that, and again, its not up to DD to proove that. its up to the buyer to decide if they are safe and know all the fact before commiting to a private purchase, whether that be a car, a second hand BBQ or indeed a limited edition Barbie doll

F-Stop · 05-06-2012 11:59pm

Sorry coylemj, I didn't mean to suggest you. I just think that people need to understand that DD is a service and not a dealership or pet shop or whatever.

coylemj · 06-06-2012 12:07am

kceire wrote: »

It is not up to Donedeal to make a judgement on whether a car has finance or not. For all donedeal know, the motorcheck report could be out of date and then DD would be left red faced.

I sent DD the link to the motorcheck report, it had that days' date on it i.e. the same day.

kceire wrote: »

you are free to advertise the car with finance on any website, not just DD.
be different if it was a robbed car, or a cloned car or a cut and shut car, but again, DD would have to have proof of that, and again, its not up to DD to proove that. its up to the buyer to decide if they are safe and know all the fact before commiting to a private purchase, whether that be a car, a second hand BBQ or indeed a limited edition Barbie doll

I also pointed out that the seller had failed to mention the outstanding finance when I met him a few hours earlier - the same day.

Yes you are free to advertise a car with outstanding finance but when you fail to mention it to a prospective buyer who drives several miles to meet you, you are clearly bent on fraud.

Why are people defending DD? That really mystifies me!

This guy wasn't exactly a trade seller with hundreds of ads. on DD, all they had to do was pull the ad. give him his money back and tell him to PFO. They clearly placed a greater value on the few quid he had paid for the ad. than that I could be several thousand euros out of pocket when the finance company came and seized the car from me.

wonski · 06-06-2012 12:22am

coylemj wrote: »

I sent DD the link to the motorcheck report, it had that days' date on it i.e. the same day.

I also pointed out that the seller had failed to mention the outstanding finance when I met him a few hours earlier - the same day.

Yes you are free to advertise a car with outstanding finance but when you fail to mention it to a prospective buyer who drives several miles to meet you, you are clearly bent on fraud.

Why are people defending DD? That really mystifies me!

This guy wasn't exactly a trade seller with hundreds of ads. on DD, all they had to do was pull the ad. give him his money back and tell him to PFO. They clearly placed a greater value on the few quid he had paid for the ad. than that I could be several thousand euros out of pocket when the finance company came and seized the car from me.

You are clearly missing something -

Let's say i am the owner of website - A
Let's say someone paid to be advertised on my website - B
Let's say you are about to make a contact with B about a car (and you are C)
Let's say before you make a deal with B, you make a contact with a company D, who provides some information about B

My business works as a bridge between B and C. I have no interest to deal with D at all, unless requested by law. And i have no interest to work with either B or C, as my only target is to make sure B gets an attention from C.
Simple as that. Hope you understand how it works.

Anan1 · 06-06-2012 12:22am

coylemj wrote: »

I sent DD the link to the motorcheck report, it had that days' date on it i.e. the same day.

I also pointed out that the seller had failed to mention the outstanding finance when I met him a few hours earlier - the same day.

Yes you are free to advertise a car with outstanding finance but when you fail to mention it to a prospective buyer who drives several miles to meet you, you are clearly bent on fraud.

Why are people defending DD? That really mystifies me!

This guy wasn't exactly a trade seller with hundreds of ads. on DD, all they had to do was pull the ad. give him his money back and tell him to PFO. They clearly placed a greater value on the few quid he had paid for the ad. than that I could be several thousand euros out of pocket when the finance company came and seized the car from me.

For arguments sake, what's to prove that you didn't want the seller's ad removed for reasons of your own? All the finance check proves is that the car is currently recorded as having finance owing - it proves neither that the finance is still owing nor that the seller hasn't informed potential buyers. Donedeal's job is to publish the ad, it's your job to check out the car.

coylemj · 06-06-2012 1:07am

Yes, I do understand the relationship DD has to the vendor and buyer, thank you Wonski for the education in basic commerce.

Anan1, it would be a remarkable coincidence if I wanted to 'get at' the seller and it just so happened that in evidence I was able to produce a current motorcheck report to show that the car had outstanding finance.

Clearly I'm banging my head against a very thick wall so I'll just repeat what I said above....

They have a moral obligation to remove ads. where the seller is clearly bent on defrauding an innocent buyer. It would also be good business practice to do so as it would (1) deter cowboy sellers and (2) reassure the buying public that at least when DD knew there was potential fraud involved, they did something about it.

wonski · 06-06-2012 1:39am

coylemj wrote: »

Yes, I do understand the relationship DD has to the vendor and buyer, thank you Wonski for the education in basic commerce.

Anan1, it would be a remarkable coincidence if I wanted to 'get at' the seller and it just so happened that in evidence I was able to produce a current motorcheck report to show that the car had outstanding finance.

Clearly I'm banging my head against a very thick wall so I'll just repeat what I said above....

They have a moral obligation to remove ads. where the seller is clearly bent on defrauding an innocent buyer. It would also be good business practice to do so as it would (1) deter cowboy sellers and (2) reassure the buying public that at least when DD knew there was potential fraud involved, they did something about it.

I remember dozens of posts where ads were taken down after one of bordsies reported them. I have reported one, and it was taken down in 24 hours. My point is (and i didn't want to treat you like a kid with all this IABCD scenario) that their main job is to provide general public and businesses with service. They do provide it, and they are good at it. They do deal with reports, etc, but it is not what they are supposed to do, and - to be honest - if you expected them to deal with any report/complain about any of the ads promptly - you may need to pay them more.
And the moral obligation??? If one selling a car won't provide a mileage, what do you expect them to do? As long as there is no mention of something in the ad, there is no reason to take it down!

shawnee · 06-06-2012 7:27am

Anan1 wrote: »

If it's Donedeal then you didn't buy the car 'on the website', you bought it from the seller.

I beg to differ, I bought the car on the website but from the seller , It is silly of you to suggest that one buys a car from Donedeal , if you want to play with words....try scrabble... if you are not interested in the debate.:rolleyes:

Pov06 · 06-06-2012 8:02am

My dad and I were looking for a cheap diesel car to run around for a while so we went over to Ferndale Cars in Bray, Dublin.

It was a 2001 Citroen Xsara HDi 2.0. So we bought the thing and were driving home for about 30km~. About 2km away from my house the gearknob linkage disconnected and the car was left in 4th gear, so we had to burn the crap out of the clutch to get home.

So I gave the dealer a call and there were no problems. He called out a local company in my area which specialises in gearboxes and they "repaired" the linkage. (They actually reconnected the broken linkage and brought the car back).

A few days later the same happens and the dealer stops answering my phone calls. I bought a linkage myself, went to get it replaced and the mechanic tells me that there's bolts missing on the gearbox so oil is leaking. We got the linkage put on and it was fine then.

The car turned out to be a UK import and the whole underside of the car was rusted.

Considering the car had NCT we continued to drive it for 6 months when the EGR valve gave up and it was spitting out black smoke and stalling. We cleaned the EGR valve, it fixed things up but the car was idling poorly until it gets warm.

Not exactly pleasant but that's what €1,500 in 2010 gets you at Ferndale Cars

Anan1 · 06-06-2012 8:39am

coylemj wrote: »

Anan1, it would be a remarkable coincidence if I wanted to 'get at' the seller and it just so happened that in evidence I was able to produce a current motorcheck report to show that the car had outstanding finance.

Of course it would, but:

1. The point still stands that Donedeal cannot be expected to remove an ad on the uncorroborated say so of a member of the public.

2. To conduct their own investigation would be prohibitively expensive, so I can see how they favour that an 'at your own risk' disclaimer instead.

3. 'Remarkable coincidences' happen all the time. Look at the number of spoof ads people place on free car sales websites to wind up their friends and what not.

shawnee wrote: »

I beg to differ, I bought the car on the website but from the seller , It is silly of you to suggest that one buys a car from Donedeal , if you want to play with words....try scrabble... if you are not interested in the debate.:rolleyes:

Words matter, shawnee. You didn't buy the car on the website. You found the ad on the website, and you then bought the car from the seller. You're trying to blame donedeal for your failure to ensure that the seller posted the book, which is, quite frankly, ridiculous.

shawnee · 06-06-2012 9:42am

Anan1 wrote: »

Of course it would, but:

1. The point still stands that Donedeal cannot be expected to remove an ad on the uncorroborated say so of a member of the public.

2. To conduct their own investigation would be prohibitively expensive, so I can see how they favour that an 'at your own risk' disclaimer instead.

3. 'Remarkable coincidences' happen all the time. Look at the number of spoof ads people place on free car sales websites to wind up their friends and what not.

Words matter, shawnee. You didn't buy the car on the website. You found the ad on the website, and you then bought the car from the seller. You're trying to blame donedeal for your failure to ensure that the seller posted the book, which is, quite frankly, ridiculous.

Anan ... read the title of the thread !! I didn't even mention donedeal in my post , but not having the book posted was indeed a nightmare experience. Donedeal or any website was not to blame and I did not apportion any to them , merely to the seller who advertised on the site !;)

Anan1 · 06-06-2012 10:05am

shawnee wrote: »

Anan ... read the title of the thread !! I didn't even mention donedeal in my post , but not having the book posted was indeed a nightmare experience. Donedeal or any website was not to blame and I did not apportion any to them , merely to the seller who advertised on the site !;)

Fair enough!

smash · 06-06-2012 10:11am

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Donedeal don't sell cars so I don't see the need for their name to be associated with any bad experience.

It's shocking the amount of people who associate the advertising medium with their buying experiences. I recently heard someone say "Donedeal do great deals on used cars at the moment"... The websites don't place the ads, the seller does.

Captain Slow IRL · 06-06-2012 12:24pm

I've bought 3 or 4 cars off ebay, absolutely no problems with them. If anything, they were better represented by the sellers than on various other classified websites and magazines.

The only nightmare I had buying a car was from a small classifieds ads paper exclusive to the west of Ireland - seller wouldn't post log book and refused to answer my phone calls or texts when I tried to follow up on it. Total pain in the hole trying to sort out.

shawnee · 06-06-2012 4:29pm

Captain Slow IRL wrote: »

I've bought 3 or 4 cars off ebay, absolutely no problems with them. If anything, they were better represented by the sellers than on various other classified websites and magazines.

The only nightmare I had buying a car was from a small classifieds ads paper exclusive to the west of Ireland - seller wouldn't post log book and refused to answer my phone calls or texts when I tried to follow up on it. Total pain in the hole trying to sort out.

Yeah , if I am buying again , I will insist on accompanying the owner to the post box with the reg documents.:p

ShadowHearth · 06-06-2012 4:51pm

story from last week:

called fella on WRX, which was on high side on millage, but decentish money. Arranged to meet in town.
So i got my buddy mechanic and we set of 70km to that town. Just before meeting the seller, he went in to some small indy garage and asked to use their lift to check on a car. Costed us only 10 quid. ( bargain if you ask me, and fair play to my buddy to think of such thing ).
So we meet the seller. first thing he shows is NCT sheet. ( okay... ). My friend was checking everything he could, he even took his own diagnostic computer to do check up and info on car, VIN code. then we went to that indy garage and got car up high.
so nct was done few days ago and car had:
*almost completely rusted brake lines
*2 tyres one one side very badly worn ( bad tracking )
*1 shock leaking ( so need 2 new shocks )
*silicon instead of bushings in rear suspension. ( fecking cowboys )
my friend got on the phone to his local part shop and got qoute for all parts.
He droped price himself, because of these faults, plus had a big scratch on a wing, which he did himself few days ago. Shaked on a price, i offered him deposit and that i will collect car myself tomorrow. he refused deposit: "surely you will be here tomorrow to pick it up"
so here is the best part, half way back i get a phone call from him:
" jaysus, your mechanic is very fussy"
" so? thats why he is a good mechanic"
"well i talked to my mechanic and he can get 2 chocks 70eu cheaper then your one"
"so what? maybe i like those shocks? we agreed on price already"
"well, here is my last offer, agreed price+300eu, take it or leave it"
"okay, then so bye bye"

car is still for sale by the way, he lost a sale as he got greedy on 70eu? Makes me wonder how easy it is to "buy" nct and how many cowboys out there.

Second hand car nightmares! (Experiences)

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