Selling a used car in Ireland guide

michael999999 · 14-07-2013 9:04pm

dardhal wrote: »

Well, I am not sure, but is it possible for a guy to transfer some money to your PayPal account and later on backpedal, leaving you with no car and no money at all? Not that the story checks or looks right, but as long as the owner's certificate gets sent to the motor tax office and change of ownership is completed, theoretically, once the money is in your PayPal account, what could go wrong?
"
Anyways, now that I am trying myself to get rid of my car I am starting to realize how bizarre buying and selling cars privately here can be. Most people basically not reading the ads at all, people ringing you despite having said not to initially (for example, because you are too busy at work), lads offering even less for a perfectly working vehicle (even NCT'ed and tax'ed) than what you could get at the scrap yard by weight, etc.

I am afraid mine will go the way of the scrap yard next week, as I prefer to get 150€ from someone ripping it to pieces and recycling it, than 300€ from someone which is simply going to book the NCT, add 1000€ to the price tag afterwards, and wait patiently for someone to give him a "nice" profit.

That last paragraph makes no sense !

dardhal · 14-07-2013 9:42pm

michael999999 wrote: »

That last paragraph makes no sense !

Makes no sense to you, for me, it makes lots of it. Don't get me wrong, I respect those in the business of honest professional and sort-of professional car dealership, buy and sell, etc. There is no "right" price other than set by the market. However, not desperately needing the money, my priorities would be, in this order:
1. Sell privately the car to someone that is going to own and use it.
2. Sell to some professional seller at a "fair price", for them to add some value to the car and resell it at a "reasonable" price
3. The car being quite old and having long past its best years, putting it off the roads, turn into much needed spare parts, and give new life to scrap metal and other components, boosting local businesses in the process
4. Desperately getting rid of the car handing it over to some guy paying peanuts for it, who will later perform some minor face lifting to it, if at all, managing to sell it to someone in group 1. at five the times he paid for it and double the price he would have paid for the same on a private sale

As mentioned, for me anyone mentioned above is worth of the utmost respect to me. Even the guy in 4. serves a purpose and fills a gap in the market, however, given the chance, I would stop at 3., even at a personal (relative) loss. Makes the same amount of sense as buying something (expensive) local when you can buy the same (cheaper) abroad.

L-M · 14-07-2013 9:52pm

My priority when selling a car is to sell it.

Couldnt give a high flying ****e what happens after that.

Id imagine youre over thinking it.

michael999999 · 14-07-2013 11:31pm

dardhal wrote: »

Makes no sense to you, for me, it makes lots of it. Don't get me wrong, I respect those in the business of honest professional and sort-of professional car dealership, buy and sell, etc. There is no "right" price other than set by the market. However, not desperately needing the money, my priorities would be, in this order:
1. Sell privately the car to someone that is going to own and use it.
2. Sell to some professional seller at a "fair price", for them to add some value to the car and resell it at a "reasonable" price
3. The car being quite old and having long past its best years, putting it off the roads, turn into much needed spare parts, and give new life to scrap metal and other components, boosting local businesses in the process
4. Desperately getting rid of the car handing it over to some guy paying peanuts for it, who will later perform some minor face lifting to it, if at all, managing to sell it to someone in group 1. at five the times he paid for it and double the price he would have paid for the same on a private sale

As mentioned, for me anyone mentioned above is worth of the utmost respect to me. Even the guy in 4. serves a purpose and fills a gap in the market, however, given the chance, I would stop at 3., even at a personal (relative) loss. Makes the same amount of sense as buying something (expensive) local when you can buy the same (cheaper) abroad.

You either have plenty money or no sense!

gizc · 16-07-2013 12:16pm

I need to sell my 2009 vw passat 1.4 tsi 82000 miles . The variance in prices online is unreal was thinking 9500 to 10,000 am I on the right track . It's nct'd for 2 years in great nick

JL89 · 17-07-2013 12:52pm

I recently wrote off my car and without going in to too much detail I was compensated €6,000.
At the moment I have to decide between 2 cars and looking for advice...

1. Ford Focus 2007. 1.4 petrol & 109,000 km. It is the basic Lx model so nothing fancy. I can buy it for the 6,ooo. It is also similar to my crashed car.
2. Volkswagon Golf 2005. 2 litre TDI Diesel. This would cost approx €6,500 to buy and has 120,000 km on it to date.
I’m not sure what to do..I’m a 24 yr old male so insurance would be approx 200euro extra for the golf and it has higher road tax. However it would be cheaper to run, I drive approx 15,000km a year.

What do people think? I’d prefer the golf but not sure if its the right call...help!

L-M · 17-07-2013 5:37pm

15000 around town or where?

120km sounds very low for a 2.0 Golf, was the 2.0 even available here in 05? Sure it isnt miles?

You need to decide whether you want petrol or diesel. Also surely you should be able to get a Zetec at least. Lx is so very basic

phkk · 22-07-2013 4:36pm

: http://www.adverts.ie/2840980

Finally got around to getting NCT on car, how does the adv look now guys? Thanks for any feedback

Headshot · 23-07-2013 10:54pm

I hope its okay to ask this here

Thinking of selling my VW Golf 1.4 3dr 2001 (millage ill have to check tomorrow but I think its high enough)
Great condition and just had the timing belt done

How much would that be worth?

L-M · 23-07-2013 11:20pm

Really depends on how big the mileage and how good of an example it is.

Somewhere between 900-1600 due to the little amount of info supplied.

faral · 30-07-2013 8:53pm

guys could you help please
im just about to sell my car , guy gave me already deposit and everything is fine but a have a doubts-he looks very young to me so should I ask for any sort of ID?is it an offense to sell the car to underage person?he looks like somebody between 16-17.Anyway is it good to make an agreement with him that I am selling a car and he is buying?

stiofan85 · 30-09-2013 2:18pm

Just wanted to post a reply to this thread to say thanks for the help. I sold my car successfully and took all of the advice in the OP.

The one thing I wanted to highlight is a couple of posts mentioned phoning a bank to check the bank draft is legit before handing the keys over. I tried this there now and the bank said they can't do this for data protection and they get a lot of similar calls. His advice was to go half cash, half draft. Mine wasn't for huge money, but just worth knowing.

Thanks!

deadeye187 · 07-10-2013 12:22pm

anyone ever try these guys?

http://www.cashforcar.ie/faq.php

I`m thinking of selling my VW passit 1.9 tdi to them! Are they legit?

L-M · 07-10-2013 6:00pm

If you get money in your account before you sell it then they are!

deadeye187 · 07-10-2013 6:19pm

Limerick man wrote: »

If you get money in your account before you sell it then they are!

ooh really! so they are not good to do business with then, i`ll give them a miss so. thanks man

L-M · 07-10-2013 6:29pm

What! No!

Ive never heard of them, to be honest I didnt even click the link. All im saying is, if you are happy with the offer and you get money into your bank account, happy days!

deadeye187 · 07-10-2013 6:34pm

Limerick man wrote: »

What! No!

Ive never heard of them, to be honest I didnt even click the link. All im saying is, if you are happy with the offer and you get money into your bank account, happy days!

lol......in that case, it would be happy days indeed!

No Pants · 21-11-2013 8:21pm

stiofan85 wrote: »

The one thing I wanted to highlight is a couple of posts mentioned phoning a bank to check the bank draft is legit before handing the keys over. I tried this there now and the bank said they can't do this for data protection and they get a lot of similar calls.

That doesn't make sense for a number of reasons:

1) a bank draft is a piece of paper. I don't know how a bank can validate it over the phone.

2) The last few bank drafts I used had no SPI on them. They had the payee's name and the rest was the bank's details. It's essentially a cheque from the bank, bought with your money. Ask them to verify what data is being protected.

3) Your question was regarding the validity of the draft. That's a binary situation; it's valid or it's not. Ask them if data protection (assuming it's a valid concern, see point 2 above) trumps at attempt to defraud.

hdowney · 24-11-2013 2:35pm

Ok so the mammy wants me to sell her car. I have read thru the thread and the impression I get is upsell the good points and not so much the bad. I mean I am not going to mislead anyone, I presume if they come to view and ask a specific question I'd obviously answer it, but I don't put it all in the ad? Like the mammy thinks she may need a new battery soon, but I bought that battery and I am pretty damn sure it is just a case of she doesn't drive the car very far very often so the bat doesn't get a decent charge.

She is selling cos we have two cars in the household and canni really afford to run the two at the moment. It needs a little few things doing to it and putting through the NCT but I don't think that'd be overly costly IF you could afford to along with running a bigger car (mine). She just doesn't see the point of putting the money into it when she could put it into other things. She is retired and doesn't go many places (hence the battery thing above).

So if I give ye what information I have to hand (guessing at the milage for now - tis too cold to go outside and check!) could ye possibly give me a ballpark figure. I still have to wash her and empty out the crap the mammy has in there before I take the pics so I can fire her up online.

So. The car is a black Ford Fiesta year 2000. Milage I think is around the 95k mark. It's a 1.2. It has some scrapes - old car, mam's idiocies and wnkers in carparks!. Seats are a bit old looking - will try giving them a wash and see if they brighten up any. It has a CD player, Alloys. Low Tax - 3mths new tax will be on it. No NCT. Sunroof.

Don't know what other information?!

L-M · 24-11-2013 6:48pm

Throw it up for 600 as is.

If you NCT it ( which I highly recommend) you should be able to ask twice that.

hdowney · 25-11-2013 12:01am

Limerick man wrote: »

Throw it up for 600 as is.

If you NCT it ( which I highly recommend) you should be able to ask twice that.

I don't think it'd pass the nct as is, it'd require a few bits doing to it. I might go down to the local mechanics (that I use) and ask them what it'd need doing to go thru the NCT. If it doesn't cost a whole hape I'll get it done, throw it thru the NCT and then make a bit back on the sale please God. Thanks for the reply.

MidlandsM · 25-11-2013 11:37am

hdowney wrote: »

I don't think it'd pass the nct as is, it'd require a few bits doing to it. I might go down to the local mechanics (that I use) and ask them what it'd need doing to go thru the NCT. If it doesn't cost a whole hape I'll get it done, throw it thru the NCT and then make a bit back on the sale please God. Thanks for the reply.

for 55 blips, lash it thru the nct first, see what it fails on, fix those exact issues, and then voila, a new cert!

stiofan85 · 25-11-2013 12:11pm

No Pants wrote: »

That doesn't make sense for a number of reasons:

1) a bank draft is a piece of paper. I don't know how a bank can validate it over the phone.

2) The last few bank drafts I used had no SPI on them. They had the payee's name and the rest was the bank's details. It's essentially a cheque from the bank, bought with your money. Ask them to verify what data is being protected.

3) Your question was regarding the validity of the draft. That's a binary situation; it's valid or it's not. Ask them if data protection (assuming it's a valid concern, see point 2 above) trumps at attempt to defraud.

I just pointed out the bank's response when I phoned them so anyone reading the thread gets my experience thrown into the mix.

No Pants · 25-11-2013 6:46pm

stiofan85 wrote: »

I just pointed out the bank's response when I phoned them so anyone reading the thread gets my experience thrown into the mix.

No bother.

walus · 19-12-2013 5:52pm

I'm thinking of trading in my old car as a part exchange for a newer model. I'm dealing with a "reputable" dealer and was wondering what sort of documents do I need to get from him confirming that my car has been transferred over leaving me with no liability for its future use? I understand I need to hand over the vehicle cert but how do I make sure that my liability ends there? Thanks.

L-M · 20-12-2013 1:06am

They usually have a form that they fill out or if they're modern enough they can do it online. Usually the date on the sales receipt should cover you.

walus · 20-12-2013 10:20am

Limerick man wrote: »

They usually have a form that they fill out or if they're modern enough they can do it online. Usually the date on the sales receipt should cover you.

Yeah, I found this, seems to cover this topic well:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/travel_and_recreation/motoring_1/buying_or_selling_a_vehicle/change_of_ownership.html

whodafunk · 20-12-2013 6:20pm

Hi All,

I am selling a car privately. As a form of payment is a bank draft safe as opposed to cash or is there anything I should be aware of?

Thank You

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy · 20-12-2013 6:27pm

Make sure you take the draft during opening hours and accompany the buyer to the bank to lodge it.

L-M · 21-12-2013 1:06am

Nothing is safe these days until you see the numbers in your account.

theblueirish · 03-01-2014 3:31pm

Hi Guys and gals,

Been reading through the forum and have taken on board a lot of good advice.
I will be selling my car in two weeks time (hopefully), its up for test on 14th of this month and hope to be advertising it the same day.

The car has a small dent on the boot door do you think it would be to my advantage to get this repaired before I sell it? I am guessing about €200 would fix it.

Also as a guide price I see similar cars offered by the trade for circa 9k, would 7k be a reasonable asking price in your opinion or should I be asking more/less.
The car is a dec 2007 Citroen C4 Picasso 2.0 auto Exclusive model.

Any input appreciated.

bazz26 · 03-01-2014 4:13pm

Unless you can get one of those paintless dent repair companies to repair it cheaply then I would not bother spending money on it. On a 7 year old car it's not going to devalue it by a whole lot.

Also I think you are being very optimistic looking for €7k for it especially if it is 2.0 litre. Not sure if it is petrol or diesel but if it is petrol then you have no chance. There are 2008 1.6 diesel examples on the lower tax system for sale by dealers asking under €9k.

theblueirish · 03-01-2014 9:29pm

bazz26 wrote: »

Unless you can get one of those paintless dent repair companies to repair it cheaply then I would not bother spending money on it. On a 7 year old car it's not going to devalue it by a whole lot.

Also I think you are being very optimistic looking for €7k for it especially if it is 2.0 litre. Not sure if it is petrol or diesel but if it is petrol then you have no chance. There are 2008 1.6 diesel examples on the lower tax system for sale by dealers asking under €9k.

Cheers Bazz,

Its a 2.0l Diesel, the 2.0 exclusive model would be better finished than the 1.6 vtr, having pneumatic rear suspension and rear parking sensors (mine also has front parking sensors) also (i could be wrong here) i think all 1.6 are manual gearbox.

Now i am totally clueless when it comes to cars, this is the wife's and we are upgrading for her. Maybe 7k is to much to be asking, would it put people off or should I ask 7 and expect to get 6.5 or even 6, or am still liabale to end up in the dreamer of the year thread?

bazz26 · 03-01-2014 9:34pm

theblueirish wrote: »

Cheers Bazz,

Its a 2.0l Diesel, the 2.0 exclusive model would be better finished than the 1.6 vtr, having pneumatic rear suspension and rear parking sensors (mine also has front parking sensors) also (i could be wrong here) i think all 1.6 are manual gearbox.

Now i am totally clueless when it comes to cars, this is the wife's and we are upgrading for her. Maybe 7k is to much to be asking, would it put people off or should I ask 7 and expect to get 6.5 or even 6, or am still liabale to end up in the dreamer of the year thread?

The thing is to the average Joe or Josephine it is 2.0 litre and "the tax is massive." By all means stick it up at €7k and see how you get on. You will know soon enough if it's doesn't get any interest.

MidlandsM · 04-01-2014 7:12pm

€4995 is where you want to be, asking for that citroen.....

theblueirish · 05-01-2014 3:43am

Thanks lads, all info taken on board

vintagevrs · 03-02-2014 8:34pm

Quick question,

Hoping someone can tell me. I sold a vehicle, it was paid for in full via bank transfer and the money has been in my account for a few weeks now. The buyer arranged for a transporter to pick it up today as he lives at the far end of the country.

What should I do with the tax book. Do i leave the "new owner signature" blank and fill out the rest and post it off? If not, what do I do in this situation?

Thanks in advance.

colm_mcm · 03-02-2014 8:41pm

Tough one. Most people would just forge the signature.

Mr Velo · 15-02-2014 1:30am

Hi guys,

Trying to sell my 09 Octavia L&K.
Lovely spec car, lovely car to drive, but the mileage is a bit high at 122,600 miles. 115k of this was UK mileage.

I've had it up on DoneDeal for a week now, it's had over 1300 views, and only one call.

Would appreciate if you could take a look and let me know if you think i'm asking too much for it (i think it's definitely worth the asking) - or any suggestions you may have.

Cheers.

Link: http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/skoda-octavia-2-0-tdi-laurin-klement/6412357

L-M · 15-02-2014 12:29pm

There are a lot of people out there that don't have that much money to just throw out, and even more so people that don't have that money to throw out to a total stranger.

The mileage on that is very high to be fair, and I would imagine that it would put alot of people off. Patience or price is going to sell it, the choice is yours!

colm_mcm · 15-02-2014 1:05pm

To me the seats look grubby? maybe its just the material, but the rear seatback looks to be much lighter, also boot and engine bay look dirty.
Exterior looks A1 and spec is huge, but let down by the interior

Mc Love · 15-02-2014 2:25pm

Thats a nice motor in fairness. Its a 09 though it might be worth dropping price albeit not by much- will be looking to sell my 08 Focus probably soon enough and it has half the mileage that has so I'd hope I'd get a good price for mine.

What is the going rate for a Octy?

Mr Velo · 16-02-2014 12:40am

colm_mcm wrote: »

To me the seats look grubby? maybe its just the material, but the rear seatback looks to be much lighter, also boot and engine bay look dirty.
Exterior looks A1 and spec is huge, but let down by the interior

Nope, seats aren't grubby at all. I think it was the camera - took the photos against the sun - strange kind of day. I will have to retake them again obviously. I can see the red hue on a few of the pics. Interior is very clean in fairness.

Engine bay and boot does look a bit dirty alright - will have to give them a scrub and replace pics.

Mr Velo · 16-02-2014 12:43am

Mc Love wrote: »

Thats a nice motor in fairness. Its a 09 though it might be worth dropping price albeit not by much- will be looking to sell my 08 Focus probably soon enough and it has half the mileage that has so I'd hope I'd get a good price for mine.

What is the going rate for a Octy?

You think dropping the rate to €10k might help?

Going rate for Octy is €11,450 according to CBG.
That's for a regular one however.

Using the car statistical code on the Revenue VRT website, importing it today with today's mileage on it - the OMSP is €12,502

Mc Love · 16-02-2014 8:17am

it couldnt hurt but you shouldnt have to for the car - bar what LimerickMan said about high mileage being off putting

Just checked autotrader and the same car is worth 7,936.58 on their given similar mileage but then again this is Ireland

L-M · 16-02-2014 4:44pm

Mr Velo wrote: »

You think dropping the rate to €10k might help?

Going rate for Octy is €11,450 according to CBG.
That's for a regular one however.

Using the car statistical code on the Revenue VRT website, importing it today with today's mileage on it - the OMSP is €12,502

Price will sell it, but don't ever drop it to what you're willing to take unless you're confident on sticking to your guns on the price.

You also need someone willing to buy it, so I wouldn't drop the price too low.

magher · 18-02-2014 12:52am

If I have a car that is out of tax for 3+ months and I haven't declared it off the road, am I or the buyer liable to back tax after the sale?

colm_mcm · 18-02-2014 12:55am

magher wrote: »

If I have a car that is out of tax for 3+ months and I haven't declared it off the road, am I or the buyer liable to back tax after the sale?

No.

Marcos · 22-02-2014 11:12am

Hi guys,

I’ve been looking over this thread and have a question. I’m looking at selling my 05 Cordoba . It’s got 78.5 k miles, I bought it direct from the garage where it was a show model. It has had the timing belt replaced at 60,000 miles, the ECU was refurbished last November. It’s NCT’d until March 2015.

Link to the ad

What do you think of the ad, is the price OK or is there anything else you’d advise me to do to sell it?

Thanks

colm_mcm · 22-02-2014 12:50pm

You need to put it on donedeal. Nobody goes on to CBG.
Front number plate looks like it needs replacing and pics could be better. Nobody needs 2 pictures of the steering wheel.

Try and get 8 exterior pictures of the full rotation of the exterior at 45 degree increments (hope that makes sense)

Try and go to a nice location to take the pics, in your driveway isn't the best place as you can't see half the car.

Selling a used car in Ireland guide

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