am i right to be cautious

blacksmith105

Saw a car advertised on carzone and seemed to match what i was looking for , pics of car looked good and full description was given etc etc
Car was located in Dublin 4 , and pic showed car in a driveway that seemed to belong to a very large house . texted the owner and arranged to see the car and he replied that he would meet me outside of RTE and he would wait in the car
I asked him for the address but he said that he would wait outside main gate of RTE in the car , also told me that i needed to give him 30 mins notice before i arrived
So i rang him and he told me he was in work and could not talk in fact he was quite rude and put down the phone
So then i ran a history check on the car before i went anywhere , it turned out it had 4 owners from new and the car is a 05 reg
I texted him and asked .. by the way how many owners does it have ... no reply
So my gut instinct is to walk away and leave it . something does not seem quite right with this .. why wont he allow me to come to the address that the car is located at and insist on meeting me outside the main gate of RTE
Car is on donedeal for the past 30 days .. any ideas or am i being stupid

opinion guy

blacksmith105 wrote: »

Car is on donedeal for the past 30 days .. any ideas or am i being stupid

Plenty of other cars out there

drunkmonkey

blacksmith105 wrote: »

why wont he allow me to come to the address that the car is located at and insist on meeting me outside the main gate of RTE

Because you have no rights if you buy something on the side of the road. Walk away if you thinks it's dodge.

SilverBell

blacksmith105 wrote: »

at he would wait outside main gate
Car is on donedeal for the past 30 days .. any ideas or am i being stupid

You are not being stupid at all. Sometimes your stomach just tells you.
Well done.

paul2508

id stay away from it personally mate, if he had nothing to hide he would give you his address,and othr details without hesitation. also if you are really keen on the car meet up with him and check logbook details on registerd address and his name . ask him questions there and then and if he is still stuck up about it id leave it.be sure to bring someone with you who knows his cars to check it over
maybe he is a busy man you never know but why be snotty and rude if he is trying to sell the car , what car is it if you dont mind me asking. do you have the link off the car ??

Toyota_Avensis

Head versus Heart Situation there... Time for the reality check, hes a Cow Boy! Look on, plenty of legit value to be had nowadays, just bargain hard.

mathepac

Run awaaayyyy!!

jimmynokia

steer clear

qz

From what you're saying about his behaviour on the phone and in not telling you how many owners the car has, yes it does on the face of it seem odd. But he may genuinely have been stuck in work for some unforeseen reason, I think we've all experienced such. Also, I personally wouldn't feel comfortable meeting a stranger at my house so he or she could come and drive my car, a middle ground is a better bet for both parties until a sale is agreed.

Follow your gut, if the car seems like a special one and you've had your heart set on it I'd hang on in there. If it's just any other car, there are plenty more fish in the sea.

coylemj

Tell him that you want to see his passport or driving licence and that you will take a photo of him - if he's a cowboy you'll never hear from him again.

qz

coylemj wrote: »

Tell him that you want to see his passport or driving licence and that you will take a photo of him - if he's a cowboy you'll never hear from him again.

WTF? If he was an ordinary decent citizen you'll never hear from him again. If a potential buyer I'd never met before said that to me I'd tell them to fúck off!

SilverBell

qz wrote: »

WTF? If he was an ordinary decent citizen you'll never hear from him again. If a potential buyer I'd never met before said that to me I'd tell them to fúck off!

Yep... happened to me. Its starts off simple enough, photo of you beside the car. They were so nice! Next thing they had my weight, height, bite imprint, and fingerprints.:eek:

dr.fuzzenstein

Remember Robert De Niro's advice:

Sam : Whenever there is any doubt, there is no doubt. That’s the first thing they teach you.
Vincent: Who taught you ?
Sam : I don’t remember. That’s the second thing they teach you.

coylemj

qz wrote: »

WTF? If he was an ordinary decent citizen you'll never hear from him again. If a potential buyer I'd never met before said that to me I'd tell them to fúck off!

What's the problem allowing someone to take a photo of you if you've nothing to hide and you're engaging in a legitimate transaction? I'm advising the OP to take that stance because the guy selling the car refuses to meet at his own house, if he's being evasive then the prospective purchaser has a right to adopt defensive tactics, one of which is to ask him to produce identification and allow the buyer to take a photo of him, otherwise if the deal goes sour (car is stolen or has finance outstanding) the buyer will be left high and dry.

pdiddy

so i let a complete stranger come to my house drive my car and he walks away saying its not for him,that night this guy who now knows where my car is kept returns and breaks in and my car is gone,always meet buyers usually at a local petrol station and once deal is done and money is changed hands car can be picked up from my house.

the long and short of it is you never know who is coming to view car and what reasons they have

sean1141

it works both ways. no way would i direct someone to my house to view a car. i would always meet them in a public place, petrol station or whatever. if they seem genuine i would ask them did they want to come back to the house to sign up the change of ownership. if someone demanded to come to my house to view the car i would not let them. you dont know who you are buying a car off but then again you never know who you are selling your car too either. personally i would rather not bring any stranger around my home. if someone wanted to take my picture they would be left standing there!!
you might have no rights buying it in a public place but you dont have a lot of rights buying any care private. i got stung once with a car i sold private. some toss pot kept ringing me such a thing broke on the car and they wanted me to pay for it even do it was perfect when i sold it! chancers!! now i just buy a second sim and use it when im selling...

for every cowboy selling a dodgy car there is a gangster buyer...
go with your gut.. meet him view the car and if it looks ok insist on going back to his house to fill out the forms. if he is decent he should have no objection..

996tt

you get the usual rubbish from posters giving out about other posters not blanking out a cars number plate in the spotted thread even though the photo was taken in a public place and now some posters expect the complete opposite and for a seller to give out their private address to someone over the phone just because they are selling a car.

Common sense to meet in a public area for the first viewing for security alone.

Anyway its a private sale, so once the sale is done its nothing more to do with you so for piece of mind keep the buyer away from your house, we've all heard the horror stories of something going wrong with the car a week after buying it and the buyer expecting the previous owner to pay for it

djimi

If you smell a rat then walk away, end of story.

qz

coylemj wrote: »

What's the problem allowing someone to take a photo of you if you've nothing to hide and you're engaging in a legitimate transaction? I'm advising the OP to take that stance because the guy selling the car refuses to meet at his own house, if he's being evasive then the prospective purchaser has a right to adopt defensive tactics, one of which is to ask him to produce identification and allow the buyer to take a photo of him, otherwise if the deal goes sour (car is stolen or has finance outstanding) the buyer will be left high and dry.

But I don't get the point of having to take a photograph? How is that conducive to the transaction in any way? The initial test drive can be conducted at a public place, and finalised at the seller's home where all the necessities such as money and log book can be exchanged. Having the seller's name and place of address is enough to seek a remedy if the deal goes sour. What purpose does the photograph serve? Stroll into the cop shop and demand they track down this man from a photograph, CSI style?

And I would fully support the seller's insistence on meeting in a public place for a test drive. It's the same way strangers on the internet meet for the first time. It's exercising caution pure and simple.

Remind me never to sell a car to you privately.

Duckjob

I've never had a problem with people calling to my home to see a car I was selling.

As a buyer, I wouldnt have a problem meeting somewhere for an initial view. However, before buying I would always insist on seeing the car at the sellers place, first thing in the morning. Reason being I want to see the car started from stone cold. I don't want something that looks ok warmed up, but turns into a junker the morning after I buy it.

dr.fuzzenstein

996tt wrote: »

you get the usual rubbish from posters giving out about other posters not blanking out a cars number plate in the spotted thread even though the photo was taken in a public place and now some posters expect the complete opposite and for a seller to give out their private address to someone over the phone just because they are selling a car.

Common sense to meet in a public area for the first viewing for security alone.

Anyway its a private sale, so once the sale is done its nothing more to do with you so for piece of mind keep the buyer away from your house, we've all heard the horror stories of something going wrong with the car a week after buying it and the buyer expecting the previous owner to pay for it

If the seller is cagey with his details, doesn't meet you at his home address and is generally not forthcoming, it's not just a rat I'm smelling, it's an entire sewerage pit with a million of them.
First rule of car buying
DON'T BUY CARS OFF SELLERS WHO WILL ONLY MEET YOU IN CAR PARKS, PETROL STATIONS, ETC...!
It is the first calling card of something very wrong, if they don't want to give you their details, likelihood is there's something major wrong with the car and they don't want you to find them afterwards.

Gumbo

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

If the seller is cagey with his details, doesn't meet you at his home address and is generally not forthcoming, it's not just a rat I'm smelling, it's an entire sewerage pit with a million of them.
First rule of car buying
DON'T BUY CARS OFF SELLERS WHO WILL ONLY MEET YOU IN CAR PARKS, PETROL STATIONS, ETC...!
It is the first calling card of something very wrong, if they don't want to give you their details, likelihood is there's something major wrong with the car and they don't want you to find them afterwards.

or you could just read the VLC?

sean1141

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

DON'T BUY CARS OFF SELLERS WHO WILL ONLY MEET YOU IN CAR PARKS, PETROL STATIONS, ETC...!

yes if a seller is genuine there should be no problem but for a first viewing a public place is fine...

undercoverman

He doesnt sound genuine so stay clear plenty motors out there buy at side of road is like throwing your money into the pocket of a conman.