How secure is the seller when selling a car privately?

Trotter

Im just wondering, myself and the wife have a car each but Im thinking of cutting it down to one and getting on my bike now that the weather is supposed to improve coming into the Summer.

Im a bit wary of selling it privately though, mainly because Ive never sold a car that way before. I know the car is in perfect nick and running well, but whats to stop a person driving away my car having bought it, and sticking it in a pot hole the day after and coming back to me saying the steering/chassis/whatever is banjaxed and they want their money back.

Id be happy to sell it for cash in good faith but would I be right to worry that it could come back to my doorstep within a month with the person complaining?

Like I said, Ive never sold or bought a car privately so Im not sure of the do's and don'ts.

CiniO

Trotter wrote: »

Im just wondering, myself and the wife have a car each but Im thinking of cutting it down to one and getting on my bike now that the weather is supposed to improve coming into the Summer.

Im a bit wary of selling it privately though, mainly because Ive never sold a car that way before. I know the car is in perfect nick and running well, but whats to stop a person driving away my car having bought it, and sticking it in a pot hole the day after and coming back to me saying the steering/chassis/whatever is banjaxed and they want their money back.

Id be happy to sell it for cash in good faith but would I be right to worry that it could come back to my doorstep within a month with the person complaining?

Like I said, Ive never sold or bought a car privately so Im not sure of the do's and don'ts.

If someone comes back, you can always tell them to "feck off"...
After you sell the car, you are not resposible for anything.

Trotter

According to the Citizens Information website though, for a car bought privately

If you are not satisfied with the response you may be able to take legal action against the seller. Where the car you bought is unroadworthy, you could also refer the matter to the Garda Síochána and the Road Safety Authority.

Referring to cars bought privately it does say that

in this case you have very little legal protection if you find that the car that you have bought is faulty

But still, the idea that someone could damage the car accidentally, make it unroadworthy and then turn up on your doorstep threatening the Gardaí or RSA would make me uneasy. Ridiculous I know

delly

Well legally there is no come back on a private sale, but to give yourself some piece of mind you can do up a two receipts signed by yourself and the buyer stating the car is in good mechanical order and buyer has inspected car etc.

Don't worry at all, once you are honest there won't be an issue. Cinio is correct with the f off theory too.

Ciarrai76

delly wrote: »

Well legally there is no come back on a private sale, but to give yourself some piece of mind you can do up a two receipts signed by yourself and the buyer stating the car is in good mechanical order and buyer has inspected car etc.

I too am selling my car privately and I must say I think that's a good idea to have signed receipts. I am worried about what could happen if something went wrong after the car was sold and I get the blame! I guess its the chance we take when selling a car privately. Wish I had the option to trade my car in, but I need to cut costs and have to survive on one car between us for a while. These are the times we are in unfotunately

There is no problem, describe the car accurately in the add, be honest about any known issues and any previous accident the car was in, if any. Once the change of ownership is signed and the new owner drives off then it's done

Ciarrai76

RoverJames wrote: »

There is no problem, describe the car accurately in the add, be honest about any known issues and any previous accident the car was in, if any. Once the change of ownership is signed and the new owner drives off then it's done

would you need to tell them of any minor damage to the car? I ask as during the ice-snap my car skidded & hit a hedge, damaging the back light and back bumper. Its since been all replaced (new bumper & lights) and looks perfect again, but now you mention accidents being mentioned, I'm wondering if I should mention that?

Anan1

delly wrote: »

Well legally there is no come back on a private sale, but to give yourself some piece of mind you can do up a two receipts signed by yourself and the buyer stating the car is in good mechanical order and buyer has inspected car etc.

Do not under any circumstances give a written undertaking that the car is in good mechanical order! Instead, write something like 'Car sold as seen, no warranty given or implied' on both receipts, both signed by both purchaser and vendor.

Ciarrai76

Anan1 wrote: »

Do not under any circumstances give a written undertaking that the car is in good mechanical order! Instead, write something like 'Car sold as seen, no warranty given or implied' on both receipts, both signed by both purchaser and vendor.

Good advice will keep that in mind!

reitseal

This actually happened me a good few years back. I sold a car to a guy, car always ran like a dream, full service history, never had any probs with it (was upgrading to a newer one which turned out to be sh$theap but that's another day's work lol). Gave the guy all service receipts and in fact gave him receipts for everything I'd ever had done, eg tyres etc. Week later he was on my doorstep telling me the camshaft (if I remember correctly) had packed in and was costing him about €600 to have repaired. Tbh I felt very bad for him cos he seemed like a nice person but I couldn't have foreseen it. I just told him I'd given him everything I had re the car and there wasn't anything I could do. He didn't take it any further and it didn't occur to me he could have but your post made me think....

reitseal

reitseal wrote: »

He didn't take it any further and it didn't occur to me he could have but your post made me think....

He couldn't have taken it further (well not in any official way)

Damokc

has anyone ever got stung with fake notes when selling a car?just wondering is all.often thought about it that if i was selling a car id be ****ting incase i got caught like that.i know they'd have to be pretty good fakes alright.

coylemj

Unless the car is in a dangerous condition, a person who buys from a private seller has no comeback if something goes wrong, even if the gearbox packs up five minutes after he drives it away.

I also agree that you should not give any kind of paperwork stating that the the car is in 'good mechanical condition', that would potentially amount to a warranty which you as a private seller should not give.

As a private seller the law assumes that you do not have the expertise to judge whether the car is in 'good mechanical condition' or not, that is why the law is on the side of the seller, provided the car is not in a dangerous condition. If the seller has taken reasonable care to maintain the car then it is tough luck for the buyer if something expensive packs up soon after the sale has taken place.

If you want to put pen to paper, say that the car is 'sold as seen' and comes with no warranty either expressed or implied but you are better off refusing to give anything on paper and even better not to even raise the subject. If the prospective buyer mentions a warranty, tell him that you are not a dealer.

coylemj

Damokc wrote: »

has anyone ever got stung with fake notes when selling a car?just wondering is all.often thought about it that if i was selling a car id be ****ting incase i got caught like that.i know they'd have to be pretty good fakes alright.

Fake bank drafts are the ones to watch out for as well as (when buying) suspicious tactics involving cars for sale that are currently abroad and for which you are asked to lodge the money to an 'escrow' account.

GTDolanator

youl be fine as long as you deal in cash money!i had a bloke buy a van from me a few years back he rang me two weeks later saying the radio was dodgey and burned the van from the inside out,this was quite strange to me as the van was sold without a radio....he wanted his money back i told him to **** off and heard nothing again

Anan1

Damokc wrote: »

has anyone ever got stung with fake notes when selling a car?just wondering is all.often thought about it that if i was selling a car id be ****ting incase i got caught like that.i know they'd have to be pretty good fakes alright.

Go to the bank with the buyer, have the cash lodged straight into your a/c.

d2ww

I will be trying to sell the wife's in a few weeks time, but am worried about if there was an accident while the potential buyer was test driving it. Would it be covered on my insurance, the buyer's insurance(if they have one) or not at all?

biko

They should be covered to drive other cars with the owner's permission on their own policy. That's usually only for the other party though.
They could transfer their main insurance over to your car for the test drive but I've test driven many cars and this never came up in conversation.

Interesting question. I guess it's understood "you break it, you bought it".

coylemj

d2ww wrote: »

I will be trying to sell the wife's in a few weeks time, but am worried about if there was an accident while the potential buyer was test driving it. Would it be covered on my insurance, the buyer's insurance(if they have one) or not at all?

Unless the prospective buyer transfers his fully comp. policy to your car for the duration or he has comp. cover to drive other cars then there is a risk that you could end up in a messy situation.

To protect yourself in the event that he is clocked speeding during the test I would ask to see his driving licence and write down the details in case you get a letter in the post a few weeks later, that alone will stop him from driving like a lunatic and if you stay away from schools and shopping centres you should be ok.

You need to ensure that his driving your car is covered by your insurance because as the owner of the car it is your responsibility to make sure that he is covered. Even if he waves an insurance cert. in your face, if it turns out that he does not have his own cover, you will ultimately be liable if there is a crash and someone needs to be compensated.